‘Slept in the car, bathed at petrol bunks’: Meet India’s first ‘van family’, on a 100-day all-India tour

Like other children his age, four-year-old Abijosh might not be able to reel off all the capitals of Indian states.

But he has already done something that his peers might not do in their entire lifetime: visit 28 Indian states and 4 union territories.

Abijosh – along with his parents, Ashok B and Prabha Ashok – embarked on an all-India tour in January, and have already covered the length and breadth of the country. All this, within 100 days, in a new car that covered 15,000-plus kilometres, thus living up to the description they give themself: ‘India’s first van life family.’

“In short, we have done this: eat, travel, sleep, repeat,” laughs Ashok, during their recent pit-stop at Chennai, after which they plan to cover Puducherry, Rameshwaram and Kanyakumari. “Despite all the various challenges, it was life-changing.”

Ashok, a manager at a dyeing unit in Tirupur, has been dreaming of this all-India trip for more than a year, but the logistics was much harder than he thought. “When I shared my intention with my wife, a homemaker, she was game too. Convincing my parents was the toughest, especially because we have a four-year-old travelling with us! Only after we promised that we would call every day and share our location did we get permission from them,” he recalls.

Ashok B, Prabha Ashok and Abijosh, in Chennai, during their all-India tour
| Photo Credit: JOTHI RAMALINGAM B

He first planned to travel in his old Maruti Zen but fearing mechanical complications, invested in a new car (a Maruti Eeco Star) and set aside a sum of two lakhs for the trip. In the first week of January, the three embarked on the trip in the car that contains all essentials, including a bed, fan, light and torches, and a tent, in case the location they’re in offers space. Armed with a 15-litre water can and and a stove and cylinder for cooking, the family not only experienced the various cultures that the states had to offer, but also lead an ordinary life, including sleeping in the car, bathing at petrol bunks and eating at roadside dhabas.

Along the way, they chronicled every major aspect of their trip on their GoPro, to ensure that their 20k+ YouTube channel subscribers (Prabhas View) get to experience their journey as well. “There were difficulties,” admits Prabha, who balanced camerawork and taking care of the child while Ashok drove, “But it is all about adapting to different environments.” Her favourite experiences include spending time in the Thar Desert, where the family slept under the stars, and in Kashmir, where they saw snow for the first time.

Apart from experiencing the cultures of different Indian states, this family’s trip also has a purpose: to promote and save agriculture. “We want to raise awareness about the importance of agriculture in our society.”

The family started from Tamil Nadu, headed to Kerala and Karnataka before going north. In a frenzy to get from one state to another, from did they miss the routine? “Here too, there was a routine,” he stresses, “We needed to go about our everyday business, without the convenience and luxuries that a home offers us.” In cold regions, the family would opt for a late start, due to poor lighting outside, but in other places, they would have finished 200 kilometres before 10am. While their morning breakfast was usually at a hotel or dhaba, they took an hour’s break in the afternoons to cook, for both lunch and dinner. “In these few months, we have bathed in petrol bunk rest rooms, small streams and even a farm pump-set! If you embark on one trip like this, you will learn to adapt and not always demand luxuries, like fan and air-conditioning.”

He is not just talking about himself and his wife, but also his four-year-old, whom they soon plan to home-school. “In this 100-day trip, he has already observed and learnt so much. Why go to school when there’s the world to learn from?”