The whole area is largely flat, but prone to heavy flooding because of the number of rivers that I pass. It hasn’t rained for over a week, not on me, anyway, and the roads are very dry and dusty. When the monsoon season comes by, all of this can change dramatically. I pass Mansi (mansi is the Indian word for ‘Woman’), a small town to the north side of the Highway that was unfortunately made famous in 1981 with one of the worst rail disasters of its time. The train driver was said to brake hard to avoid a cow on the tracks, and the train plunged into the river, killing 268. Cows are sacred in India, of course.

There are lots of trucks on the road. Large and somewhat over laden in my opinion, but there doesn’t seem to be much notice taken of it. Many of the coaches and trucks are very highly decorated, with incredible patterns and colours and shapes. This must be the equivalent of those well lit trucks in America. Not much power, but loads of spare paint.

I turn onto Highway 81, and as I drive past Manihahi, which sits on the edge of the Ganga river, and about half way along my journey today, I am again reminded that this land is guaranteed to be flooded every year. I debate with myself why these people would choose to live in an area that is so badly effected, EVERY year. There are no defences I can see. No walls lining the river, and this may be purely down to the fact that their money is spent on simpler things.

When I enter Malda (Formerly known by its British-named English Bazaar) it is to the south of the airport. I have to cross the border into Bangladesh, and have a good few hours to do it in, so drive straight through Malda. The city is on the ancient site of the Gaur and Pandua ruins. The British East India Company set up a factory here in 1771.

Masala Chai

Nice warm paratha with onions

It was a little much for me, not used to the spicy start to the day, but as I set out onto Highway 27, I licked my lips and enjoyed the experience.

My journey today takes me initially south east and eventually along the same line as the Ghangra river. This river is rather intermittent and flows freely during the monsoon season [June to September], but reduces to practically nothing in some areas at other parts of the year. By the time I get to Chapra, a city on the edge of a junction of rivers, I meet up again with the Gandak River.

Just a few days ago you may recall I drove over this river in Nepal, which is known as Narayani. The river begins in Tibet and travels through the Himalayas, carving huge gorges in the mountains before heading out onto the more level ground of India. At 630 km (391 m) long, it is not the longest river in this area of the world, but is the lifeblood of millions of Indian farmers and locals, and has been for many thousands of years. It is suggested that it has shifted 80 km to the east due to tectonic movement in the last 5,000 years.

Hopefully, it won’t do any of that today, because I have to get to Begusarai before sunset.

Oddly, today, the Indian supreme court has ordered the go ahead for the long gestated plan to link major rivers in an attempt to control drought. Not many of its neighbours are in agreement, not least Pakistan. It’s a bold plan and will cost a tremendous amount of money and engineering knowhow.