It's a business no doubt but its motto - Get Out And Get Into Action - has undertones of social service. But then, what else would you expect from a woman determined to translate her love for children into quality time spent with them, their parents and families?

WOW (Wild on Weekends) Adventures and Events was Rohini Dwivedi's first working experience. But then prior to 2006, this wife of an army officer and mother of two teenaged children found her family relocating every few years as is customary for the families of officers serving the armed forces. For Rohini, their postings in remote places were most enjoyable, as the natural beauty reminded her of her childhood spent in Solan and Simla in Himachal Pradesh.

Play to your strengths

A very outdoors person, Rohini avidly participated in outdoor games and cultural activities during her formative years. Besides, she had been an active member of the National Cadet Corps, even representing the Himachal Pradesh contingent at the Republic Day Parade in Delhi and Himachal Pradesh state at national level hockey championships. Nevertheless, she chose to specialize in child psychology, her favourite field of study. According to Rohini, ‘children are like clay and need to be handled carefully.'

WOW Adventures and Events, launched by Rohini in 2006, is thus her way of doing her bit to reverse an emerging social trend that has differently aged members of a family - children and adults - doing their own thing both during weekdays and holidays. Rohini believes families are spending less time together as a group, as a result of which family and moral values are diminishing.

Launch a new concept

Her aim was to create a platform for family members of all ages to have fun together and thus bond better. While she started out as an adventure club, her company slowly evolved as WOW (Wild on Weekends) Adventures and Events, with the capacity to handle a range of adventures activities and adventure-based events.

Adventure amid nature remains the company's core business, as Rohini strongly believes that nature is the ultimate stress reliever, while adventure restores a sense of excitement and challenge in life.

Think about it - most people equate a day outdoors with a picnic. Instead, WOW Adventures and Events promotes an adventure day out, a much headier way to appreciate nature, get the adrenalin running, and bond while facing common challenges.

Something for all - target diverse markets

For these reasons, the concept is as useful to schools as it is to corporate setups. Elite schools of Bangalore have outsourced the management of their Adventure Clubs to the company, as well as availed of specially designed programmes to initiate school children to adventure within the school campus. As of today, more than 1000 school children and college youth have experienced the benefits of an adventure in nature.

Corporate establishments seek WOW Adventure and Events' services to arrange outbound learning events to build team and group bonding, custom-made training programmes for leadership and personality development, and corporate and institutional events like annual days, product launches and promos.

In addition, Rohini also offers special customized outdoor events for ladies and senior citizens.

Challenges - a new way of doing things

"Initially, it was a tough job to convince people to get out of their homes / comfort zone on a Sunday or holiday," shares Rohini.

Considering that most city dwellers opt to stay indoors for both work as well as leisure, marketing a novel concept of adventures amid nature was undoubtedly a challenge. While Rohini sought to enlist corporate customers through innovative presentations, she resorted to modern mass publicity techniques like bulk SMSing etc to reach out to prospective family clients.

Another challenge she faced was managing everything single-handedly. While her husband Colonel Rakesh Dwivedi, Sena Medal (Retd) co-conceived the concept, in the initial months, Rohini did most of the running around. As her efforts paid off, her husband took over the operations and training team comprising dedicated instructors, leaving Rohini to focus on building the business.

A woman in business

Today, WOW Adventures and Events has sufficiently grown to tell its clients to simply dream, and leave the execution of their dreams to it. Rohini and her team have come a long way in just two years, in spite of being a company founded by a woman, promoting an outdoor concept.

But Rohini points out that being a woman never hindered her work. Quite the contrary, she believes parents feel more secure and reassured with a lady at the helm of affairs. In fact, parents of girls are especially more forthcoming to give the adventure experience to their wards, as they know that Rohini is personally present for all such outings or outdoor camps.

Even so, managing both her home and business affairs requires Rohini to constantly negotiate a tricky balance. "Although moving around and traveling a lot is exhausting, smiling children and satisfied parents are my reward," she says. Without doubt, also knowing that her team has carved a niche for itself by playing a small role in grooming future generations is a satisfaction that keeps her charged and raring to go.

Charu Bahri is an author, freelance writer, columnist and [part-time] manager - projects and information systems at J Watumull Global Hospital & Research Centre. More about her at http:/ charubahri.googlepages.com

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