I grew up playing games on long car drives.......the tradition carried on by playing them with my sons as they were growing up during long trips by road to visit family or when we travelled on vacation......car games are meant to keep trips from becoming boring and to keep young minds from asking "ARE WE THERE YET?" or "HOW MUCH LONGER?"
I was recently on a trip in south India where I found myself playing a new car game specifically to be played only in India......during a journey to four cities by road............Bangalore - Yercaud - Mahabalipuram - Chennai.......I have named the game.......INDIA GPS
Throughout the world, GPS is the abbreviation for Global Positioning System, but in India......GPS stands for Gurpreet, Pranav, and Sanjay.......or any other Indian names starting with the letters G,P and/or S.......you see, in India, the way of finding your way, is by stopping and asking someone along the way.......nothing electronic....not even a map.......your driver simply stops and asks his way.
Day 1 -
My day began at 3:30am when my alarm awakened me in Chennai, India.........the driver had been instructed to meet me at the hotel at 4:30am to transport me to the Chennai airport for a 6:00am flight to Bangalore.
After arriving in Bangalore, I retrieved my luggage and proceeded outside.......drivers dressed in white lined the railing, holding signs with names of other arriving passengers........I scanned the signs, but could not find one with my name....the driver that had been arranged for me was nowhere in sight.......I dialed the number that had been sent to me, and the dialog started with a driver with less than the required command of English that we had requested.......After several phone calls, we finally identified each other and my journey began.
My driver, Srinivas, was to accompany me during my entire journey........and after a rather "rough" start, together we battled our way through the morning traffic of Bangalore......it was then that I realized that what was to be a "3 hour journey" would not be possible......I confirmed with him that he was familiar with getting to Yercaud...my first destination......and as usual, I received a very confident "Yes sir. Yes sir"
Needless to say, after 4.5 years living in India.........I am used to things not going as planned and I am also familiar with the practice of drivers stopping to ask for directions, but, even though we stopped several times along the way, nothing was out of the ordinary about the journey, and I did not pay much attention.......and 5 hours after leaving the airport I arrived in Yercaud.
My meeting was at a lovely hotel named Lake Forest .......a beautiful hill station hotel surrounded by a working coffee and pepper plantation....simply beautiful. More on this location later.....but my meeting went very well.
By 5:00pm, the meeting had concluded and after the customary "goodbye's", I settled into the front seat of the car for what was to be a 6 hour journey by road to a city called Swamimalai.
Srinivas dutifully took directions from the Lake Forest Hotel Staff, however, within 15 minutes of leaving, Srinivas stopped and asked directions.....after several subsequent stops I noticed a pattern emerging.......every 15 minutes, like clock work he would stop and ask directions......It was then that I began timing his stops and began keeping count...........by the time we reached Swamimalai, Srinivas had stopped to ask directions 43 times.
Yes, FORTY THREE!!!!!!!!!
It was actually comical........what would have been very irritating to some of you became very entertaining for me....what would have caused some of you to lose your patience, had become a game of predicting what would happen next.....the hand gestures and the passion in the language was fascinating to me but may have been aggravating to many........I have been blessed with a sense of humor and with patience.......two qualities that have served me well while living in India.
Throughout this leg of my journey, I was communicating the experience to my wife in the United States via email......."It happened again.......# 24"......etc........and she would reply........with an occasional message offering her sympathies.......but I was smiling and laughing inside.
I was also keeping in touch with my staff.........who were concerned about me being on the road at such a late hour........but I was reassuring them that all was "good"......
We reached Swamimalai at 11:30pm........6.5 hours after leaving Yercaud.
After a welcoming foot massage, and a great meal, I headed to my room for a good nights sleep.......remember my journey had started that morning at 3:30 am and it didn't end until 1:00am.......22 hours.....11 of which were spent with Srinivas in the car.......I was very tired.
It was a very long day.......and my journey had just reached the halfway mark.......Srinivas and I had one more day and two more cities together.......and after the fun I had on day one, I couldn't wait for the second leg of the trip to begin the next day!
Day 2
After sleeping like a rock, I awakened the next morning at 6:00am at my hotel in Swamimalai, had some amazing food and that wonderful South Indian filtered coffee......toured the hotel and by 8:30am......Srinivas and I were off again on our road journey to Mahabilipuram.......after my previous days experience, I knew I was going to keep count on this journey as well.........
The staff at the hotel gave him directions........"out of the hotels drive, take a right, etc.......needless to say, 10 minutes into the journey, he instinctively felt that something was wrong..........so he stopped and asked directions and realized that he made a wrong turn......we were in the middle of a small village and he had to turn around and make his way back to the main road......
Three more stops for directions and we were on our way.......the fun had began again and in addition to counting I decided that I would begin taking pictures of those people he stopped to ask along the way..............unfortunately, this idea did not pop into my head until he had already asked 5 people........The pictures scattered throughout the blog are the photographs of the Indian G.P.S in action.......
By the time we had reached Mahabalipuram, he had stopped and asked directions 18 times from 17 different people. The motorcycle driver in the pictures below helped us twice!
I wish I would have asked them their names........they were all very helpful........good sports as I snapped their photographs.......I wonder how many names actually started with G, P or S?
Another observation is that Srinivas never asked a woman for directions....only men.......I am not sure why!
