Continental jigsaw

is sending three Scorpios trundling across West Asia and Africa for scientific research.

Mahindra & Mahindra (M&M), the Indian utility vehicle maker, is kicking up dust again. This time, it's sponsoring something called the Gondwanaland Expedition. Three Mahindra Scorpios will travel from India to West Asia and then rumble through the entire length of Africa, from Egypt to South Africa.

Kicking up dust, of course, is not the objective. The Gondwanaland Expedition, as the name suggests, is a scientific mission led by Akhil Bakshi, fellow of the Royal Geographic Society and his team of scientists.

Their mission: to conduct exploratory geological research on the continental structure and study seismic activity in the Indo-African region.

The studies promise to throw new light on the causes of such natural disasters as the recent Gujarat and Iran earthquakes, as also the tsunami of December 26, 2004.

The expedition, which kicked off on March 25 after a meeting with Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, is expected to end on June 28, with the requisite field work in the bag.

The company is more than pleased to be part of the expedition. "M&M is utilising the expedition to study the endurance of Scorpio travelling through the rugged terrains of the Himalayas to Cape Agulhas (the tip of Africa), across 17 countries, over 100 days, covering a distance of about 35,000 km," says Vivek Nayer, vice-president, marketing, M&M.

As a brand, M&M is trying to acquire a global reputation for ruggedness, especially in diesel-driven tropical zones.

The company's automotive division exports products to several countries in Europe, Africa, South America, South Asia, ASEAN and West Asia. It also exports vehicles to countries like Nigeria, Ghana, Tanzania, Uganda, Angola, Mozambique, Zambia, Ethiopia and Djibouti.

Having its vehicles seen as part of a scientific expedition would act as an image booster. M&M has previously participated in the Central Asia Expedition (1994), Azad Hind Expedition from Singapore to Delhi (1996), and Hands Across Borders Expedition across the subcontinent (1999). The Gondwanaland jigsaw fits in nicely.