Pocket Rocket: How the Jimny Stole the Show at the All Terrain 4x4 Jamboree
The air is thin at 10,000 feet, filled with the smell of pine, diesel, and burning clutch plates. My co-driver and I are strapped into our near-stock Maruti Suzuki Jimny, staring down a near-vertical rock face nicknamed "The Vulture's Beak." To our left, a modified Thar grumbles; to our right, a lifted Scorpio N spins its wheels in futile protest. This isn't a casual trail run—it's Stage 3 of the...
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1 month agoThe Mountain's Chosen Few: 18 Months of Living with a Mahindra Thar
Let me be clear from the start: life with a Mahindra Thar is not about running costs per kilometre or the quiet hum of a modern monocoque. It's about the 4 AM starts for a sunrise at Chandratal, the mechanical symphony of its ladder-frame chassis articulating over a rock garden on the way to Kaza, and the simple, profound confidence of knowing the road ended 20 kilometres ago, but your journey has...
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1 month agoBuilding the Perfect Trail Partner: A 5-Year Compass Ownership & Modification Blueprint
After five years and a staggering 144,000 kilometres with my Compass Limited (O) 4x4—fondly named Scarlett—I've learned that transforming it for Himachal isn't about creating a rock crawler. It's about engineering bulletproof reliability and enhancing its inherent capability to handle everything from the slush of the Rohtang approach to the broken tarmac of interior district roads. My journey, whi...
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1 month agoThe Wagon R Off-Road Gambit: A Cautionary Tale of Uphill Dreams and City-Bred Reality
Listen up, fellow garage tinkerers and weekend warriors. What you're about to read is equal parts confession, cautionary tale, and a dash of value-gyan. For years, I looked at my trusty Wagon R—the undisputed king of Mumbai's tight lanes and pothole absorption—and wondered, "Could this boxy legend tackle something more thrilling than the Western Expressway?" The result was a brief, expensive, and...
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1 month agoMy Tata Harrier EV Adventure in the High Himalayas
Brother, greetings from Shimla! Let’s talk about something that’s been turning heads and kicking up dust on our mountain trails: the Tata Harrier EV. Now, taking an electric SUV off-roading in Himachal—sounds like a city-slicker’s joke, right? But after three months of driving it from Solan to Spiti, I’ve got some real pahadi truths to share. This isn’t a review; it’s a diary f...
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1 month agoThe Punch EV Pilgrimage: A Guide to Prepping the Silent Workhorse
Listen, yaar. In our India, a trip isn't just a drive. It's a mission. It's a mix of pothole slaloms, dhaba stops, unpredictable weather, and the constant calculation of "kitna aur chalega?" The Tata Punch EV joins this mission not with a roar, but with a silent nod. But that silence is deceptive. Prepping it isn't like prepping your uncle's old diesel Scorpio. It's a new kind of pu...
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2 months agoThe Tata Nexon: A Review from the Mountain Roads
You buy a car for the mountains, and you learn the truth about it in the first monsoon. The brochures talk about sunroofs and touchscreens, but up here, we talk about things that matter: Will it hold on a 30-degree incline when the road is wet clay? Will the brakes hold their bite on a 10-kilometer descent? Will it get my family to the hospital in Kullu if it’s snowing in January?I live in a villa...
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2 months agoA Himalayan Affair: The Mahindra Thar from a Himachali's Lens
Listen, brother. Here in Himachal, a vehicle isn’t just a machine. It’s your sathi on the road to Jalori Pass, your lifeline during the Bhrigu Lake trek shuttle, and your only hope when the apple orchard road turns to slush in the September rains. I’ve seen SUVs come and go — but the Thar? The Thar is different. It’s not bought; it’s adopted.Near Manali I run a small homestay and an...
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