NEW DELHI – Since Tuesday I have been on a series of airplanes, taxis, metros, commuter trains and have walked through garbage heaps and dark unknown alleys in parts of the world I never dreamed existed. On the final leg of the trip Thursday morning I took a strange, motorized rickshaw from Noida City Center to the Buddh International Circuit outside New Delhi.
Entering the $400 million circuit, I found myself back in familiar territory in what really looked like home, with all my family present. By family, I mean the journalists, Formula One drivers and other team members that I see every two weeks during the Formula One season. But this sudden entry aboard the three-wheeled contraption was one of the strangest parts of the whole journey.
To say that India is a study in contrasts is a cliché. But going from the downtown New Delhi, with its squalor in some parts and ramshackle beauty in others, via the chaotic roads and crammed public transportation system into this massive, technological marvel of the the Buddh circuit felt truly like entering a different country.
Why did I take these strange methods and so much time to get to my destination? A motorized rickshaw was not the only method of transportation available. There are shuttles for the media from downtown Delhi, as well as, starting Friday, buses for the public. But I was so busy traveling I did not find out about the media shuttles in time to catch one of the two that leaves the city every morning. Still, I wanted to see the country for what it is, get closer to the locals and avoid the jet-setting people that usually follow the races.
In the press conference Thursday, the drivers were asked about their impressions of India and the circuit. With the exception of Narain Karthikeyan, the first Indian Formula One driver, they all spoke only about the circuit. They had no real impressions of India because they had flown in Wednesday night and been taken directly to the circuit. They had seen nothing of the real India.
To his credit, Michael Schumacher spoke about how impatient he was to see the country and learn about it. “I have not had a chance to see the country,” said Schumacher. “I look forward to the main fact of the track, but more important is how we get received by the people in the country.”
So do I.