RANGE OF EMOTIONS

Heading to catch the sunrise in a Tata Tigor EV (and, maybe, to enjoy a sandwich)

-  Rivan RS

Road tripping in an EV takes me back to my youth. Mapping out a route that has charging stations makes me nostalgic for the days when my dad used to take us for day trips in our Maruti 800. We’d help him find all the petrol pumps, places to stop and eat and even bathrooms en route, and this used to be done on an actual map, not Google Maps. Before this particular trip, a thought kept coming back to me. ‘Will I be able to travel with the same sort of peace of mind I used to? Or will range-anxiety step in?’

To answer what I think is a rather pressing question, I planned a picnic, which involved leaving home early to catch the sunrise atop a hill, and enjoy one of my Mumbaifamous sandwiches. Now, this isn’t your ordinary toasted sandwich with butter, no sir. I begin by frying up some chicken ham, and then break an egg on top just before the ham reaches its optimal shade of light brown. Liberal shavings of smoked black pepper cheese and a sprinkling of oregano are added, and then on goes a lid, to get the yolk to set properly. I then toast two pieces of bread, add some chopped tomatoes and finally, some hot sauce. Sounds tremendously appetising, right?

Well, I had to wait until I could eat it. Holding the microwavable container just right for the camera, the scent filled my nostrils, causing an almost inappropriate amount of saliva to develop in my mouth. And it wasn’t just me. Rajeev, our intrepid cameraman, and even some elderly gents out for an early morning walk made mention of the aroma. We then headed out in the Tigor EV (with 83 per cent charge) to a lovely lakeside place I was recently introduced to, about 60 km from Mumbai.