It was three years back when I set my eyes on a Jeep. I dreamt about it all that time[S1] . And 15th April 2007 was when that dream was realized[S2] . I finally got what I longed for. She is an Army Green Mahindra (MM) 540DP soft top. And I like to call her Loosie. Loosie to me is like what the Bat Mobile is to Batman. The power, the functionality and the looks- all of it are more that I can express in words. She gives me an adrenalin rush like nothing I can imagine.
It was in the middle of June when I was invited to be part of a Jeep Club called Jeep Thrills. I was asked to leave my Jeep behind to go on one of their drives. The reason sited by the club was, “your jeep is not a 4 Wheel Drive” you will get to know what it means and why it matters later.
24th June 2007, 4:30 am. I was out heading towards Anand’s house, the guy who introduced me to the club. The agenda for the day was ‘off Roading’ - It’s when vehicles like a Jeep go off the road on terrain that most people wouldn’t even imagine driving on.
Destination: Ramnagar
It was about 9.00am when we got there, yes yes! You are right. It’s the same place where Gabbar Singh from Sholay dictated terms over 30 years ago. This time it was us, The Jeepers. Every rock, boulder, grassland and marshy slope had to bend over to the powerful engines of our Jeeps. To leave our impression behind, we had four MM Jeeps, MM Boleros, two Willys, one Range Rover, and two Gypsys. We were all set to go. Our hands were itching to get on to the steering wheel and our feet were restless.
Our playing field was ready. There was open shrub filled space with spots of grass as far as the eyes could see. And in-between were rocks and boulders from 10 to about 50 feet in height and width. There were a number of them that filled the landscape, it almost seemed like they were inviting us to come and climb them. The blue sky and the slight drizzle from the previous night gave us next to perfect conditions. The combination of dry and wet gave us an opportunity to climb and slip. This was putting our driving skills to the test.
The first climb for the day happened to be the first climb in my life. I was excited yet nervous. I was driving in an ’88 model Willys petrol engine. We approached a 35 feet high boulder with caution. Not knowing if we would cross the boulder was a thrill I so cherish. We felt a small jerk, which indicated we were on our way. There was no looking back. We were pretty much looking heavenward. Am not sure if it was only because of the position the Jeep was in or if it was a part of me forcing me to look in that direction and pray that we make it to the top. I guess the prayers were answered. With almost zero effort after a continuous hum from the engine of our Willys we climbed the 35 feet boulder and our first obstacle for the day was conquered. I felt like David when he sle
w Goliath. I suddenly felt like the most powerful person on earth. And like any other powerful person, I needed more of it and that’s exactly what I got for the rest of the day.
I’ve seen it on TV, when people come together from different backgrounds, races, cultures for one good cause. We had Management Consultants, Business men, Techies. The list goes on. All of them share just one common thing and that was the thrill of driving their Jeeps off-road. There were a number of instances when all of us came together to rescue a fellow Jeeper. That’s what we like to call ourselves.
There were a couple of incidents I will never forget. For the ones who know engines, picture this. A 3400CC 120bhp V6 petrol engine Range Rover being towed by a 2400CC 70bhp petrol engine World War II Willys Jeep. Undeliverable right. Well believe it! For the ones who do not understand engines picture this, a Maruti 800 towing a Shaktiman Army truck. Well that’s the way it was. Pretty amusing but true.
The final one was when a MM540 2 wheel drive spun itself into a difficult position when trying to get up 60 degree grassland that had rocks about 12 to 13 feet in height on either sides. As difficult as it looked the Jeepers came together to overcome the terrain. We tried everything. There were two of us on our knees trying to shove rocks under the wheels, two on either side of the jeep trying to hang on to help increase traction, there were 4 on either side of the jeep trying to push the jeep out. But with all the effort the workhorse had to give in to the terrain. You could sense the disappointment, however it did not last for long, in a few moments the good old Willys was back in action. The steel cable was out and both jeeps were hooked up to each other. With one fast motion the MM540 was rescued. And all of us moved on to greater challenges learning from the last one. At the end of it, all of us came out richer in experience and wisdom.
The next challenge we set our eyes on happened to be the last one for the day. It was a 80 degree climb up a 50 feet boulder. The element of doubt on whether we were going to make it or not was too strong. What do you think we did? Well you are right, we cleared all doubts. On this occasion it was the sporty red Mahindra Classic that took the lead. Once the beast shifted to 4X4 she just cut the boulder down to size. To leave an impression the Classic decided to climb the boulder now turned to look like a small rock in reverse gear and that seemed to be the icing on the cake. After all that the Classic did, the Range Rover, the Willy’s and the rest of us just
decided to join the fun and so we all did it to close the day on a high.
The experience of breathing the fumes, the dirt, the mud, the adventure of not knowing if you are going to make it or not was something I will remember for the rest of my life. Even more memorable is the though of knowing that if there was anything that did go wrong we always had our fellow Jeepers to come to the rescue.
As we were driving back I could not help but ponder on what the day meant for me. I realized that I am not alone. There are still a few old fashioned guys who have more than enough passion to make up for numbers, passion for simplicity and functionality. Guys who know what they want and enjoying getting every bit of it. Yes the passion that we share is wrapped in one simple word ‘Jeep’ and we’d like to call ourselves the Jeepers. This bunch of Jeepers would do almost anything for a Jeep thrill. For those of you who do not understand this passion, don’t lose sleep, ‘It’s a Jeep thing – you wouldn’t understand.’….anyway.
