I’ve been to the Little Rann of Kutch three times now,
and to say that it left me speechless every time, is a
huge understatement. The sheer scale of it cannot
be explained. It covers 4950 square kilometres and is
one of India’s largest reserves, with a diverse
landscape – an impressive mixture of arid,
treacherous salt flats and desert grasslands. During
peak summers, the temperatures here rise to over 50
degrees Celsius, but you know what? This dreary
desert still makes for a rather interesting and highly
adventurous road trip destination. Mahindra
Automotive, in collaboration with TT Motorsports,
which is spearheaded by Abbas Taskeen, organised a
run into the Little Rann with its all-new electric SUV,
the XUV400. Dubbed the ‘Little Rann Escape’, it saw
existing customers and a few prospective buyers
experience how the XUV400 performs on-road as
well as off the road on the Little Rann’s salt flats.
Although electric cars have existed long before
gasoline cars were invented, the modern EV is still
very much a new affair.
They’ve gotten better over
time and
Serious fun The briefing for Mahindra’s first-ever EV
adventure drive
are now far more usable and practical than before
because of modern battery technology. So much so
that, with just a little planning, you can take EVs on
longdistance road trips just as you’d take a normal
ICE-powered vehicle. “Our main goal for this drive was
to show customers that you can do long drives such
as these in an EV. It is very much possible because of
modern, long-range electric cars like the XUV400 and
the rapid development of charging infrastructure in
our country,” Abbas told us. The Little Rann Escape
had participants driving down from Ahmedabad,
Rajkot and even as far as Surat to the tiny town of
Dasada, the starting point of the drive. Located about
120km from Ahmedabad, Dasada is home to the Rann
Riders by Kaafila resort, which serves as the base for
almost all the adventure and big car rallies that
manufacturers do in this part of the country. On May
20, the guests checked in to this beautiful property at
lunch time and were treated to some lip-smacking
local dishes. Abbas and his team of off-road experts
welcomed the guests and briefed them about what
lay ahead. Even though this wasn’t going to be an
intense off-road trail, you can get stuck in the loose
sand and thick muck of the Rann. The participants
were therefore told to take it easy and only let loose
their right foot, on call.
In the evening,
Shining stars The star gazing session was a surprise
for the participants, complete with a telescope to
experience it from up close
“Even though electric cars have existed long before
gasoline cars were invented, the modern EV is still very
much a new affair. They’ve gotten better over time and are
now far more usable and practical than before because of
modern tech such as Li-ion batteries”
the cars were stickered, their
batteries topped up through a
special setup that was organised by
TT Motorsports and then there was a
special surprise for the folks and
their families. Venus and Saturn
would be visible after sundown and
what better place to witness this
than the clear, smog-free skies near
the Little Rann! The team had
partnered with Star Gazing India, an
organisation that specialises in
astrophotography, and they brought
a telescope for everyone to see the
planets up close. Not only that, there
was also
a folk dance night and a bonfire,
before calling it a day to rest at Rann
Riders, for the real adventure was all
set to begin early next morning.