The Great Driving Challenge | User Application

Tarang Koppal & Kshitija Koppal

Total Vote(s) : 292 | Total Testimonial(s) : 23

I, Tarang (33) and my wife Kshitija (33) reside in Thane, near Mumbai... We've been married for 10 years now and have a lovely li'l daughter Samay who will be 5 yrs old this September... I work for a well-known food testing laboratory; good food being my other passion..! Kshitija is a free-lance corporate trainer and a professional content writer... We both are avid travellers and have always preffered to explore the world by road... Having been driving since 1997, i have single handedly driven more than 4 lakh kilometers across the length & breath of India... I have driven a variety of cars & models, and our last owned car the Chevvy Tavera... The baby had clocked 2.10 lakh kilometers by her second birthday (!) itself, and had surely visited more than a hundred different cities by then... Kshitija, during her college days in Pune, was an integral part of her gang of bikers and has particiapated as navigator in quite a few bike rallies... she is amazing at charting routes across invisible map lines, and making journey to even the familiar destinations seem like an exploration... We love to drive / journey / explore together and known that we would be doing that for a long, long time to come...

We are the best candidates because...

THE WORLD THROUGH MY WINDSHIELD Purpose undefined, Destination unkown; Need no consent or sanction, We drive out on our own. We steer down winding roads, Let the wind cut ‘cross our face; The mind is freed, the soul surrendered, By the outcome of this one-man race. As the wheels turn ‘round, time flows by, The car charts its own track; We hurtle down this timelessness, The present in front, the future at the back. ~ Tarang / Kshitija we are deeply passionate about road trips and cross-country driving... we love winding roads, falling rain, the wind in our face & the blur of green across our window... we like to drive without aim or destination... we prefer the concept of movement rather than speed... we love to drive away from the rising sun and head slowly to meet him again as he too decides to finally wind up for the day... the Great Driving Challenge seems to have been truly designed for couples like us... those who like to drive not race, who like to stop to see the splendor of the valley and capture some of its beauty through a camera lens and who would view & write about the trip as another journey through life itself... Kshitija (33) has been a professional bike navigator during her teens and Tarang (33) has clocked more than 4 lakh driving kilometers across the length & breadth of India already over the last 12 years... this is our life, our journey, our destiny... and as always we intend to do this together..! Kshitija says - if there is one thing that we want to do before we die is see the world. our greatest dream is to backpack across the globe. carry just enough possessions so that we are comfortable and fit in our haversack on our back. work in a city / village and earn our way to the next destinations. like true nomads. this way we not only get to see different places and cultures but get to live them as well. we want it all and in one life too!

Our Travel Plan

For this challenge, we intend to explore the entire south coast of India from Mumbai to Kanyakumari... the aim would be to move off the National highways and try and locate routes that would hug the coastline as much as possible... we would drive through Maharashtra, Goa, Karnataka and Kerala before touching Tamil Nadu at its nethermost tip... On the way back, we shall leave the coastline and try to drive across the centre of each state, going the past the hills & vales through the heart of Kerala & Karnataka... we will also be exploring the Sahyadri range, meandering across its ghats as we enter into Maharashtra to complete the return trip... all of this would be completed in the 10 days and we would have clocked a lot more than 3000 kms during this journey... The choice of route has largely been influenced by the proposed season of travel... mid-august sees the north-westerlies at its very best and provides ample rain to all parts of the south west coast of India... the impressive downpour brings with it an over-abundance of greenery all over the region... the rich red soil of the konkan, sprawled with the continual greenery on one side and a deep blue churning sea on the other, is indeed a sight to behold..! the rains & winds on the treacherous, ever-winding ghats, coupled with the morning mist offer the adventurer with sufficient challenge & test of skill... the return path, a discovery of the western mountain ranges, too would be a lushfull delight in this weather... the road zig-zags through several forests & hills offering another myraid of photo-opportunities... a brief halt and a short trek would lead one right into the heart of a previously undiscovered world, full of bursting flower blooms and enchanting bird calls... The to & fro route across the same states but through different exploratory paths as proposed by us, would exemplify the amazing diversity of culture, climate & colours that India has..!

Our Travelogue

(1) Mumbai - Hubli - Mangalore - Ernakulum - Mangalore - Goa - Mumbai... a road trip of more than 3000 kms covered across 5 travel days... all for attending a cousin's wedding held in Kerala... well, that's how crazy we are..! (2) Mumbai - Bangalore - Tirupati - Bangalore - Mumbai... a business deal... a scientist in Bangalore required an equipment demonstration in Tirupati... so we drove there all the way... didn't i tell you we are crazy...! (3) Mumbai - Jalgaon - Nagpur - Ahmednagar - Mumbai... a little work... more of an excuse...! (4) Mumbai - Ahmedabad - Mumbai... a new car, longing for a long drive... we took her out for this 1500 kms trip even before she had clocked the first 500 kms on her dashboard..! (5) Mumbai - Goa - Belgaum - Kolhapur - Mumbai... my idea of an office picnic..! (6) To Goa or along the Konkan Coast... an annual must-do routine..! And many, many others at any opportunity that we got... Besides having self-driven to places, I & Kshitija may have travelled to no less than 500 cities in the world together or independantly... Our last foreign trip was a 20 day stay across several cities in UK... Our last domestic vacation was yet another exploration of the incredibly beautiful Kerala... from Jaipur to Gauhati and from Dharamsala to Trivandrum, we can surely claim that we have never been stationary for long periods in our life... We have shared enviable compatibility during all our road trips together... we love to explore the road less travelled, halt at any place / spot that attracts us compellingly, we like to capture the trail through our camera lens and more than all we love to experience the food, culture & crux of every new region we pass through... we can drive from dawn to dusk, without languishing its labour, and at times even spend hours of complete comfortable silence only absorbing the thrill of the drive... Kshitija loves the sea while i love the mountains... fortunately for us we've had the joy & opportunity of exploring both our passions on several different road trips...