It was in the middle of June when I was invited to be part of a Jeep Club called Jeep Thrills. I was asked to leave my Jeep behind to go on one of their drives. The reason sited by the club was, “your jeep is not a 4 Wheel Drive” you will get to know what it means and why it matters later.
24th June 2007, 4:30 am. I was out heading towards Anand’s house, the guy who introduced me to the club. The agenda for the day was ‘off Roading’ - It’s when vehicles like a Jeep go off the road on terrain that most people wouldn’t even imagine driving on.
Destination: Ramnagar
It was about 9.00am when we got there, yes yes! You are right. It’s the same place where Gabbar Singh from Sholay dictated terms over 30 years ago. This time it was us, The Jeepers. Every rock, boulder, grassland and marshy slope had to bend over to the powerful engines of our Jeeps. To leave our impression behind, we had four MM Jeeps, MM Boleros, two Willys, one Range Rover, and two Gypsys. We were all set to go. Our hands were itching to get on to the steering wheel and our feet were restless.
Our playing field was ready. There was open shrub filled space with spots of grass as far as the eyes could see. And in-between were rocks and boulders from 10 to about 50 feet in height and width. There were a number of them that filled the landscape, it almost seemed like they were inviting us to come and climb them. The blue sky and the slight drizzle from the previous night gave us next to perfect conditions. The combination of dry and wet gave us an opportunity to climb and slip. This was putting our driving skills to the test.
The first climb for the day happened to be the first climb in my life. I was excited yet nervous. I was driving in an ’88 model Willys petrol engine. We approached a 35 feet high boulder with caution. Not knowing if we would cross the boulder was a thrill I so cherish. We felt a small jerk, which indicated we were on our way. There was no looking back. We were pretty much looking heavenward. Am not sure if it was only because of the position the Jeep was in or if it was a part of me forcing me to look in that direction and pray that we make it to the top. I guess the prayers were answered. With almost zero effort after a continuous hum from the engine of our Willys we climbed the 35 feet boulder and our first obstacle for the day was conquered. I felt like David when he sle
w Goliath. I suddenly felt like the most powerful person on earth. And like any other powerful person, I needed more of it and that’s exactly what I got for the rest of the day.I’ve seen it on TV, when people come together from different backgrounds, races, cultures for one good cause. We had Management Consultants, Business men, Techies. The list goes on. All of them share just one common thing and that was the thrill of driving their Jeeps off-road. There were a number of instances when all of us came together to rescue a fellow Jeeper. That’s what we like to call ourselves.
There were a couple of incidents I will never forget. For the ones who know engines, picture this. A 3400CC 120bhp V6 petrol engine Range Rover being towed by a 2400CC 70bhp petrol engine World War II Willys Jeep. Undeliverable right. Well believe it! For the ones who do not understand engines picture this, a Maruti 800 towing a Shaktiman Army truck. Well that’s the way it was. Pretty amusing but true.
The final one was when a MM540 2 wheel drive spun itself into a difficult position when trying to get up 60 degree grassland that had rocks about 12 to 13 feet in height on either sides. As difficult as it looked the Jeepers came together to overcome the terrain. We tried everything. There were two of us on our knees trying to shove rocks under the wheels, two on either side of the jeep trying to hang on to help increase traction, there were 4 on either side of the jeep trying to push the jeep out. But with all the effort the workhorse had to give in to the terrain. You could sense the disappointment, however it did not last for long, in a few moments the good old Willys was back in action. The steel cable was out and both jeeps were hooked up to each other. With one fast motion the MM540 was rescued. And all of us moved on to greater challenges learning from the last one. At the end of it, all of us came out richer in experience and wisdom.
The next challenge we set our eyes on happened to be the last one for the day. It was a 80 degree climb up a 50 feet boulder. The element of doubt on whether we were going to make it or not was too strong. What do you think we did? Well you are right, we cleared all doubts. On this occasion it was the sporty red Mahindra Classic that took the lead. Once the beast shifted to 4X4 she just cut the boulder down to size. To leave an impression the Classic decided to climb the boulder now turned to look like a small rock in reverse gear and that seemed to be the icing on the cake. After all that the Classic did, the Range Rover, the Willy’s and the rest of us just
decided to join the fun and so we all did it to close the day on a high.The experience of breathing the fumes, the dirt, the mud, the adventure of not knowing if you are going to make it or not was something I will remember for the rest of my life. Even more memorable is the though of knowing that if there was anything that did go wrong we always had our fellow Jeepers to come to the rescue.
As we were driving back I could not help but ponder on what the day meant for me. I realized that I am not alone. There are still a few old fashioned guys who have more than enough passion to make up for numbers, passion for simplicity and functionality. Guys who know what they want and enjoying getting every bit of it. Yes the passion that we share is wrapped in one simple word ‘Jeep’ and we’d like to call ourselves the Jeepers. This bunch of Jeepers would do almost anything for a Jeep thrill. For those of you who do not understand this passion, don’t lose sleep, ‘It’s a Jeep thing – you wouldn’t understand.’….anyway.
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