Stories in the sand

India is full of moving, evocative, fantastic tales, with the most valorous of them often set in our borderlands. These regions have bravely engaged with, and often held off, invaders for centuries, and many of these tales have been immortalised in folklore, songs, and more recently, films. We are in one such land that has been, over several centuries, as much about resistance as about royalty and colour. Yes, we are in Rajasthan – the land of the brave – as part of Maruti Suzuki’s Trails & Tales series, and we are seeking out stories in the sands.

The weather outside is nippy, we’ve just had a grand lunch, and are on our way to learn more about a story that unfolded over 50 years ago. Come to think of it, the Maruti Suzuki Jimny we are driving is a grand story in itself. Since its global launch in 1970, the Jimny has been an off-road icon for millions of customers across the world. Highly regarded for its distinctive design, which is a nod to its off-road heritage, excellent off-road capabilities, and an agility that is uncommon, the Jimny, launched in India in June last year in a five-door version, has inspired thousands of adventure-seekers to head out into the open and expand their personal geographies.

It is not difficult to understand the reasons behind the Jimny’s massive appeal, especially if you are on a fantastic highway such as the NH68 between Jodhpur and Jaisalmer. The Jimny might be famous for being an off-road hero, but it is equally at home as an SUV that can ace the school run, take you to the club on Sunday, and, as we discovered on this trip, is just the right size to carve through the chaos of small-town India.

The Jimny’s 1.5-litre K-series engine with Idle Start-Stop technology is optimised for seamless torque delivery and provided lots of low-end grunt that came in absolutely handy as we rolled into and out of Rajasthan’s smaller cities.

The SUV’s proven engine is brilliantly complemented by a slick-shifting 5-speed manual transmission that sends power to all four wheels via Suzuki’s bulletproof ALLGRIP PRO hardware. The ALLGRIP PRO is equipped with low range transfer gear (4L mode) and enables seamless shifting from 2H two-wheel drive to 4H four-wheel drive on the fly. But more on that later. Right now, it is time to tell you more about our destination.

Jimny country 

Tanot, about 120km from Jaisalmer, is the last civilian point on India’s border with Pakistan. The sparsely populated village, which is often pounded by dust storms, is situated amid harsh, arid and starkly beautiful surroundings. Beyond Tanot, the road trails into nothingness. The land is dominated by tenacious shrubs; watch towers rise in the distance and the wind howls through the emptiness. In short, Tanot is quintessential Jimny country.

Beyond tanot, the road trails into nothingness. This is quintessential jimny country.

The last village in India is also famous for the Tanot Rai Mata temple, which is visited by thousands of believers across the country. How did a little village on India’s western edge come to have a temple that draws devotees from all over? The answer to that question is embedded in the second and third of India’s four conflicts with Pakistan. The story goes that back in 1965, during our second conflict with Pakistan, the Pakistan Army attacked Tanot and fired hundreds of shells at the Tanot Mata temple, which was then a tiny place of worship.

Many of these shells fell in and around the temple, but not a single shell is said to have exploded. After the war, as news of the miracle spread, the Border Security Force (BSF) took over the upkeep of the temple. Six years later, in 1971, India and its soldiers faced a sterner test, as the Pakistan Army attacked Longewala, the site of one of the deadliest tank battles in history, and one of the decisive Indian victories in the 1971 war with Pakistan. Longewala is barely 40km from Tanot, and in an act of legendary defiance, a small BSF unit along with about 120 men from the Indian Army’s 23 Punjab regiment held off a Pakistani brigade and tank regiment until the Indian Air Force arrived to finish them off.

The battle has been immortalised in the 1997 film Border, and it is said that the soldiers were devotees of Tanot Mata. What’s remarkable is that, as in the 1965 war, the shells fired by the Pakistan Army at the temple once again failed to explode. After the 1971 war, the BSF renovated the temple, which today is a fairly large complex.

The road to Tanot 

The highway that leads to Tanot is a long, straight one, bordered on both sides by unending sands and gritty vegetation. The Jimny is an able highway cruiser, with a planted ride and well-contained body movements, ready to go where the road takes it. And importantly, it kept our four-member crew comfortable all through the long journey, thanks to its fairly long – and lengthened – wheelbase that has helped enhance rear passenger space and accommodated the rear doors.

Auto enthusiasts will love the Jimny for several reasons. Prime among them is the great visibility it affords because of the upright glass area and the fact that the dashboard has been pushed all the way to the front; the comprehensive kit it is equipped with, including auto LED headlamps with headlamp washers; the 9-inch touchscreen with wireless Android Auto and Apple CarPlay; cruise control; and an impressive ground clearance of 210mm that equips you with the confidence to head out into terrain lesser SUVs would baulk at.

We pass by Longewala and tarry a while, paying our respects to the brave martyrs who laid down their lives, and then, on a lark, we swerve off the highway and enter one of the Jimny’s playgrounds – the desert. It is here that the Jimny shows off its staggering off-road abilities. We shift the gear lever from 2H to 4H and attack the dunes with absolute confidence. The agile Jimny lives up to the faith we repose in it, clambering up and down the dunes, with ridiculous ease.

There is no drama, no fuss. That’s the thing with accomplished off-roaders such as the Maruti Suzuki Jimny. When the road ends, every weapon in their arsenal – from the ladder-frame chassis, the solid front and rear axles and the ALLGRIP PRO hardware, to electronics such as the hill-descent control and electronic braking differential – come together in an operatic symphony to help the Jimny keep going over mountains, and, in this case, across deserts.

Keeping the faith

We roll into Tanot by early evening and join the stream of worshippers at the Tanot Mata temple – these include both civilians and soldiers – paying our respects to the deity, and standing back and watching the soldiers pray to the goddess fervently. And then, we spot the unexploded shells fired by the Pakistan Army, which are displayed inside the temple. There are several devotees gathered around them, and we hear the elders tell the younger lot the story of how they came to be here and with each retelling, the power of the story becomes stronger.

As we exit the temple and get into our Jimny, we realise that the best tales are like journeys themselves. To actually hear them you have to be able to travel far and wide, across mountains and deserts, and never turn back. And every such journey starts with a Maruti Suzuki Jimny.

Also See:

Drive to Discover 12: Discovering North East India

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