On the Rann in the wilderness

Imagine the purr of a sophisticated sports car on the wild and stunning salt-pan terrain of the Rann of Kutch... Driving a Jaguar XKR into this great brown open feels absolutely bizarre. Ouseph Chacko writes...

Out here at the perimeter of the Rann of Kutch, there's just the soft light of the rising sun and desolate flatness as far as the eye can see. Driving a Jaguar XKR into this great brown open feels absolutely bizarre. The Jag is not supposed to be here - it's a sports car that belongs to the road that leads to the Principality of Monaco or the paved boulevards of south Mumbai. And we've brought it to this starkly beautiful, utterly inhospitable place. We've brought it far from its regular high-octane drinking holes and into blazing Indian sun. Why, you might wonder, would we take a Jaguar to the Rann of Kutch?

The simple answer is that Gujarat has some great roads - open, fast and almost devoid of traffic. You have to watch out for neelgai and the odd buffalo, but that's about it. Our chosen road is the sort of place where a Jaguar can roam unmolested by oblivious cyclists, crazy rickshaws and buffoon motorists. At least that's what I thought.



On the Harappa trail

Our story starts in Ahmedabad. The plan is to drive to the Rann Riders Eco Resort in Dasada, 100km away, spend the night there and head into the Little Rann of Kutch in the morning for some spectacular photo-ops. After that, head towards Dholavira, 246km away, to the site of the ancient Harappan civilisation through the inner roads of Gujarat. I'd been on this road a couple of years ago on a bike, and remember thinking how perfect it would be for a sports car. And here I am, commander of more than 500 supercharged horses comfortably ensconced in the feline curves of a Jaguar XKR. Woohoo!

Among the rann riders

Our route gives us an early insight into the Jag's off-road abilities. The road that bypasses Viramgam is a narrow little ribbon that's chock-full of traffic, has huge speedbreakers and deep potholes, and is bordered by crumbling shanties. The Jag doesn't get stuck or its belly scraped, and burbles through the village dragging a trail of dust and the gobsmacked expressions of onlookers behind it.

It is the end of summer now, and the land is at its crispiest. That means the cracked earth you see is hard enough to drive on, and if you dig into it (like when there's wheelspin), it crumbles and turns into harmless dust. The bodywork is safe from chipping, then.

Bedazzled by the jag: People gather around the XKR to ogle the luxury vehicle

A word of caution here. The Little Rann of Kutch is home to the Indian wild ass and countless other species of mammals and birds. Give them their due space. You are, after all, invading their territory.

So, confident the coming monsoon will cover our tracks, we head back towards regular Jag territory and the first fuel pump we can find. The fact that the XKR won't grumble about its 'regular unleaded' diet makes it so much more India-friendly. It means you can actually take it to remote places as long as there are half-decent fuel pumps along the way.

In the driver’s seat: The XKR’s cabin is beautifully built and comfortable

We've reached Radhanpur, and it's a six-laner from here to our turn-off at Adesar. The XKR is simply sublime on roads like these. Its long-legged gait and tall sixth gear makes it feel absolutely relaxed and unruffled as we blast down the wide open highway. There's one point on this road where you have the Little Rann on your left and the Great Rann on your right, and for a brief moment I consider ditching the Dholavira plan and getting back into the loose surface again. But no, there are even better roads to be driven ahead.

Break fast at the salt pan

Wild, wild west: The Little Rann of Kutch has the world’s largest population of wild asses

It is around now that that I feel a long, long way from home. We haven't seen another vehicle for two hours and there are signs of strong Border Security Force presence. In fact, if this car could drive across the salt flats, we would be in Pakistan in half an hour, maybe less - that's how close we are to Zardari right now.