Cross country rallying is considered a man's sport and not many women pursue a career in it. However, Anu Rana and Bani Yadav have broken this barrier to chase their dreams. They share their experiences and difficulties with KARTHIK RAMAN

Is there something called a 'Man Sport', or is it just the society taking advantage of a commonly misunderstood perception to prevent women from leaving the houseIJ

"Traditionally, men are considered the daring ones hence the tag 'A man's sport'," says woman car rallyist Bani Yadav.

She may be right.

Often, high speed racing or rallying at high altitudes is considered to be men's sports. Those are not something parents recommend their girl child to do and that is how girls want to stay, rightIJ Not anymore.

"My parents have always taught me to be a strong person and believe in myself. They have never differentiated between a girl and a boy and that is what I have grown up believing," says Bani.

The 46-year-old racer and mother of two boys, believes in charting her own path and wants others to be likewise.

"I have never been a conformist in the true sense and I believe in carving my own path — in both personal and professional life. There is really nothing like a men's sport or women's sport. It is what you choose to do and it becomes yours," she said.

Besides Bani, Anu Rana, a rally driver, who spends more time in those dangerous high altitudes of Himalaya or Shimla than with her family.

Just like Yadav, Anu does not agree that certain sports are only assigned to a specific sex.

"These myths no longer hold value. We live in a global world and have come a long way to achieve all this. I agree, we still have to move up the ladder but motor sports is no longer only men's sports. Infact it was my uncle - Yoginder Singh Rana - who motivated and supported me to pursue motor sports," the 33-year-old explains.

Rana, a manager finance at Q2A media, labeled her racing experience as amazing.

"last three years have been amazing. I have rallied to different parts of our country which I otherwise wouldn't have ever explored," she said.

Anu, who started driving in cross-country rallies three years ago, explains how a different ball game it is from other sports. "Driving in the Himalayas and other hills are a completely different ballgame as it requires a completely different set of training and conditioning of your body and mind," she says.

"The terrain keeps getting steeper with every turn and you do not know when the tarmac road will turn into broken tarmac or into loose rocks or even sand which makes the drive tougher with distance. For a racer like me, the terrain looks tempting but you should never forget the limits of your car," she explained.

However, it has not always been a cakewalk for Anu as sometimes the 33-year-old goes to racing straight from work on Fridays and after racing, goes directly to work on Monday morning. Despite all these difficulties, she explains how her passion helps her to keep going. "Many times, the event starts on Friday and I leave directly from work taking half day leave and head directly to the event and get my car's security done too. If it's a two-day event, it gets over by Sunday. Then, I leave directly for work on Monday morning," she says, adding, "You have to manage these glitches to carry on your passion."

She also has special praise for people who have helped her massively. "Apart from family and friends, my special thanks goes to my team Harjee Rallying, owned by Anil Wadia, who has been continuously supporting me and my navigator sister Poonam," she explains.

Meanwhile, Bani, who has been into motorsports for three years now, has called for more women to pursue such sports.

"More and more women should join the sports, I see so many more women driving on the roads now than ever before and it is always more the merrier. I would love to see more women coming out of their shells and taking up adventure sports," she says.

"The sky is the limit and age is never a factor. Women should have the passion to take up sports. It is never too late to start and I am a living example of it. I have so many youngsters coming to me during and off the motorsport events to have an understanding of the sport."

Bani is also a social activist and she fights for various causes like women empowerment, uplift of girl children, protection of stray animals and the like.

"I am actively involved in social activities related to women empowerment and uplift of the girl child. I am engaged in activities with Badlaav - EkUmeedki Kiran Welfare Trust which works in this field and helps to provide support and employment opportunities to the women at the lowest level of the society like rag pickers, scavengers and slum dwellers.

"I am also involved with Animal NGO's for the protection of the stray animals and rehabilitation of abandoned and hurt animals. I work for Everything Meow which specifically takes care of stray cats, abandoned or hurt cats. I also work for Sonadi Dogs NGO which provides medical treatment and a home to stray dogs. I have been involved for many years now in these activities," she added.

Despite being the mother of two, the burden of family has not prevented Yadav from living life to the fullest. Infact, she feels the support she gets from her children her pursue these goals.

"Being a mother is always the top priority for me. My children are extremely supportive of what I pursue on the track, as well as being an activist. It is their support which lets me take time out for all the activities I want to do," she said.

Both the women drivers will be participating in the Maruti Suzuki Raid De Himalaya, which started on Saturday and will take place till 15th October. Regarded to be one of the toughest rallies in the world it will take place 16,000 feet above mean sea level.

On their targets, Anu said, "This will be my third raid. Finishing raid is an achievement in itself but this time I also target to win."

Whereas, Bani added "Maruti Suzuki Raid De Himalaya is known to be one of the toughest rallies of the world and also the rally which is at the highest altitude. It is a dream for every rally driver to be a part of this great rally. Thanks to Maruti Suzuki's support, I will again be traversing the Himalayas and God willing, look forward to finishing it safely and successfully. Achieving a podium position or not, hardly matters to the true sports persons, as long as one is satisfied by their performance."

