It was in 1996 when Mahindra planned to bunch together a group of 4x4 enthusiasts and unleash the real potential of its rugged utility vehicles. Cut to today and Mahindra just recently celebrated the 50th edition of its popular Great Escape event. The chosen destination for the grand event was Goa where all of 72 off-road enthusiasts had gathered to participate in the 50th edition of this non-competitive rally which followed a challenging but fun route across 56 km of rocky terrain, slush, canals and streams.

The participants and media were welcomed at Mahindra's very own Club Mahindra resort with a local band humming away some melodious Goan tunes. The evening was well spent with Mr. Vivek Nayer, Senior Vice President, Marketing, Automotive Sector, Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd. speaking about this adventurous event which has us 4x4 enthusiasts hooked onto it since such a long time. The event also saw the presence of five times National Rally champion Hari Singh who was going to lead the expedition.

-day began early with a horde of Mahindra's queued up outside the resort. There were all kinds of vehicles. From the classic jeep's to the latest Scorpio's, one could find everything. Some were even modified enough to tackle the Congo river with monster tyres and the works. After a quick briefing, the event was finally flagged off and the narrow streets of Goa were pretty soon rumbling thanks to a barrage of jeeps thundering through. The off-road trail began shortly with a rocky hill climb section. All the vehicles made it pretty easily barring a few two wheel drive vehicles which made it but not without some assistance. We were pretty soon approaching a riverbed with the water level pretty much above the wheels. But again all the vehicles handled the situation with aplomb. Our Scorpio Getaway did have a problem scraping boulders but that was only because of its huge overhangs and the ultra long wheelbase. Other than that the big momma just flew over everything that came in its path. The slushy sections posed a major problem for the two wheeled brethren with most of them struggling for traction. So if you are raring to have a go, make sure your vehicle is a 4x4. There are plenty of tricky sections through which four wheel drive system can easily bail you out.

The weather was a major disappointment with hardly a drop of rain throughout the event thus a better part of the route was dry. The rain would have really made the 56 km route even more arduous and challenging. The event ended pretty much on time with all the participants reaching the final destination in one piece for a lavish lunch session. All in all the 50th installment of the Mahindra Great Escape was a big hit leaving everyone asking for more. Next stop is Coorg, and I can barely wait for that to happen.