Mehreen Dhillon enters India Book of Records
Mehreen Dhillon, an amateur motorist, fetched laurels to her native village — Ghungrana — after her name was entered in the India Book of Records for being the ‘Youngest Female To Drive Across Winter Spiti Circuit In Snow’.
Born on August 8, 2006, Mehreen covered the 1,192-km long tough terrain from Kufri to Manali via Rampur, Kaza, Chicham Bridge, Kalpa and Jalori Pass in just seven days from February 17 to February 23. Her entry to the India Book of Records was confirmed on March 3.
Accompanied by her father, Dharam Singh, Mehreen drove a Maruti Jimny across the circuit on snow, with substantial spans of the risky black snow awaiting her and her 82-car convoy.
“We could never have imagined that the habit of casually learning to drive on a kutcha road that leads to our farm would instill such confidence in our granddaughter that she would fetch laurels to the village by becoming the youngest female driver to scale the coldest and toughest terrains of the Himalayas,” said Darshan Singh and Harwinder Kaur, Mehreen’s grandparents.
Mehreen said even topping her latest class and receiving the richest applauds for a number of Bharatnatyam performances could not trigger the amount of happiness that she was feeling after achieving the feat.
“Though it was a challenging journey I dared to navigate the treacherous roads, that too, without snow chains on the tyres as my mentors, including my father, sat along me to boost my morale,” said Mehreen, when reminded of the several fatal mishaps that took place in the range in the past year.
Asked about her future course, Mehreen said she intended to focus all her attention on her academics and wanted to become an engineer. She said this career could open avenues in any direction, including adventurous motoring, for her. “But being a part of Mountain Goat 313, and fetching a prestigious record is not an episode that will ever slip my memory,” said Mehreen.
A postcard from the highest post office in the world at Hikkim, videos from Komic, the highest motorable village, and blessings from the Key Monastery were the events she said that filled her heart with the most buoyant resilience.
Feeling proud of the girl’s rare achievement, residents of Ghungrana village have decided to organise a function to honour Mehreen, along with other achievers from the locality.
“We have already started planning a function, which shall be held soon. All achievers, including Mehreen, will be felicitated during the proposed function,” said Bunny Dhillon, a sports lover from the village.
Ludhiana