Indeed it is. Winning and losing is part of a sports person's life and the important thing is to enjoy the journey to the fullest and these two women have shown that if anyone can dedicate their time and follow one's passion, regardless of the individual's gender, he/she can  achieve their goals. Cross country rallying is considered a man's sport and not many women pursue a career in it. However, Anu Rana and Bani Yadav have broken this barrier to chase their dreams. They share their experiences and difficulties with KARTHIK RAMAN

Is there something called a 'Man Sport', or is it just the society taking advantage of a commonly misunderstood perception to prevent women from leaving the houseIJ

"Traditionally, men are considered the daring ones hence the tag 'A man's sport'," says woman car rallyist Bani Yadav.

She may be right.

Often, high speed racing or rallying at high altitudes is considered to be men's sports. Those are not something parents recommend their girl child to do and that is how girls want to stay, rightIJ Not anymore.

"My parents have always taught me to be a strong person and believe in myself. They have never differentiated between a girl and a boy and that is what I have grown up believing," says Bani.

The 46-year-old racer and mother of two boys, believes in charting her own path and wants others to be likewise.

"I have never been a conformist in the true sense and I believe in carving my own path — in both personal and professional life. There is really nothing like a men's sport or women's sport. It is what you choose to do and it becomes yours," she said.

Besides Bani, Anu Rana, a rally driver, who spends more time in those dangerous high altitudes of Himalaya or Shimla than with her family.

Just like Yadav, Anu does not agree that certain sports are only assigned to a specific sex.

"These myths no longer hold value. We live in a global world and have come a long way to achieve all this. I agree, we still have to move up the ladder but motor sports is no longer only men's sports. Infact it was my uncle - Yoginder Singh Rana - who motivated and supported me to pursue motor sports," the 33-year-old explains.

Rana, a manager finance at Q2A media, labeled her racing experience as amazing.

"last three years have been amazing. I have rallied to different parts of our country which I otherwise wouldn't have ever explored," she said.

Anu, who started driving in cross-country rallies three years ago, explains how a different ball game it is from other sports. "Driving in the Himalayas and other hills are a completely different ballgame as it requires a completely different set of training and conditioning of your body and mind," she says.

"The terrain keeps getting steeper with every turn and you do not know when the tarmac road will turn into broken tarmac or into loose rocks or even sand which makes the drive tougher with distance. For a racer like me, the terrain looks tempting but you should never forget the limits of your car," she explained.

However, it has not always been a cakewalk for Anu as sometimes the 33-year-old goes to racing straight from work on Fridays and after racing, goes directly to work on Monday morning. Despite all these difficulties, she explains how her passion helps her to keep going. "Many times, the event starts on Friday and I leave directly from work taking half day leave and head directly to the event and get my car's security done too. If it's a two-day event, it gets over by Sunday. Then, I leave directly for work on Monday morning," she says, adding, "You have to manage these glitches to carry on your passion."

She also has special praise for people who have helped her massively. "Apart from family and friends, my special thanks goes to my team Harjee Rallying, owned by Anil Wadia, who has been continuously supporting me and my navigator sister Poonam," she explains.

Meanwhile, Bani, who has been into motorsports for three years now, has called for more women to pursue such sports.

"More and more women should join the sports, I see so many more women driving on the roads now than ever before and it is always more the merrier. I would love to see more women coming out of their shells and taking up adventure sports," she says.

"The sky is the limit and age is never a factor. Women should have the passion to take up sports. It is never too late to start and I am a living example of it. I have so many youngsters coming to me during and off the motorsport events to have an understanding of the sport."

Bani is also a social activist and she fights for various causes like women empowerment, uplift of girl children, protection of stray animals and the like.

"I am actively involved in social activities related to women empowerment and uplift of the girl child. I am engaged in activities with Badlaav - EkUmeedki Kiran Welfare Trust which works in this field and helps to provide support and employment opportunities to the women at the lowest level of the society like rag pickers, scavengers and slum dwellers.

"I am also involved with Animal NGO's for the protection of the stray animals and rehabilitation of abandoned and hurt animals. I work for Everything Meow which specifically takes care of stray cats, abandoned or hurt cats. I also work for Sonadi Dogs NGO which provides medical treatment and a home to stray dogs. I have been involved for many years now in these activities," she added.

Despite being the mother of two, the burden of family has not prevented Yadav from living life to the fullest. Infact, she feels the support she gets from her children her pursue these goals.

"Being a mother is always the top priority for me. My children are extremely supportive of what I pursue on the track, as well as being an activist. It is their support which lets me take time out for all the activities I want to do," she said.

Both the women drivers will be participating in the Maruti Suzuki Raid De Himalaya, which started on Saturday and will take place till 15th October. Regarded to be one of the toughest rallies in the world it will take place 16,000 feet above mean sea level.

On their targets, Anu said, "This will be my third raid. Finishing raid is an achievement in itself but this time I also target to win."

Whereas, Bani added "Maruti Suzuki Raid De Himalaya is known to be one of the toughest rallies of the world and also the rally which is at the highest altitude. It is a dream for every rally driver to be a part of this great rally. Thanks to Maruti Suzuki's support, I will again be traversing the Himalayas and God willing, look forward to finishing it safely and successfully. Achieving a podium position or not, hardly matters to the true sports persons, as long as one is satisfied by their performance."

Indeed it is. Winning and losing is part of a sports person's life and the important thing is to enjoy the journey to the fullest and these two women have shown that if anyone can dedicate their time and follow one's passion, regardless of the individual's gender, he/she can  achieve their goals.