Steam spirit

Four friends set up a travel company to share the world of adventure with thrill-seekers

THE steam locomotive was once a means to travel. Today, just STEAM can get you places.

That's the name of a new travel venture, born of a series of casual conversations, singular passion and a shared sense of adventure. But here is the USP Sports Tourism Extreme Adventure and More or Steam Worldwide will specialise in everything that figures in its title, except the 'more' bit, which is suitably abstract.



On a steaming afternoon at the appropriately sporting Cricket Club of India, the four proprietors of the newly set-up 'company' say that they are out to help people experience something different. Manish Adnani, Sundeep Gulrajani, Kareena Gadiali-Hussain and husband Ashraf Hussain are young professionals, with day-time jobs that require them to go to offices. But they felt they could do something more with their shared interests in travel, a sort of after-work hobby that has matured into a serious business.

So Steam will take groups of people to sports events and tournaments across the world. On the wish list are the cricket and football World Cups, F1 races, World Snooker at the Crucible among others. The first expedition will be to South Africa for the Champions Trophy cricket in September.

But for people who can never find something to do when there are no matches or when there is a break, Steam has the solution. The group will organise rides to Sun City to pet some lions, to Cape Town to see sharks, wine tours, sky diving, bungee jumping and more activities of the 'extreme' kind.

"It's alright to go for these games. But there is so much more to do around that area which people don't get around to," says Gulrajani. "You might want to watch an event but may not have the company to do so. Here is an opportunity to enjoy a different experience with like-minded people."

"Most tour operators give you a set menu: dal, roti, subzi," says Adnani who runs his own technology company. "Here, you can tell us what you want, a group gets together and there is something for everyone."

"People do not try a whole lot of new things because in India they are very conscious," adds Kareena, as enthusiastic words fly thick and fast between the members.

Steam will pick destinations based on interactive discussions, sports events and adventure options. They will then take care of all the arrangements including visas, air tickets, match tickets, hotels and internal transport. "We are not official agents, so we will buy tickets like others," says Gulrajani.

For the moment, the groups are being formed from an extended list of friends and families. A few trips down the line and once the group website is functional by the end of the year, they say anyone can log in, participate and hop on u2014 including families with children.

Hussain, who works for a shipping agency, says planning for the trips would be based on personal experiences, internet research, books and conversations with others who have been to the intended destinations. The group has also tied up with appropriate people around the world. Considering all four are avid travelers, many inputs would come from personal experiences.

Sports and travel (apart from the CCI) is a common passion running through the group. The Hussains, for example, even saw a match in New Zealand on their honeymoon. Each one has stories from trips that inspired them, experiences they wished they could share with others, which in small ways has contributed to the birth of Steam.

"I was on an elephant in Corbett National Park early in the morning," remembers Ashraf Hussain, "with a ring of November mist around the cluster when a deer sprang out of the grass with a tiger in pursuit. We also gave chase till a point when the elephant came face-to-face with the tiger, who decided to mock charge. Our elephant was up on his hind legs in reaction." Hussain adds that one of his motivations is to get people to experience wild life through Steam.

Kareena, interested in adventure sports and driving, still remembers the time on a farm in New Zealand "when we baked our own bread and picked our own eggs". Since the couple has done most of their traveling together, they have always had each other to share experiences.

Alone in Australia in "one of the world's most romantic places", Gulrajani, wished he had company. "I stayed at the Barrier Reef, went diving to see sharks and drove 300 km to Port Douglas. With rain forests on one side and the sea on the other, alone in a convertible, I wished there were more people with me to experience that sight," he says.

The group feels travel should not be restricted to sanitised metropolitans in the world or in India. It's all very well to fly in and out of great cities, but there is a "real world" out there that's still to be experienced. For instance, Adnani remembers Kenya, "where life began. There are forests, animals running free. In Masai, for example, men who wish to marry have to kill a lion and drink its blood to impress the prospective bride. You appreciate it for what it is."

The roles are not yet clearly defined but at least two from the group will travel on each trip. Come September, the four will start to juggle work and families to manage groups of people every other month with the promise of showing them a good time in foreign lands. Or at least help them let off some steam.