Washington Week: Student Voices (O)

UC Berkeley alumni, student ride rickshaw across India
By Kate Sturla
Daily Californian, UC-Berkeley
July 20, 2008

When your rickshaw flips over, there's not much you can do but hold on. There are no windows and no doors on these golf-cart-sized vehicles-nothing to stand between you and the road.

Sonny Sabhlok and Brian Wong, both graduated seniors, and Allen Rodriguez, a senior and former employee of The Daily Californian, found that out the hard way this June, when they drove 2,300 miles across India in an event called the Rickshaw Run.

They set out from Kathmandu, Nepal on June 1, with just two weeks to drive their Cal-logo-covered rickshaw all the way to Pondicherry, India. During their first week on the road, the team was chased by a stick-wielding villager, had their muffler stolen and taught a whole village the Cal cheer.

"There's nothing like yelling 'Go!' with the hesitant Hindi-English return of 'Bears?'" Wong wrote on the team's blog.

By June 9, Team Korma Police had made it to Calcutta more or less unscathed, bug bites excepted. That all changed about 50 kilometers outside the city, when their rickshaw flipped on its right side doing 30 miles an hour and skidded 50 meters along the road.

By the time it came to a halt, Rodriguez and Sabhlok had lost most of the skin on their right sides, and Rodriguez was pinned under the rickshaw.

Sabhlok's injuries were so severe that he had to leave the race, but with four days to go, Rodriguez and Wong decided to press on without him. Losing their only Hindi-speaking teammate was a blow, but the two managed to make it to Chennai, where Sabhlok rejoined them for the final leg. On June 14, the three rolled into Pondicherry one day before the deadline.

Despite the accident, the team says they have no regrets.

"In all, the trip probably took 10 years off my life span, but it added 30 years worth of experience, so I came out on top," Wong said.

Their improbable mode of transport made them instant celebrities in many of the towns they visited, and being exposed to the elements also forced them to interact with people along the way.

"I think we got a lot more out of the race than any other team," Wong said. "We were the youngest, and I think a little more willing to put our necks out there."

Not everything was pleasant. Besides the accident, the team had to contend with sickness, squat toilets and corrupt policemen demanding bribes. Overall, however, the three say they came away impressed by the kindness of many of the people they met, and in awe of the beauty of India and Nepal, especially the holy city of Varanasi.

"You just feel an aura of spirituality hanging around and you can't resist the feeling of some force guiding you to this place," Sabhlok said.

For Sabhlok, it was also a chance to reconnect with Indian family members and brush up on Hindi.

"There are many touts and people trying to hassle you, but there is an even greater amount of people willing to help you out or get to know you," Sabhlok said.

Now that it's over, the three are splitting up to go their separate ways. Sabhlok is moving to Boston, Wong is working in Oakland, and Rodriguez will spend his senior year in Germany.

This isn't the end of Team Korma Police, however. The three say they're already planning their next adventure.

"You'll probably hear about us ... racing submarines through the Great Barrier Reef or snowmobiling the perimeter of Antarctica," Wong said.

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