Kolkata couple’s 100-day Silk Route drive: Warm Uzbek welcome, mission on diabetes
Times of India | 18 September 2025They knew there would be some surprises en route, but little did they expect the exuberant welcome they received from people in a remote Uzbek village after the latter learnt the duo was from the 'Land of Babur'. The 15th-century ruler was the founder of the Mughal dynasty in India that lasted three centuries.
Prabir Mitra, a physician, and his wife Sanjukta, a teacher, charted out 'must-visit' historic destinations along the route.
They were heading to Qizil Qala, a first-century fortress in Karakalpakstan, Uzbekistan, when they ended up in Kyzyl Kala village, 430 km from their intended destination. The error was due to Wikipedia, where the fort was spelt Kyzyl Kala. Based on the alternative spelling, Google Maps directed them to a mud house in the middle of nowhere.
But the rude shock turned to utter amazement when the villagers' reaction to where they hailed from left them stumped! On learning that they were from India, a village elder embraced them.
"You are from the 'land of Babur!' It is an honour to meet you. No one has ever visited us from Babur's country. You are our guests and must have lunch at my house," he said.
The respect and honour accorded to the couple in a distant land is in contrast to recent attempts being made in India to wipe out the Mughal legacy. Efforts to remove the Mughal period from history have centred on the removal of chapters from school textbooks in India, but erasure of this significant historical period is not possible, given its deep and lasting imprint on the Indian subcontinent's art, architecture, language, and culture.
"The kind of reception we received once they learnt that we are from India was unbelievable. From strangers, we suddenly became people from a land they had immense respect for. We may be stumbling over Babur and the legacy of the Mughal dynasty, but the Uzbeks hero-worship him and identify him as an Indian," said Sanjukta, who was floored by the warmth of the Uzbek villagers.
This encounter stood out among several experiences the duo had in their 27,800 km epic overland journey that began on June 8 and concluded on September 16 on a Toyota Hilux pickup that they fondly christened Chetak after the 16th-century legendary horse that warrior king Maharana Pratap rode in the Battle of Haldighati against the Mughal army in 1576.
Chetak famously saved Maharana Pratap by carrying him to safety despite receiving a fatal wound during the battle.
The trip's mission was to create awareness about diabetes. Along the way, they negotiated inhospitable terrains and unpredictable situations before the car hit a wall at the fag end of the journey in Nepal.
It was not the turmoil in the Himalayan country but a landslide at Kodari, a village 144 km from Kathmandu near the border with Tibet, China, that halted the couple.
Unclear about when the rubble would be cleared for their car to pass through, they left it there and hitched a hike to Kathmandu and then flew to Kolkata via Delhi.
"The landslide blocked the remote mountainous road, and there was no information on when it would be motorable again. It was a difficult decision to leave Chetak behind. We will retrieve it once the road reopens," said Prabir, who, along with Sanjukta, has been working on the trip for five years now.
"The mission behind this expedition from the UK to India via the Silk Route was to raise global awareness about diabetes by engaging with local communities, sharing health information, and promoting lifestyle changes to reduce the risk of diabetes," said Prabir, an alumnus of Calcutta National Medical College and a diabetes specialist for two decades. "Diabetes is a global pandemic in disguise, particularly affecting South Asians who have a genetically higher predisposition to type 2 diabetes," he noted.
Sanjukta, a senior mathematics teacher and mentor at King Edward VII Academy, has been instrumental in shaping the journey's broader goals. "This is about connecting cultures and ideas, but most importantly, it's about sharing knowledge that can save lives," she said. The mission was supported by the Rotary Club of King’s Lynn, the Rotary Club of Calcutta Metro City, and Rotary International.
While the landslide in Nepal proved an insurmountable barrier, the couple faced several other challenging situations, including a 16-hour wait at the Georgia-Russia border crossing.
After entering Russian territory, they planned to spend the night at Vladikavkaz in south-east Russia at the foothills of the Caucasus but were in for a shock.
"The GPS signal suddenly went black in the middle of the night, leaving us clueless about which direction to proceed. We then went back to the pre-GPS era and relied on locals to guide us to the city. A cop also escorted us to a hotel," narrated Prabir, who later realised GPS signals had been blocked due to the ongoing war with Ukraine.
