| Photo Credit: Mahindra Adventure
At the Madras Offroad Academy in Pudupakkam, a winch rope pulls out a vehicle stuck in mud, while Dr Rinku George, the instructor gives instructions over a walkie talkie. It’s a sweltering Sunday afternoon, but off-roading enthusiasts are out braving the rising mercury. A group of novices and advanced off-roaders manoeuvre their 4x4s across the 25-acre property, which belongs to Rinku and has been painstakingly created as an obstacle course for off-roaders. It also has three small artificial water bodies used by intermediate and advanced drivers.
“There are 23 obstacles here. These include small and large table top, double hump, positive incline, steep ascent, steep descent...,” says Rinku who started the Madras Offroad Academy last year.
At Madras Offroad Academy | Photo Credit: Thamodharan B
A maxillofacial surgeon and professor at a dental college, Rinku started off-roading more than a decade ago. “We used to drive on the roads and beaches. There was no structured way to teach us theory. It was all practicals. We learnt on our own and made some very costly mistakes. My vehicle was damaged. I felt that if someone had taught me correctly, this would not have happened,” says Rinku, adding that this pushed him to organise classes for newcomers.
Starting with around six students, his batches have now grown to include 20 students each. Rinku holds classes once a month and also ropes in other experts to co-host. These usually begin with a two-hour theory session at 8am, followed by practicals on the driving course. The course ends by 1.30 pm with a multiple choice questionnaire. “It is a certified programme. We are perhaps the only ones in India to give written tests at the end of a session to see how much the students have learnt and if I have been effective as a teacher,” smiles Rinku who is currently writing a book on off-roading.
A theory class in progress at Madras Offroad Academy | Photo Credit: Thamodharan B
The courses also cover topics such as how to pull other vehicles, how to winch properly, how the engine works, difference between suspensions, if you roll over how to get the vehicle back up, what upgrades and modifications can be done to a vehicle...
There is a four-month gap between basic and intermediate classes. “After basic classes, I take students on trail drives and through forests, beaches, river beds and other off-road terrain. Ninety percent of the students stay and want to move to the next level, the other 10% leave,” he says.
A training session with Terra Tigers | Photo Credit: Terra Tigers
His students — men and women — are in the age group of 18 to 65. Those who don’t have their own vehicles can start by driving one of the school’s vehicles. He says that there have been cases where people who went off-roading, found it difficult and then joined classes. “Even those with experience on the tarmac will struggle when it comes to off-roading. It is a different concept and philosophy.”
From being used for relief work to recreation and driving holidays, off-roading is being recognised as a future skill; it is very relevant, says Arkaprava Dutta of Terra Tigers, one of the first groups to provide recreational off-roading in Chennai since 2006. “There is a huge interest in off-roading. Learning has increased by 60%. People who are interested in off-roading with us also enquire if we are training,” says Arkaprava, who has also been training groups for driving expeditions to the mountains since 2014.
| Photo Credit: Terra Tigers
One of his students, Chittra Koman, recently completed an expedition to the North East. In February this year, Chittra and her group of friends set off on a road trip from Chennai to Tawang in Arunachal Pradesh and then drove back. But preparations for this expedition started six months earlier.
Chittra enrolled for offroading courses and trained with Madras Offroad Academy, Terra Tigers and Mahindra Adventure. While the drive to the North East was not as hardcore as an off-roading adventure, the classes helped, she says. “A decent amount of training proves useful in understanding the capabilities of your vehicle, getting a fair idea of the techniques to manoeuvre through different terrain, being able to use a 4X4 vehicle effectively, navigating obstacles, recovery techniques and so forth. Moreover, off-roading training makes the drives enjoyable as opposed to sitting on pins,” says Chittra.
| Photo Credit: Mahindra Adventure
All seasoned off-roaders will tell you preparation is key. A typical off-roading drive, Chittra says, requires a good number of sessions on different terrain. Some automobile companies and independent players offer day long practice on their proving tracks too. This is easier as getting variations on one single location is difficult. “These experiences equip one with necessary techniques, skills, and confidence,” says Chittra.