I hope that you found this to be an interesting, insightful,educational and informative story.......and what some of you have experienced, and for those of you planning a trip to India what you might expect if your visit will involve a journey by car.......India is certainly never boring! And you can play your own version of INDIA GPS.
Since I have originated the game, the current record stands at 4 cities, 770 km and 61 stops
On future trips I will be more diligent in my photo documentary and I will get photographs and names from all who help......from the very beginning.
Enjoy playing!
I was recently on a trip in south India where I found myself playing a new car game specifically to be played only in India......during a journey to four cities by road............Bangalore - Yercaud - Mahabalipuram - Chennai.......I have named the game.......INDIA GPS
 |
| I almost missed him....this is when I got the idea |
Day 1 -
My day began at 3:30am when my alarm awakened me in Chennai, India.........the driver had been instructed to meet me at the hotel at 4:30am to transport me to the Chennai airport for a 6:00am flight to Bangalore.
 |
| The Bus Man |
After arriving in Bangalore, I retrieved my luggage and proceeded outside.......drivers dressed in white lined the railing, holding signs with names of other arriving passengers........I scanned the signs, but could not find one with my name....the driver that had been arranged for me was nowhere in sight.......I dialed the number that had been sent to me, and the dialog started with a driver with less than the required command of English that we had requested.......After several phone calls, we finally identified each other and my journey began.
 |
| A "Double" |
My driver, Srinivas, was to accompany me during my entire journey........and after a rather "rough" start, together we battled our way through the morning traffic of Bangalore......it was then that I realized that what was to be a "3 hour journey" would not be possible......I confirmed with him that he was familiar with getting to Yercaud...my first destination......and as usual, I received a very confident "Yes sir. Yes sir"
 |
| The Rickshaw Man |
Needless to say, after 4.5 years living in India.........I am used to things not going as planned and I am also familiar with the practice of drivers stopping to ask for directions, but, even though we stopped several times along the way, nothing was out of the ordinary about the journey, and I did not pay much attention.......and 5 hours after leaving the airport I arrived in Yercaud.
 |
| The Hotel Man |
My meeting was at a lovely hotel named Lake Forest .......a beautiful hill station hotel surrounded by a working coffee and pepper plantation....simply beautiful. More on this location later.....but my meeting went very well.
By 5:00pm, the meeting had concluded and after the customary "goodbye's", I settled into the front seat of the car for what was to be a 6 hour journey by road to a city called Swamimalai.
 |
| The Bus Stop |
Srinivas dutifully took directions from the Lake Forest Hotel Staff, however, within 15 minutes of leaving, Srinivas stopped and asked directions.....after several subsequent stops I noticed a pattern emerging.......every 15 minutes, like clock work he would stop and ask directions......It was then that I began timing his stops and began keeping count...........by the time we reached Swamimalai, Srinivas had stopped to ask directions 43 times.
Yes, FORTY THREE!!!!!!!!!
It was actually comical........what would have been very irritating to some of you became very entertaining for me....what would have caused some of you to lose your patience, had become a game of predicting what would happen next.....the hand gestures and the passion in the language was fascinating to me but may have been aggravating to many........I have been blessed with a sense of humor and with patience.......two qualities that have served me well while living in India.
 |
| The Motorcycle Man - I |
I was also keeping in touch with my staff.........who were concerned about me being on the road at such a late hour........but I was reassuring them that all was "good"......
 |
| Motorcycle Man - II |
We reached Swamimalai at 11:30pm........6.5 hours after leaving Yercaud.
After a welcoming foot massage, and a great meal, I headed to my room for a good nights sleep.......remember my journey had started that morning at 3:30 am and it didn't end until 1:00am.......22 hours.....11 of which were spent with Srinivas in the car.......I was very tired.
Day 2
After sleeping like a rock, I awakened the next morning at 6:00am at my hotel in Swamimalai, had some amazing food and that wonderful South Indian filtered coffee......toured the hotel and by 8:30am......Srinivas and I were off again on our road journey to Mahabilipuram.......after my previous days experience, I knew I was going to keep count on this journey as well.........
 |
| The Scooter Dude and his Wife |
The staff at the hotel gave him directions........"out of the hotels drive, take a right, etc.......needless to say, 10 minutes into the journey, he instinctively felt that something was wrong..........so he stopped and asked directions and realized that he made a wrong turn......we were in the middle of a small village and he had to turn around and make his way back to the main road......
 |
| Rickshaw Man II |
Three more stops for directions and we were on our way.......the fun had began again and in addition to counting I decided that I would begin taking pictures of those people he stopped to ask along the way..............unfortunately, this idea did not pop into my head until he had already asked 5 people........The pictures scattered throughout the blog are the photographs of the Indian G.P.S in action.......
 |
| The Coconut Water Man |
 |
| The Toll Taker Man |
I wish I would have asked them their names........they were all very helpful........good sports as I snapped their photographs.......I wonder how many names actually started with G, P or S?
 |
| The Tailor |
Another observation is that Srinivas never asked a woman for directions....only men.......I am not sure why!
I hope that you found this to be an interesting, insightful,educational and informative story.......and what some of you have experienced, and for those of you planning a trip to India what you might expect if your visit will involve a journey by car.......India is certainly never boring! And you can play your own version of INDIA GPS.
Since I have originated the game, the current record stands at 4 cities, 770 km and 61 stops
On future trips I will be more diligent in my photo documentary and I will get photographs and names from all who help......from the very beginning.
Enjoy playing!
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