It is said that great ideas come as gently as a dove. The concept of Bajaj Pulsar Dare Venture did not result from aggressive pre-planning. The idea stirred at a regular brainstorming session at the HH Bajaj office. “The idea came out of the blue. We always wanted to do something adventurous for Pulsar. One day at a regular brainstorming, executive director of HH Bajaj Shekhar Golchha shared the idea,” revealed Punam Singh, Marketing Head at HH Bajaj.

According to Singh, the initial plan was to get Pulsar riders from different parts of the country to meet at a certain point and ride together to Upper Mustang. However, after a lot of discussion the idea was modified — the concept of the first bike reality show of Nepal was born.

With this core concept in mind, the Bajaj team explored the terrains of Nepal looking for a suitable location. “We selected Upper Mustang for its stunning beauty,” Singh added.

Organising this first-of-its-kind reality show was not easy. It came with many challenges. One wrong move and it could cost lives. Everything had to be well-calculated, from the fine tuning of the idea, the evaluation of every single registration to choosing Marshalls and ensuring the safety of participants.

To guarantee that logistics were met, the Bajaj team approached Bikers Nepal to be involved as ride Marshalls. “It is important to have experienced riders lead. Since we have been involved in off-road riding since 2006, we were offered to be the Marshalls,” said Pasang Sherpa, Managing Director at Bikers Nepal. Along with Sherpa, there were two other Marshalls — Akil Thakuri and Govinda Thapa Magar.

Ten bikers were selected from a total of 800 applicants and were given intensive training by three mentors from Bikers Nepal. The entire crew comprised of 10 riders and 30 members with three Marshalls, paramedics, mechanics and 10 people from the television crew.

After intense discussions and a couple of trial runs, Chaile of Upper Mustang was selected as the final destination. It took three months to get things set up and on the road. The journey began in Kathmandu, from where participants travelled to Pokhara, Jomsom and finally Upper Mustang.

Pulsar 180cc was chosen as the ride for participants as it presented the best weight to power ratio for the trip. Marshalls were put in charge of maintaining discipline and safety gear. The safety wear including jackets, boots and other gear was provided by the HH Bajaj to ensure proper safety.

“Pulsar Dare Venture Season 1 was a learning experience for us and we were able to identify areas that required improvement. This season we have decided to let everyone who has registered go for auditions so that they get a fair chance to showcase their talent. This year we have a professional team to make and package the reality show. I am sure we will be able to live up to the expectations of all and once again give a successful show,” said Singh.

Santosh Adhikari was presented the Most Popular Rider award in Season 1 and won Rs 200,000. The popularity was judged on the basis of SMS and Facebook voting. Aqib Abdul Atique and Anil Kumar Kushwahi won the title of the Most Disciplined Rider and the Most Daring Rider respectively. They were awarded a cash prize of Rs 150,000 each.

Atique shared, “It was such a thrilling experience; I can never get over it. Not only did we learn about off-road biking, we also got a platform to come into the limelight. I expect this year’s event to be bigger and better.”