During a recent weekend, Arkaprava Datta buzzed me about an offroading expedition. I asked him about the location, fully expecting to hear Maduranthagam, the Palar riverbed in Chengalpet, or some other place far distant from my hearth.
“It’s happening in your neck of the woods — in Semmanchery,” he announced.
I don’t exactly live in Semmanchery, but in neighbouring Sholinganallur, which is just a five-minute drive away.
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There was another surprise. The offroading would take place at The Farm, a restaurant set in an expansive land. When I arrived at the venue, I was greeted by the trappings of a product promotion exercise.
Organised by VST Titanium Motors, the event sought to showcase the offroading capabilities of SUVs from the Mercedes-Benz stable to potential customers. Arka (as he is known among offroading enthusiasts) and fellow members of Chennai-based group Terra Tigers-Jeep Thrills, had prepared the land for the event, creating articulation pits, tank bunds, ADR ramps and slush drives. They were enablers: they gave an offroading experience with Mercedes-Benz SUVs to those who had signed up for it.
Arka informs me he has turned a fulltime offroading expert, with two fulltime mechanics to support him and two workstations — one in Kilpauk and another in Kundrathur — to take care of 4x4 vehicles owned by the other members of Terra Tigers, who are from various walks of life and remain volunteers.
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“In 2015, Terra Tigers spent 42 weekends on offroading expeditions. Thirty of those weekends involved such events,” says Arka.
This development surprises me, for even as recently as six years ago, offroading in Chennai was largely associated with small, insular groups of enthusiasts, who fuelled up and went to areas far removed from urban spaces to batter their carefully-prepared 4x4s, and there would be little involvement of automobile companies in these weekend expeditions.
Given this, for the larger world, there was something mysterious, even arcane, about the activity. Not any more.
“In the last three years, automobile majors together have launched a dozen SUVs, and their dealers organise offroading events locally. Unlike in the past, when they would have a mega drive organised in a centralised area, to which prospective customers would be invited, automobile companies are now looking for local solutions. They turn to regional groups for expertise to conduct such events,” explains Arka.
Vijaykumar (popularly known as ‘Sawstik Viji’) of BODA, an offroading group in Bangalore, says, “In recent times, we have offered our expertise to events organised by Toyota and Mitsubishi.”
Similarly, Sandeep Anand of Pune Pathfinders talks about how this Pune-based offroading club has been sought for similar events. “Offroad Junkie in Mumbai, North India Offroad Club in NCR and R&T Auto Catalyst in Kerala are said to have, at various points of time, helped automobile companies demonstrate the offroading capabilities of their SUVs,” says Arka.
Though these clubs work, off and on, with automobile companies, they remain hobby groups.
“Terra Tigers is composed of around 20 volunteers who enjoy offroading and are adept at it. The marshals and spotters and those who prepare the track are all volunteers. They bring their vehicles, which are equipped with winches. When an SUV is stuck, members’ 4x4s are pressed into efforts to pull out the vehicle. We bring a minimum of seven 4x4 vehicles to an event. Sometimes, when the event has huge participation, we bring as many as 19 vehicles,” explains Arka.
What do these volunteers of Terra Tigers get in return?
Says Arka, “Around 30 per cent of the expenses they incur in maintaining or upgrading their SUVs are borne by the group. The fact that we have two workstations helps us offer this support. And then, the experience of offroading in a new vehicle and a new environment is a big reward for these enthusiasts. These commercial events help grow the hobby.”