Package Deal
Rohit Nalawade
What are you doing this Sunday?” asked Dippy when I answered his call late one night, just as I was about to drift into blissful slumber. Groggy and frustrated, I was prepared to tell my fellow motor noter to buzz off, when he quickly added, “I’m taking my Thar to the White Water Escape at Kolad this weekend. Want to join?” Let me sleep bugger, is what I should’ve said. “What time are we leaving?” is what I ended up replying before the Snorlax in me took over. I ended up being on the road at 4:45am that Sunday without skipping a beat because A, it’s always nice to catch up with a friend when your work-life balance is non-existent. And B, it’s always a joy to hook up with a Thar.
I have the best job in the world. One that gives me access to a variety of cars and takes me to the finest locales. The Himalayas? Check. North-East? Got a sampler but can’t wait to explore more. Fast cars in glitzy, shiny Dubai? Unreal. Utopian. Amazing. And yet, some of the stories I’ve done with the Thar sit right up there with the above. I’ve loved the iconic styling, the power it exudes which has earned it a fandom from villages to metros, and its off-road capabilities are astonishing. Few other cars have pulled at my heart strings so hard that I’ve wanted to buy one. Dippy felt the same way before he finally bit the bullet and put his money down on a Thar, and he let me tag along to meet owners who felt the same way at the White Water Escape.
There’s no luxury like the luxury of time, and the Weekend Escapes like the one we drove to, allow owners of Mahindra SUVs to make a quick getaway from their routines and enjoy their vehicles before returning to the weekday grind. The fundamentals are the same as the full-fledged expeditions, and the turnout at Kolad clearly showed the format’s popularity – so much so that marshals had to ensure the convoy of Mahindras didn’t grind local traffic movement to a halt. On the trails however, they reverted to guide the participants with varying levels of off-road chops, safely across obstacles in their SUVs. “Mahindra Adventure allows you to safely go off-roading with your Thar, and I had loads of fun,” said Rufina Gupte, after blitzing through a fast-paced trail with her Thar that she brought home in 2021. Thar Yatrika, as Rufina is popularly known on social media, took part in a Mahindra Adventure event for the first time at Kolad, having heard about it on Instagram. Juber Saiyed, another of Dippy’s off-roading buds, drove down from Alibaug for the event, saying, “I’ve done plenty of off-roading solo and with groups in the past, but doing it with Mahindra Adventure for the first time was definitely a lot more fun.”
While the rains, or rather the lack of them, kiboshed the optional river rafting excursion that seemed promising, there was a singer present with his guitar who helped the participants groove to some old-school tunes as they took a break following a spot of lunch. Not that the Adventure lads would have us lulled into tranquillity as the day wore on. The following trails further pushed a participant’s driving skills, and if you didn’t get it right, the result would make itself heard either as a scraping noise from the underbody, or worse, a bumper being ripped off from your vehicle. But for the most part, none of that happened. The Thar possesses a black belt in the art of off-roading, and what makes it even sweeter to consider is the community of enthusiasts that you’re buying into, further bolstered by Mahindra Adventure’s extensive calendar. Looking back at an action-packed Sunday on the drive back to Mumbai, Dippy sums up the car and the community in very few words. “It spoils you for anything else, doesn’t it?” he says, and I’m inclined to agree. The Thar has always been a heart-over-head buy in my book, and the weekend at Kolad has only made my pining for the Mahindra stronger.
