Fuelled by unrivalled passion and driven by the desire to donate; Bhairav Kuttaiah, Sunaina Pamudurthy and Binoy John will be embarking on one of the riskiest road trips of their lives — at the Mongol Rally ‘16.
The young Bengalureans get chatty with us, as they’re all set for a gruelling road trip spanning 18,000 km, traversing through the rugged terrains from London to Ulan Ude, Russia. The rally will kick-start on July 17; and the trio intend to raise a million dollars for underprivileged kids in orphanages, and shelter homes through this gruelling adventure, of a lifetime!
Speaking about how it all started, Binoy quips how it was Bhairav’s idea. “We initially thought he was joking and agreed without giving it much thought. But things became really serious last year when we sent in our registrations.” The trio will be travelling on a Tata Nano and will be racing alongside 270 participation teams.
While they have always been intrepid travellers, the idea sprouted out of a motive than merely a common love for travel. “The journey is extremely challenging and doing it for a cause makes it all the more exciting. We’ve always wanted to do something for the street kids and to better the conditions of those living in shelter homes. So when this opportunity came knocking, we knew it was a call,” shares Sunaina.
Coming together as a team was no-brainer, considering the thick of friends the three are, says Binoy. “We’ve known each other since college. Till date we haven’t asked ourselves if we need another teammate or if there was anyone else we would do this with – we knew it was going to be the three of us from the beginning.
I’m extremely passionate about motor sport, and have been inspired by other cross-continental journeys. I recently began a start-up, where we build race/rally cars and other specialty vehicles. Even the Nano we’d be using was customised for this journey,” he adds.
In spite of being equally passionate about racing, the trio share varied interests too. “I’m an adventure junkie literally finding horizons to reach. On the other hand, Bhairav plays rugby and quizzes. Binoy races cars at events across the country whenever he can,” opines Sunaina.
Grateful for all the support their initiative has received, Bhairav, a criminal layer by profession, reveals how the idea is garnering much talk in the city. “The support from social media, friends and family has been incredible. Everyone is proud that we are representing India on so many levels - us, our car, and our cause! We hope to make a huge difference to our cause, while really showing us what the world has to offer.”
Quiz the Christ University alumi about their expectations about the rally, and pat comes the response in chorus. “With a milestone of a kind rally coming up, we don’t have the time to indulge in anything else which will go on till mid September. So right now, it’s all about making a bigger difference and release a rally for change campaign!”
