Dear all - first of all, I would like to thank all the Jeep Thrills members for the absolutely wonderful, informative and result oriented time I had in Chikballapur, Bangalore yesterday. I will give a small writeup. We (means I and one of my Thar project engineers), took a morning flight out of Mumbai and reached a hotel on the outskirts of Bangalore. Vinay was waiting for us. We travelled a couple of kilometers on the highway and then left the road. We caught up with the convoy which was making its way through wonderful terrain. Arka and I recognized each other and we finally met. Arka was like a very caring but a no-nonsense headmaster, carefully guiding each vehicle through the terrain very nicely. I particularly loved his comment "cool off, go back, relax and then try". This put many participants at ease and they found the correct way to tackle obstacles without damaging their vehicles. Thanks Arka, that's the right thing to do. Then we started walking amongst the convoy. Our M&M team led by my colleague Naresh Bhosle was doing a fine jod of helping the participants. Naresh, Karle, Sawant and others were thoroughly enjoying their job, which is essential for success. I met UBS Sir, which was pure nirvana for me. He was just standing quietly, a picture of simplicity, integrity and class. A softly spoken word, a comment on off road driving there was a delight to hear. I met DKG, Vivek, Vinod Nookala, Jaggu, Shahnawaz Khan, Dwarak, Swastikviji and many other Team BHPians (sorry I cannot remember all names). Guys, we all have the same spark in us, therefore it was so wonderful to interact with you all. We had a quick lunch on a huge rock and then we continued further. I eventually got behind the wheel of an MM540 with Vinod (it had to happen) and I thoroughly enjoyed driving it "Great Escape" ishtyle. We got a little lost for sometime but quickly found our way back, thanks to the very efficient and helpful team of Jeep Thrills marshals, recognizable in their bright green tee shirts. The convoy had stopped slightly before the night halt point (where the Thar was located) due to a very deep ditch which had to be negotiated. There was this very down to earth CJ340 standing at the head of the convoy and I was requested to take it across. Well, what more could I ask for? A quick flick into low range, a small backup to detemine the exact startup point, a good startup in second, up into third and that was that. No sliding, no slipping, no fuss, no nothing. I just went across and parked on the other side. Then the convoy came with some guys asking "you went through "that"? Yes, because all of us know that nothing stops a CJ340 off road, nothing. Then we took this vehicle down the lakeside upto the regrouping point. At one point, I was tilting to one side, very close to the water. I remembered the paragraph written in the brown coloured original CJ3B manual on side tilt with the possibility of tipping over and immediately corrected the stance, headed up a hill and immediately down the other side. I salute whoever wrote that manual, maybe before I was born. I used it once more yesterday. As we expected, the CJ340 revelled in its element and we enjoyed every moment of it. I will leave it to Vinod to post his detailed comments about this drive. We reached the regrouping point where everybody wanted to know everything about the Thar. The Thar - it was kept covered inside a well laid out shamiana. I cannot explain the feeling of happiness that I got when we finally opened the shamiana for all to see and feel it. Thanks Jeep Thrills guys for making this moment in my life possible. I will remember and cherish this moment forever. I hope someone would have taken a photograph. Please post it. I shall keep it forever. We had very good and informative discussions around the vehicle and then it was time for me to leave for the airport.
A very genial gentleman dropped me upto the departure gate in his bright red CL340 classic. His car was complete with the black original soft top and wire wheels. His question to me was "Behram, this thing does not go fast on the highway. There is this company in the US selling overdrives, what do I do?". Well, I just smiled and told him, you guessed right - "Sirji, just buy the Thar.". 120+ kms/hr cruiseability on road, handling to shame many passenger cars and loads of torque for sensible use off road, built on a customizable platform. What more do you want? Also, never ever sell your CL340" His smile said it all. Thank you Sir!
The flight left Bangalore airport on time but hovered over Mumbai for an hour before finally landing (some things never change). A WONDERFUL EXPERIENCE. THANK YOU JEEP THRILLS. THANK YOU ALL.
Best regards,
Behram Dhabhar MAHINDRA THAR - GO ANYWHERE! |