Changing mindsets, the adventurous wayMumbai, Jan 10(AZINS) If at first the idea is not absurd, then there is no
hope for it.
—Albert Einstein

It indeed was absurd.

Fourteen years ago, film and theatre artiste Prasad Purandare wanted to organise India's first-ever adventure race in Pune. He wasn't sure how many people would be game for it, but went ahead nonetheless, hoping he would get at least 10 teams to participate. Forty-five turned up.

Today, NECC NEF Enduro3 – The Adventure Race 2016 attracts more than 200 teams from the length and breadth of India. This year will mark the race's 14th edition and will be held on February 6 and 7 in Pune. Spanning two days and 250km, Enduro3 includes trekking, mountain cycling, kayaking, river crossing, rappelling and rifle shooting. Each team comprises three members, with at least one member of the opposite sex. Participants know of the route only on the race day, and the route is changed every year.

Such adventures tend to excite Indians, but very few actually go out and do them. It's precisely this mindset that the 58-year-old Purandare wants to change.

"If you want to really do something, you've got to do something challenging," says the Pune-based artiste who has acted in various films, including Ab Tak Chhappan.

"It's such a sorry state of affairs that our youngsters don't want to get into horse riding, don't want to get out into the mountains. We have such amazing natural resources – sun, seas, mountains – and yet, we don't respect it. We don't wish to explore that. We don't want to venture out of our comfort zone. It keeps bothering me. Why can't we go out? Why can't we have explorers?" he adds.

That's the question that had long troubled him. In a country overflowing with leagues of popular sports, Purandare wanted to do something different: create a platform for adventurers.

"As a child, I did all these activities. I wanted to inculcate the spirit of venturing in our Indian psyche," says Purandare.

Initially, Purandare conducted the race among his in-house volunteers to see whether it struck a chord with them.
"The results were phenomenal," he recalls. "They were so excited that we just had to have this race. In the first year, teams would touch my feet on the way, saying 'This is amazing. It made us explore our potential'.
"If someone tells me I've seen you in a film, it doesn't excite me a lot. But if someone tells me 'You've changed my life', it gives me a sense of fulfilment. This is the 14th year, and I guess it says it all," he adds.

Purandare now has a team of over 100 volunteers – all chosen and trained – who work all year round to prepare the race. The challenges are many. Budget and infrastructure issues aside, the biggest task for Purandare is to ensure that the race remains free of major accidents.

"Touch wood, we haven't had any so far," he says. "I always tell my team that only after the last contestant goes home with his certificate, we can say our job is done."

And now, after trying to get people out of their comfort zone, Purandare and his team want to get out of their own. They hope to take the race out of Pune and conduct a national championship across the country.

"If we start off with this, hopefully it will go to some logical conclusion some day," he says. "India can be the adventure capital of the world."

Sounds absurd, doesn't it?