Metro Plus Chennai : Road Less Travelled

The Hindu : Metro Plus Chennai : Road less travelled http://www.hindu.com/mp/2010/11/18/stories/20101...

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News News Update Front Page National States: • Tamil Nadu • Andhra Pradesh • Karnataka • Kerala • New Delhi • Other States Romancing the wilderness Peter Van Geit with members of the International Chennai Trekking Club Opinion Business P eter Van Geit has spiced up the weekend. The Chennai Trekking Club (CTC), Sport which organises weekend treks in places not frequented by tourists, is his baby. Miscellaneous From a tiny clique of trekkers in a software company, CTC has grown into a Index group with 8,600 registered members. Every day, the club gets ten new members. Despite this explosive growth, CTC functions without hierarchy. Geit Advts does not hold any position within CTC, but everybody accepts him as its chief Retail Plus representative. Classifieds Jobs Geit has consistently displayed leadership qualities and organisational skills. Last Obituary weekend, a trek through the Nagalapuram mountain range turned problematic when four trekkers got lost. Geit left for the mountains immediately. Close to midnight, he began his search for the lost ones, hacking his way through thorny bushes. Bloody tears on his arms are the mementoes of this mission, which ended successfully.

A meticulous organiser, Geit plans every trek down to the last detail. Quick weekend trips are made possible by numerous hours of leisure spent on preparation and research. He regularly studies Google and topographical maps of scenic places in south India to unearth rare trails. Geit shows a 100-year-old jeep trail in a map of the Venkateswara National Reserve Forest in Andhra Pradesh. “CTC believes in finding new trails, because they make for new discoveries. Almost always, we come upon remains of summer rest houses built by the British.”

He has loads of information about all the pretty places in South India. Despite being Belgian, he also understands social customs in this part of the world — which is a big advantage for a trekker. “I have been in Chennai for 13 years and consider it home. It is three years since I last visited Belgium. I felt bored to the core; and also miserable, because I lost two weekends of trekking!”

A Belgian company's expansion plans brought Geit to Chennai in the late 1990s. A key player in the Chennai unit that made software for digital television networks, Geit joined hands with a colleague to start an in-house trekking club. Blog postings made the club known to the outside world. Following requests for memberships from outsiders, the club's doors were opened wide. In February

1 of 3 Friday 19 November 2010 11:11 AM The Hindu : Metro Plus Chennai : Road less travelled http://www.hindu.com/mp/2010/11/18/stories/20101...

2008, a website was created for CTC and that opened the floodgates.

Geit has made countless number of friends through CTC. “A friendship forged during a trek is very different from one made at a bar or a social gathering. It does not snap easily. Every weekend, a great number of strangers sign up for a trek. On Friday evening, they are strangers. On Sunday evening, they are friends for life. During the three days, they go through sweat and blood to complete the trek. They can't do it without relying on one another. Friendships made under such circumstances last a lifetime.”

The informal atmosphere of the club fosters unity. “Nobody owns CTC. It is totally volunteer-based. As the group has grown bigger and three to four treks are being organised every weekend, we have 30 to 40 people who are called organisers. They have been chosen by virtue of their ability to lead a group, navigate through tough terrain and serve selflessly. Being organisers does not entitle them to any special privileges.”

Geit says CTC has been kept free of commercial motives. A raft of companies has tried to push their products to CTC, but without success. “They see the group as a sizeable market. Besides the charges that cover expenses incurred through transportation and other essential services, not a single rupee is collected from a trekker. And there is absolutely no pressure on them to buy any particular product.”

As Nature comes free, Geit believes that the adventure of discovering it in its pristine forms should also be free.

Clubbing causes

* Chennai TrekkingClub has proved itself to be more than a group that is keen on weekend fun in the wilderness. It addresses social issues. It has been organising treks for children in orphanages. Called ‘Social Trek', this has become a part of CTC's regular weekend activity.

* CTC is also big on promoting beach cleaning. It mobilises groups for ridding beaches of litter. Its biggest effort has been the Chennai Coastal Clean-Up, which covered the stretch from Marina to Injambakkam. Fifteen teams, together numbering 900 people, were formed to cover the fifteen zones on this stretch.

* CTC also launches campaigns to clean tourist places. Its TADA cleaning campaign has especially evoked good response from the non-trekking community.

* CTC, which has diversified into cycling and biking activities, have used these rides to call attention to issues such as blood donation.

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