In a heartfelt open letter to Mahindra Group Chairman Anand Mahindra, writer Vineet K. K. N. ‘Panchhi’ has called for a rethink on how the Mahindra Thar is owned and driven, urging the company to introduce a code of conduct for its buyers.
The letter, titled “A Humble Midlife Appeal from a Former Thar Lover”, mixes nostalgia, personal experience, and pointed observations about the SUV’s current reputation on Indian roads.
Mahindra Thar’s Legacy at Stake, Says Panchhi
Panchhi begins by recalling a time when the Thar was, for him, more than just a vehicle. “Not for showing off… not for speed… not even for selfies… but for healing,” he writes. The SUV represented “quiet courage and controlled ruggedness”, a permission slip to escape, whether into the mountains or from the noise within.
Over the past decade, Panchhi alternated between a Force Gurkha, a Toyota Fortuner (acquired second-hand from a friend), and the Thar. Of these, the Thar held a special place. But in his telling, a turning point came with the model’s redesign. Designed by a woman, he notes, the updated Thar became “beautiful, practical, desirable, accessible”, broadening its appeal far beyond its earlier niche.
That new accessibility, Panchhi observes, brought a shift in its cultural identity. He describes how groups of young men from various communities embraced the Thar, often adding custom double-bass music systems, blacked-out windows, and other modifications. The SUV, he laments, began appearing less on mountain roads and more in confrontational situations in city traffic.
“They began testing the 4×4 not in Spiti or on dunes,” he writes, “but on bumpers of fellow citizens and bikes of innocent bystanders, as well as an occasional human body… or testing how to go through a toll booth, without having to stop.”
Panchhi admits the transformation has changed how he personally reacts to seeing a Thar on the road. Once a symbol of his own midlife journeys, it now brings to mind his strict PT teacher from school, someone capable of making students shiver. Even though his sister and a friend still own the vehicle, he confesses to feeling wary when one looms in his rear-view mirror.
The core of his appeal to Anand Mahindra is a proposal to restore the Thar’s original spirit through selective ownership. Panchhi suggests leasing the SUV rather than selling it outright, making prospective drivers “earn” the right to own one by undergoing training, taking a 4×4 oath, and agreeing to a code of conduct. Under his plan, Mahindra would reclaim vehicles from those who use them to intimidate others or turn them into “nightclubs on wheels.”
“The way this machine was meant to be driven… deserves to be protected,” Panchhi writes in closing, likening the Thar to the mountains it was built for something valuable enough to conserve.
His letter ends on a note of respect, signed as a “fan, a former owner, a worried middle-aged citizen, and a lover of the idea behind the Thar.”
Also Read: Anand Mahindra on Tesla’s Entry: ‘We Will Stay Relevant for the Next Century’