| Photo Credit: Terra Tigers
Apart from hobbyists, a lot of volunteers and rescue workers also have learnt this skill over the years, says Arkaprava. During the Chennai flash floods in November 2021, Terra Tigers were part of the rescue efforts. “A 45-day-old child was stuck in his house at the end of a closed street (near SAF Games Village) and we had to get him out in our vehicle. In a built up area when you are pushing water it’ll hit the wall and come back. It’s called a bow wave. So when the wave comes under the vehicle, it’ll slightly lift the vehicle. You have to understand the terrain, the limitation of the vehicle and what it can do. The child was successfully rescued but people who are not trained will end up getting stuck in such situations and also damage their cars,” says Arkaprava. His off-roading team also helped carry heavy loads to the beach during the Kite Festival in Mamallapuram 2023, a terrain not easily manoeuvred by all drivers. For rescue duties and other such efforts, the team usually deploys three to five vehicles, so they can help out in case one of the rescue cars gets stuck.
| Photo Credit: Terra Tigers
The Terra Tigers team essentially believes in a driver-spotter combination. The spotter stands outside the car from where he can see the wheels and where they are being placed to prevent the vehicle from getting damaged. Our training is largely focussed to function as a team, says Arkaprava. Training activities happen at the Palar river bed and at The Farm (OMR) every two months. “The Farm has one of the largest off-road tracks in the country. It’s spread over 20 acres and has 20 obstacles like positive side incline, negative side incline, double mound, water fording obstacle, steep decline...
At Mahindra Adventure, they take terrainand the weather very seriously. Which is why, in addition to the all-year-round offroading courses, they also organise two season specific ones — Snow Survivor and Sand Survivor. The former takes place in Leh between January to March, when the bone chilling temperature is mostly below 0 degrees Celsius, on trails specially curated by experts. The latter takes place between November and January, in the golden dunes of Jaisalmer, and includes an overnight drive.
In 1996, Mahindra Adventure started out by organising off-roading events across the country. The first official off-roading school came up in 2011 in Igatpuri, Maharashtra. They now have schools near Kanchipuram in Tamil Nadu, within a 100-acre coffee plantation in Coorg, and the newest one is in Gurgaon, in the foothills of the Aravallis, Leh, and Jaisalmer. Interestingly, the 28-acre facility in Igatpuri is also where Mahindra makes its engines for the Thar.
| Photo Credit: Mahindra Adventure
Ever since its inception in 2011, the academy has trained around 50,000 enthusiasts. “We have three aims: Engagement and advocacy; community building; and introduction to the sport of offroading,” says Nalinikanth Gollagunta, CEO - Automotive Sector, Mahindra & Mahindra. Mahindra’s vehicles are capable of going through various terrain but many customers are not very well trained so they wanted help to get maximum benefit out of the vehicles, this was another reason for starting these sessions, he adds. “But you don’t necessarily have to own a Mahindra vehicle to join these classes,” Nalinikanth clarifies.
Mahindra Adventure’s Sand Survivor course in Jaisalmer | Photo Credit: Mahindra Adventure
There are different courses to choose from. Getting Dirty is for beginners; Trail Survivor is a weekend course, and the advanced one is called Global Survivor, explains Nalinikanth. “We also have extreme expeditions, the duration for which is around 10-15 days. We organise four to five every year. We do Ladakh, Nepal, Bhutan and just finished one in Namibia.
They train people across demographics. We also have institutional training programmes for the Army and Border Security Force. People who wish to start their own off-road trails train with us. A lot more off-roading facilities are coming up,” he observes. The reason for this he believes is, “More awareness about vehicles and their capabilities have grown. The road infrastructure has developed, giving access to locations and far-flung places. People see these places on social media, they want to experience them safely and therefore enrol for off-roading classes before setting out on the great escape.”
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