Metro Plus
Bangalore
Chennai
Hyderabad
MAN AND MACHINE
May the fours be with you!
PRINCE FREDERICK
|
Anjan Cariappa was building on a childhood fantasy when he founded Jeep Thrills, India's first off-roading club
|
4x4=THRILLS Anjan heads a group whose religion is off-roading and their god, the Jeep
Images born out of early experiences might lie hidden in the unlit, secret chambers of the mind. And unnoticed, these mental imprints often exert an influence on us. They can even make us act out roles; unable to see the connection, we believe destiny thrusts these roles on us.
But Anjan Cariappa knows why he is sold on Jeeps and also why he spends a major portion of his leisure nurturing an all-India body of jeepers, called Jeep Thrills. He hails from Coorg and "grew up around jeeps". Sturdy four wheel-drive vehicles chewing mounds of earth are among the early impressions he received. Jeeps were meant to resurface later on in his life.
Four years ago, Anjan picked up a 1942 Willys MB at Pollachi. For a while, he was lifting the Jeep to a level where it could deal with all kinds of terrain. Next, he started a user group on Yahoo where off-roading enthusiasts could exchange notes. But `Jeep Thrills' got real when Anjan met Arkaprava Datta on the Net, while surfing for some information on CJ-3B. Arka's enthusiasm for off-roading encouraged Anjan to build a community of jeepers who revelled in off-road expeditions. Owning a Jeep was not a prerequisite for membership.
On or off road, vehicles have a controlling possession of S. Srivardhan's mind. You can actually believe that the man would agree to be part of any activity if it required him to be behind the wheel for long hours. Moreover, he owned a CJ-3B and wanted to explore its potential.
The early enthusiasm of these three men and the support of great jeepers like Uday Bhan Singh was greatly responsible for the growth of this group. It soon spread its branches across the country and put down aerial roots. Today it is active in Delhi, Bangalore and Kolkata — every chapter organises at least one off-roading adventure and holds regular meetings.
Jeep Thrills celebrated its second anniversary with a two-day event — on March 3, a Jeep was stripped down and its mechanism explained to a group and on March 4, the team went to Ennore in their 4WD machines. To bask in a sense of community once again.
Printer friendly
page
Send this article to Friends by
E-Mail
Metro Plus
Bangalore
Chennai
Hyderabad
|
