{"id":1684,"date":"2023-01-13T16:59:29","date_gmt":"2023-01-13T11:29:29","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/kashmirnetwork.com\/justju\/?p=1684"},"modified":"2025-11-05T08:36:01","modified_gmt":"2025-11-05T03:06:01","slug":"travels-with-the-husky","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/kashmirnetwork.com\/justju\/?p=1684","title":{"rendered":"Travels with the Husky"},"content":{"rendered":"

The unique geography of the Kashmir Valley<\/strong> – less than 200 kilometres from end to end and less than 40 kilometers across at its widest point – means that an early start enables day trips to almost any part of the valley. <\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Over most weekends my family likes to indulge in our shared passion for travel<\/strong> and birding<\/a><\/strong>, facilitated by the synchronicity between three factors:
\nThe first<\/strong> is the amazing network of roads being built across the valley under PMGSY, MNREGA and similar schemes.
\nThe second<\/strong> is the awesomeness of Google Maps<\/strong> – enabling us to point at any spot on the map and venture forth secure in the knowledge that the app will find us a route to that destination.
\nThe third<\/strong> and most-vital factor is that the quality of the road ceases to be a limiting factor because of the extreme capabilities of Jamshed’s newly-acquired off-roader.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

More suited to the physical capacity of my generation, overlanding<\/strong> – with off-roading<\/strong> whenever unavoidable – has become our family-friendly travel style (a fact conceded painfully by my body after a few harrowing drives in the Gypsy King<\/strong>). I remember a time when the transition from the Willys Jeep<\/strong> to the original Gypsy<\/strong> felt like unparalleled luxury. How times change!<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n


\nMore than 30 years separate the two Gypsy photographs<\/em><\/p>\n

We have set ourselves 3 quests:
\n1. To visit every place of historical or archaeological interest<\/a> in the valley
\n2. To visit every river valley<\/a> of Kashmir
\n3. To photograph our fast vanishing wildlife<\/a> – especially every bird species<\/a> found in Kashmir.
\n(Bonus<\/strong> : Improptu picnics, amazing landscapes, river confluences, and similar interesting sights along the way)<\/p>\n

Jamshed<\/strong> had been searching for a true-blue off-roader while waiting for the Suzuki Jimny<\/strong> (which is yet to hit roads in India even though it has been built in the country since 2019. Go figure!<\/del>*) The basic checklist included a four-wheel drive off-roader with low range gearbox, independent supension, relative comfort and easy service. <\/p>\n

Soft-roaders did not enter our thought process at all.
\nThink MMA<\/strong> versus WWE<\/strong>.
\nKhabib Nurmagomedov<\/strong> versus The Rock<\/strong>. <\/p>\n

Soft-roaders are little imitation off-roaders with increased ground clearance, bumped-out wheel arches and bigger tyres but have high gear ratios and a single-speed transfer case<\/em>. The All-Wheel-Drive<\/strong> (AWD) system is more of a road safety feature than an adventure accessory. <\/p>\n

Soft-roaders (SUV’s) are just a clever marketing concept as the manufacturers know that these ‘crossovers<\/em>‘ are more likely to be seen in the company of expensive dog-breeds outside city cafes (like Little Hut<\/strong> or whatever it is called these days) than on rocky mountain tracks.<\/p>\n

True 4WD off-roaders can shift the transfer case into a low gear ratio (4-Lo) when the terrain is too tough for four-wheel drive alone. Low transmission and low transfer-case gear ratios multiply engine torque to insane levels. Just put a Gypsy King<\/strong> into 4-Lo and watch it transmogrify from the mild-mannered Dr. Bruce Banner into the Incredible Hulk. Yup – its that dramatic.<\/p>\n

I am a petrol-head who has never owned a diesel car but the petrol four-wheel drive options currently available in the country are too expensive to justify purchase for the sake of occasional off-roading. The three-door Mahindra Thar<\/strong> was dismissed as a family-unfriendly wannabe Jeep Wrangler<\/strong> (plus the viral video of a Thar sliding off the mountainside<\/a> at the Zig<\/strong> killed off any argument in its favor).<\/p>\n

Finally, we settled on a pre-owned Mitsubishi Pajero<\/strong> based upon the monster winter performance of Javid Bakshi<\/strong>‘s bulldog Pajero. I was not too happy with the diesel versus petrol (and spares\/service) compromise but what to do? <\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Out of the blue Jamshed was offered an exquisitely well-maintained Suzuki Grand Vitara<\/strong> and jumped at the chance. The petrol-only Grand Vitara is a full-time 4WD off-roader with legendary Suzuki build quality. It had been imported fully built-up from Japan and ticked all the required boxes plus quite a few more – a timeless design, Suzuki reliability and ease-of-service, and, most importantly, sedan-like comfort on highways. <\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Off-road enthusiasts like to christen their vehicles and ‘Husky<\/strong>‘ is the name bestowed upon Jamshed’s new ride complete with a bobble-head mascot<\/strong>.
\n<\/p>\n

Over the past year the Husky<\/strong> has traversed diverse terrain ranging from the muddy depths of the Wular floodplains to the highest motororable end-points in Ladakh. These trips will feature in a new section of this blog in the future. Enjoy!<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n


\nComposite GPS Track of the Husky’s wanderings
\n<\/p>\n

*UPDATE: Jamshed finally got his hands on his Jimny in January.
\n<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The unique geography of the Kashmir Valley – less than 200 kilometres from end to end and less than 40 kilometers across at its widest point – means that an early start enables day trips to almost any part of the valley. Over most weekends my family likes to indulge in our shared passion for […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4,17,21],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1684","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-kashmir","category-motorsport","category-travel"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/kashmirnetwork.com\/justju\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1684","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/kashmirnetwork.com\/justju\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/kashmirnetwork.com\/justju\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kashmirnetwork.com\/justju\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kashmirnetwork.com\/justju\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1684"}],"version-history":[{"count":29,"href":"https:\/\/kashmirnetwork.com\/justju\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1684\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1822,"href":"https:\/\/kashmirnetwork.com\/justju\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1684\/revisions\/1822"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/kashmirnetwork.com\/justju\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1684"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kashmirnetwork.com\/justju\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1684"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kashmirnetwork.com\/justju\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1684"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}