The Great Driving Challenge | User Application

Dhruv Singh Tanwar & Aarti Tanwar

Total Vote(s) : 26 | Total Testimonial(s) : 2

We are Dhruv and Aarti Tanwar. I own and operate my own editorial and content business, writing for a number of clients. My wife Aarti is a home maker, and has a full time occupation looking after our four-plus year old daughter, Lakshita. Both of us are Army kids, and road tripping is our favourite way of taking a vacation and spending time together. We think its a great way to meet new people, see new places, experience local cuisines, and learn about the place from a "local history" and "current reality" point of view.

We are the best candidates because...

Travel by road is something we've grown up doing. We look at the experience in toto - considering the vehicle, road and load conditions, places to stay, visit, and people to meet. The both of us think that life, like this contest, can be one only if you have fun along the way, which is only possible through sharing.

Our Travel Plan

We have two plans, and would eventually implement one of the two: (a) Retrace, by road, the heritage journey of the popular Deccan Odyssey to experience the culture and some of the best tourism destinations in Maharashtra, inculding Mumbai, Sindhudurg, Tarkarli, Goa, Kolhapur, Aurangabad, Ellora, Chandrapur (Tadoba Wildlife), Wardha (Sevagram), Ajanta and Nasik. We may modify this plan slightly to include some destinations on the Ratnagiri coast. (b) Cover the state of Rajasthan and its various destinations, inculding the Ranthambore Sanctuary, Ajmer - Pushkar, Bharatpur, Mt. Abu, Udaipur, Chittorgarh, Jaisalmer, Bikaner, and Jodhpur - basically Rajasthan other than Jaipur.

Our Travelogue

I learnt driving on my father's trusty 1976 HM Ambassador Mark III. In fact, I don't know which I liked more - driving it, or keeping it (and my grandfathers 1969 Mark II) polished and shiny. Driving and maintenance have been ingrained in my blood, thanks to my family history of Fauji's who demand the best, and maintain cars till they acquire a "vintage" status (my grandfather sold his 1969 vehicle in 1995, at a profit of almost rs.2000 from his original buying price!). I've also lived and worked in Texas, US; I have a valid Texas driver's licence, and therefore, am licenced to drive on both, the left as well as the right, side of the road (even though in India, everyone does that, sometimes even without a licence). I had a very memorable driving vacation there for the Independence Day weekend in 2006, driving from Dallas to Austin, to San Antonio, and to Corpus Christi and back. Unfortunately, having travelled there for work, I didn't have my wife with me at the time, and would love to recreate that experience for her here in India. Together, we've road tripped between Delhi and Mumbai a number of times, in vehicles ranging from a humble Maruti 800, to my Wagon R, and our family Tata Safari. Each trip has its special memories, and we are looking forward to creating a story out of this contest as well.

5th July 2009

Anand Krishnan

5th July 2009

Testimonials

Russell

Dhruv has always been fun to ride along with. He is fun behind the wheel and a safe driver too! His photo taking skills are cool and he presents an interesting aspect to the subject. Having Dhruv and Aarti on the show would be pretty entertaining and will provide some good sound bites!

Himmath

No words to describe his passion for driving. Taking risk of driving from DELHI TO MUMBAI in his Wagon-R to report to his new job at Citigroup! There's nothing called Craziness, It's just Passion. All the Best Mr. & Mrs. Dhruv!