Book Review

“Just like there is an India before and after Maruti and the mobile phone, there is an India before and after the Golden Quadrilateral,” observes veteran motoring journalist Bob Rupani in his book The Golden Quadrilateral.

This is a story of what is truly India’s first modern highway network, a network that links four metro cities – Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai and Kolkata, connecting the major industrial and agricultural centres of the country. The GQ, then, is as ground-breaking as the man who envisioned it - Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee.

The book rightfully takes its readers through the inception of the GQ and the realities of its present condition. It opens with an engaging history of the people and policies that kicked off the project which, as we know, has profoundly transformed the landscape of the Indian highways as we see it. In a very obvious nod to the cultural diversity of North India, Bob sets the tone for his book by going into the finer details of his first leg of the GQ i.e. Delhi to Kolkata. He points out early on how this leg passes through the extremely fertile Indo-Gangetic plain that is one of the most populated places on earth. In the next several chapters, Bob goes on to recount the historic wonders, hidden attractions and the gobsmacking delicacies on the way, besides assessing the road conditions and the chaotic traffic. As he points out, the condition of the GQ is very good but driving discipline is non-existent and one shouldn’t be surprised to see people moving around with guns. Scary, that.

Guns and bad traffic aside, the rest of the route is relatively less sensitive and a lot more picturesque especially the stretch from Kolkata to Bhubaneshwar. Along the way Bob takes a few turn-offs and delves into subjects that make for a fascinating read: Baliyatra Utsav in Cuttack, for instance, or Uttarayan kite festival in Gujarat. Among several highlights of this book are the beautifully shot images which perfectly depict the historic and cultural importance as well as the current state of affairs of the major cities on the GQ.

The book also features a neat little excerpt by industry veteran Gautam Sen on the early stages of road building and the first set of ‘made in India’ cars, “Those who could afford to buy a new automobile had to wait for years before they got their turn at getting their allotted vehicle as production itself was restricted by the government.” He also draws analogies between American carmakers and Indian business houses to fuel the growth of the automobile industry in India. All in all, The Golden Quadrilateral is a fascinating book, one that’s packed with great visuals and some facts about all those hidden gems that are to be discovered as you go along this giant piece of modern road network.

The Golden Quadrilateral – India’s First Modern Highway Network

By Bob Rupani

Price: Rs 1,950

Available on Amazon and Flipkart

Pictures by Kapil Angane