Even as off-roading gathers speed as a recreational sport among the well-(w)heeled in the city, techies too are jumping on the bandwagon, often shifting their 4x4s into top gear and cruising off to uncharted terrains nearby. Take the popularity of a recent rally that was held at Thumba, for example. Several off-roading enthusiasts from nearby Technopark either participated in the event or observed the proceedings that saw vehicles blazing a trail through a set of challenges on the beach.
Or look further back at the first-ever Mahindra Great Escape off-road rally in the city a couple of years ago, for which quite a number of techies revved up their vehicles for a drive off the beaten track in Ponmudi.
“Many techies are into off-roading nowadays, especially those who love four-wheel drives. Lately, we’ve observed several vehicles in Technopark that proudly display stickers of off-road challenges that the owners were part of. Only real off-roading enthusiasts do that. Enthusiasts such as myself usually start off as amateurs or co-drivers and progress to buying vehicles suitable for off-roading. We do extreme modifications to the vehicles and end up in heavy drives. It’s an expensive hobby but it's a thrilling one nonetheless.” explains Sandeep Govind, who works as a team lead at Aptara Learning in Technopark. He usually does off-roading with his mates from Team 4X4 Extreme, Trivandrum, one of the earliest off-roading clubs in the city.
“Off-roading is in our blood and it’s the same passion that united us all. We often conduct events and one or two-day off-road trips, camping overnight in tents in the middle of nowhere. Sometimes our families accompany us too,” adds Sandeep.
The thrill of off-roading, say the enthusiasts, lies in the unknown. “The journey is what matters, not the destination,” says techie Girish Nair, who along with seven other adventure enthusiasts, went on a road trip to Ladakh last year.
His colleague and travel buddy Ajithkumar B.C. says: “Why off-road? For the sense of adventure, that’s what. Off-roading is a bit like chess. The challenge is in every move; each move is a risk that you willingly negotiate. You have to be in total control of the vehicle so much so that it becomes an extension of yourself. You know your terrain and be prepared for any eventuality, particularly if you are going for more advanced stuff such as river runs and rock crawling.” Ajith is one of the keener off-roaders in Technopark who enjoys taking his customized Pajero off the beaten track. “Off-roading is way better than speeding and actually not as risky,” he opines.
Thiruvananthapuram’s terrain, particularly the forests of the Ponmudi hills, is ideal for off-roading, say enthusiasts. “While Thiruvananthapuram cannot boast of expansive trails such as those in Kuttikanam and Vagamon – oft considered the mecca for off-roading in Kerala, there are some equally good trails just a couple of hours away from the city. Some of the best trails are to be found inside private estates in Ponmudi. It is easy enough to get permission to drive across them. On the flipside though, these days the Department of Forests doesn’t permit off-roading inside forested areas in Bonacaud,” say Ajith and Rahul R., another off-roader. “Also, the less-populated beaches near Technopark such as that at Menamkulam are increasingly becoming popular for off-roading,” adds Rahul. The Kulathupuzha-Aryankavu forest range, a bit of no-man’s land on the Kerala-Tamil Nadu border in the Ponmudi hill ranges are other popular sites.
Ladakh ho!
That Technopark is full of adventure seekers is a given. Like a bunch of seven travel enthusiasts, five of them who work at a Bangalore-headquartered MNC in Technopark, who ganged up for a 23-day road trip to Ladakh in August last year. The group, comprising Ajithkumar B.C., Ajay J, Girish Nair, Govind, Roy George, Gary and Vinod Narayanan, called the trip El Norte and travelled from Chandigarh to Leh via Srinagar, Khardung-la, Nubra valley, Pangong lake, Pang, Thanglang-la, Sarchu, Keylong, Rohthang pass, Manali, and Wagah border, braving landslides, extremes of weather, car trouble and rugged terrain. “It was the trip of a lifetime, surreal even” says Ajithkumar, who had earlier ridden the route on his bike. For most of the others, it was their first big road trip. “The idea for the trip was put forth by Ajay. The rest of us all quickly jumped on board. We travelled on two cars –Ajay’s Bolero and Girish’s Ritz, after meeting up in Chandigarh. The journey was non-stop awesomeness. You just felt that you were in commune with nature all the time,” says Vinod.
