The Hindu Business Line : Who dares wins!

Not many women participate in adventure sports such as off-roading. But those who do, end up inspiring others to follow in their footsteps. One such event saw 45 Israeli women vying to be crowned `Queen of Desert' at a nine-day, off-road journey in the Aravalli ranges of Rajasthan.

Geographical Tours from Israel, in association with Mercury Himalayan Explorations, India, organised the event aimed at fostering adventure sports for women. The participants were given a week's training in using recovery gears and other mechanics special to off-road driving. They were then divided into 15 teams. The criteria to select the winner were simple. During the expedition, team leaders would observe members for traits such as discipline, creativity, social interaction, team work, environmental consciousness, cleanliness and helping each other in rescue action. Finally, all the participants would vote to elect the `Queen'. The teams received a warm welcome wherever they went, even in some of the remote areas. The sounds of drumbeat and folk music, and a shower of petals greeted them on arrival at the Jojawar Palace, from where the expedition began. The next morning, the journey was flagged off and the teams passed through the villages in a convoy, distributing gifts to children and taking photographs. In the evening the group reached Narlai, a village which has 140 temples, most of them Jain.

Till this point, it was mostly fun and frolic for the women and less of off-roading. Throughout the expedition, the teams were given no prior instructions. Hence it was a real surprise when, in the middle of nowhere, the teams were asked to park their vehicles and start trekking. They braved through a five-hour, exhausting climb with the sun at its scorching best. The reward? At the summit was the magnificent Kumbalgarh fort, which is often compared to the Great Wall of China in its grandeur. Its sidewalls are nearly 36 km high.

The participants spent the terribly cold night at an ashram in Kumbalgarh, where some of them tried their hand at cooking Indian food, including rolling chapattis, though without much success! The next morning, they set off on an arduous day's journey to reach a remote village called Korta. The villagers were excited to receive the foreign visitors in their midst. Each family hosted one participant for the day. Many villagers were seeing foreign women for the first time in their lives and kept touching their skin and hair; some even asked what paste the women used to keep their "skin so white"! Later in the evening, the villagers performed traditional dances for their Israeli guests, who got a taste of the famed Indian hospitality. In the morning there was an opium ceremony, where village elders performed a ritual and offered the guests opium. After bidding adieu to their hosts, the teams began their journey towards Jodhpur.

Jodhpur had all the trappings of a city. Huge billboards crowded the city's skyline. In one corner was a large hoarding of Sachin Tendulkar... out of the wireless came the voice of one of the Israeli women, "Wow, look at that man, he's so handsome." None of them was aware of his celebrity status in India or about cricket! And what a contrast Jodhpur was from the villages visited till then. The palaces and havelis left the visitors spellbound, as also the markets. After several nights spent in tents and sleeping bags, the night halt at the Jalamand haveli was more than welcome.

But the next morning, it was back to the sand dunes. Even as the group wound its way through the desert, a surprise awaited them... a packet containing newspapers from Israel. Back home in Israel, the media had contacted family members of the participants for their messages. A separate issue was brought out on the expedition containing photographs of the participants' families and sketches made by their children. The entire group was overcome with emotion... and the tears flowed.

The following day had more surprises in store. They came across a herd of camels and immediately starting clicking pictures. Imagine their surprise when they were told that the camels were meant for them! They now had to leave the comfort of their 4x4 and ride on camels instead. The vehicles, meanwhile, were transported to the other side of the dunes by the service team. Riding on the back of a camel was a totally new experience for the women.

In fact, every stage of the event held such newness — getting stuck often in the soft sand; driving on the left side of the road; driving off the road even while ensuring the vehicles remain scratch-free. The thorns on the trail made it all the more difficult for the teams as they regularly punctured the tyres and soon every spare tyre had been used up.

The location for the night halt was marvellous. In the midst of the sand dunes were some huts surrounding a small pond. And we experienced something that we hadn't till then — sandstorms. We could actually see the shifting dunes.

On the final day of the expedition we reached Pushkar. It was a night of celebration there, what with the bursting of crackers and folk dance performances. Finally the `Queen of the Desert' was announced and it was party time thereafter.

Pictures by the author

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