Storme-ing through the countryside

The previous month all but zipped past in a blur. With long weekends and public holidays galore, it was a phase where every opportunity available was spent on the road. This then is a recount on the time when Lord Ganesha was coming into town. The arrival of Mumbai’s favourite deity meant that the entire city would turn into an open-air disco and every other worshiper – a dancer. The heart then was pining to explore a side where the festival and the festivities were untouched by the commercial and other corrupting elements. This singular thought of going back-to-the-roots became the basis of a trip which would not just enlighten us but also show us yet another marvelous layer of the countryside.

The weapon of choice – the Tata Safari Storme aka El Brutus, the last of the old guard to proudly wear the Tata logo. The badge at the back being a testimony to the home grown SUV that’s seen the entire segment grow from a two product offering to a vibrant eco-system that’s only just woken up to its potential. The answers were waiting to be uncovered a few hundred kilometres beyond the city limits, down quaint, winding village roads and places where cellular connectivity was an irregular affair. The plan was to take the expressway out of Mumbai, head towards Pune and then somewhere under the cover of darkness, and hot foot it across the mountains eventually winding our way down towards Ratnagiri along the western coastline. Local folklore being that the 400 year old Ganesha idol there, sprung up from the earth and faces West, unlike other deities, which sit facing the East. As they say however, that man proposes & God disposes, and indeed, it looked like the Lord had a slightly different plan in mind.

We did make an escape from the din of the city that evening, but the destination had changed ever so slightly. The boot had swallowed up the holiday luggage without a hiccup and with a full tank of fuel in its belly, we were Storme-ing our way through the traffic on the expressway. The very nature of the Safari means that you can’t quite manhandle the beast. Like a meandering elephant, you’ve got to whisper the right words into its ears and deftly coax the 2.2 Litre Varicor diesel as it propels the Safari Storme at highway speeds. While Tata Motors have made many a key change to the interiors over the years, the inherent strength of the vehicle continue to shine through after all the time.

Thing is that you don’t just walk in on the Storme, you literally lift yourself and climb onto the car. You notice just how high El Brutus sits off the ground and smile as the courtesy light gives you the all-clear when you open the vault-like door. Feeling the sturdy build, you shut the door and smile as you’re greeted by the familiar present day Tata Motors interior.

A smart instrument binnacle, the well-contoured steering wheel (the angle feels a little off though) and the well-upholstered seat give you the feeling of being right at home. There’s none of the cramped up feeling you usually get in other vehicles and there’s plenty of room everywhere. It isn’t all hunky-dory though, as you notice a few of its shortcomings, some of which have no place being there on a INR 10 Lakh plus SUV.

The plastic quality for example, the panel gaps in certain places and the overall placement of the controls – all leave scope for improvement. Tata have done their best but unfortunately, it is the age of the platform that peeks through the gaps.

On the move, the Safari Storme is sprightly and the ride quality is superb as ever. Bad roads are dismissed with impunity and you are soon up to highway speeds. Up in the ghats, the dynamic limitations of what is essentially a tall, body-on-chassis traditional SUV do make themselves felt, but they are better-controlled than ever before. The tall-commanding view and the sheer girth of the vehicle make sure that people give you the respect that the Storme deserves, with even truckers and other heavy vehicles keeping their distance.

Snaking our way through the ghats in the dead of the night never felt this secure, as we did in the Storme. El-Brutus was indeed our talisman, confidently ploughing through even when there was not a soul around us in the mountains. At daybreak, we decided to halt at our base-camp, a quaint home-stay that provided us just the basics and the promise of the Lord showering his blessings on us as the clock ticked by. A quick nap and some much needed local delicacies to slay the hunger demons and we were off in search of the Bappa.

Out in the countryside, there’s none of the pomp and grandeur associated with city-based celebrations. People like to keep things simple here and this in turn ensures that the devotion is intact, so-to-speak. We spent our day hopping from one place to another, gathering our blessings from the deity from as many places as we went. Returning home that evening, we were all in our own thought zones, contemplating the vows that each of us had taken as we bowed our head in respect. The next day passed by in a blur, preparing and welcoming the many troupes of devotional singers as they went from place to place, singing praises of the Lord.

Day three arrived and we decided that it was time to explore the scenic countryside and promptly made our way to the coastline. Turning off the main highway, the road narrowed rather quickly and soon we were gliding our way as the black ribbon rose and dropped over the contours of the hinterland. The Safari Storme was proving to be a willing ally, maintaining a steady beat over the varying conditions in the countryside. The mercury was climbing and it had become extremely humid, but back within the cavernous insides of El-Brutus, we were cocooned in optimum temperatures all the way.

Each kilometre brought us closer and the sound of the sands and the sea calling only got stronger. As we made our way to the surf, we passed through many a hamlet and got a glimpse of the village side of life. Yes, modern trappings were already making their presence here, but there was a simplicity in the mannerisms of the people.

From the way they dressed to the look in their eyes, these were still folk that were untouched by the vagaries of modernism that had permeated the very innards of life back home.

The road began to get narrower with each kilometre and soon, we were at a turnoff where there was barely any room left once El-Brutus went down that path. As we treaded softly ahead, weary of the unsuspecting villager who might unwittingly stray into us, we could smell the salt and dried fish in the air. Suddenly, the road dropped and we were treated to a beautiful vista of shipping boats bobbing in the water. It was an explosion of colour everywhere we turned. Hours passed by as we took in the view, us road-folk doffing our hats and tooting the horn in respect for the ones that chose the call of the open seas.

Given that we were quite literally at the tip, it was quite amusing to the curious ones who’d gathered around, to see El-Brutus being maneuvered back and forth. It took us a bit, but we finally had triumphed over the narrow patch of land and were soon pointed in the direction we planned to head towards next. A lil’ birdie had told us of the white sentinels, with circular arms spread wide, standing silently at the edge of the cliffs watching the water ebb and flow with the changing tide.

So off we went, along a shortcut which had us winding down narrow village paths and up a hill where no one had ever ventured with a vehicle this size. A hairy moment here and there, but El-Brutus came out grinning like Garfield after a scrumptious meal.

They say that size is merely a matter of scale and in the larger scheme of things, you are nothing but a minuscule part of the whole. Thoughts along similar lines were what surged through our minds as we came up on the windmills that were perched atop the hill overlooking the sea. We’d traveled a few hundred kilometres basking in the security that the road presence of the Safari Storme.

Standing there at the feet of those enormous windmills that appeared to be one with the skies above, we were truly humbled. It made us realize just how relative life can be, and that one moment you could be feeling invincible and ready to take on the world, while the next making us tremble within.

With these priceless learnings, we bid adieu to our weekend getaway and began our journey back to our everyday lives. We did make one final stop in the scenic Amboli ghats and took in the setting sun one more time. The beautiful setting was only apt as we counted our blessings and thanked the Lord for giving us the good fortune of experiencing yet another page in the beautiful journey of life.

Darkness soon engulfed us and it was to the comforting drone of the Varicor motor that we hotfooted it along the expressway to Pune and into to Mumbai. As the home stretch beckoned at the break of dawn, we made peace with the thought of returning to the work desk, but not before vowing to start planning for the next escape!