13th July 2009

Rajesh Nair

13th July 2009

Shailesh Awate

13th July 2009

Testimonials

Manoj Gaikwad

He is very good experienced driver.He drives almost 1lac KMs.I experienced his driving on Mumbai-goa Highway which is very risky in monsoon.He drived very sharply with high speed and proper wany without missing any routes.

Gaurav

Having known them for over 8 years, Tarang and Kshitija are truly the ROCKING couple. Tarang being sensitive yet aggressive, avid traveler and writer and Kshitija being level headed and practical, they form a perfect pair to take up any challenges head on. I strongly believe that, if given a chance, they are driving away the Mitsubishi Cedia and overcoming the THE GREAT DRIVING CHALLENGE

kavita mehta

hey guys you are the best at this. hope you win. all the best

mira

tarang and kshitija are a great couple. they are avid travelers and writers and always keep us amused with their stories

dr.shweta

this is just up their lane. all the best guys

kavita mohan

tarang and kshitija love to travel, take long drives, take photographs and write travelogues of their holidays .... we really enjoy their holiday pictures and stories; it's like having gone with them on their latest adventure ...we really enjoy their holiday pictures and stories; it's like having gone with them on their latest adventure ...the mitsubishi cedia great driving challenge is custom made for a couple like them .... this is something tarang and kshitija must do ... i'm certain they will win ...

Umesh Gite

Best of Luck Tarang. ( Luck is the result of your connection to the source of creation and it will happens as you have the intentions of realizing the worthy goals.) Tarang you deserves to WIN !!!!

Aishwarya

If there's anything I know about these guys, it's their unbridled enthusiasm and their love for quests. This befits them just as well. 'Luck, guys. :D

Dipack Hattengdi

Both Tarang & Kshitija are an extremely adventurous pair and eminently qualified for this driving challenge. bash on regardless, mes amis and Bonne Chance.

vinod raut

if you give tarang and kshitija a car a camera and fuel you give them heaven. way to go guys. all the best

mita vishnu

how many cars have you had till now? 5? well the cedia will be a nice one to add to your collection. all the best guys.

Pushpa

Tarang!!! this one is right up your alley. you have to win this one. wish you & K all the best. lotsa love. ~ P

Ram Padhi

I remember accompanying these guy on a trip to Shirdi in pouring rain. It was pouring buckets of water and full zero-visibility. Tarang is a fantastic driver and got us there in no time. I was scared at first, but Kshitija told me that I should trust him completely. All the best guys. Take me along with you again if you win! :-)

Dolly S

hi Tarang & Kshitija. i read about this on orkut. Tarang, i have read some of the poetry you had once posted on the Amateur Writers' community. I also read your regular contributions on other common communities. So although I have not experienced your driving skill personally, if you are as good a driver as you are a writer I think you can certainly win this event. Wish you all the best. Inform us of your progress on AW & KTC. Hope you win. ~ Dolly S

Devil's 9th Incarnate

TAKE ME ALONG...!!!

Ram

I & Tony (Tarang's pet name) were in school together since Jr.Kg. I remember our tricycle race in Tony's large living room. I'm sure we both showed immense promise & ability of our driving skills even when we were that young! Way to go Tony. Wish you & Bhabhi all the best. ROCK ON!!!

Shraddha Samant

I wish i could post a 100 votes for you guys all by myself.. you so deserve to win this.. driving, writing & photography.. you guys are SO good at all three.. wow, i hope you make it to the last 3.. fingers-crossed and praying..

Ajit

hey Kshitija! rememeber the trip to Dharamsala & Manali. you should drive down the same route, if you win. very scenic & photogenic. Kshitija is a very good photographer with a good eye and steady hands. after all who gave you tips! ;-) you can borrow my Minolta for this trip too.

Allwyn

Kavita has mentioned a lot about you guys. Wish you'll the best. I have cast my vote already. You guys will need to gather quite a few more though. So I will ask my friends to vote for you too. cheers, Allwyn

sama

i am sure you will come back with some funny stories about your experience and also some great photographs. hope you guys win.

praveen

i don't know a more deserving couple than u. hope you guys win. all the best

Umesh Soman

Wow.. this just seems a dream.. The first time I came to know about this challenge, I was cursing my luck for I started wondering - 'Why not a biking challenge?'.. And then I wondered who else would go zany about this opportunity? Who would enjoy it to the fullest? Who can do all that is required - drive well, photograph well, write great and so on.. And I thought Tarang and Kshitija are the best candidates.. I've seen them a zillion times in action, and i'm sure they are absolute winners!! All the best, you two!

Umesh Soman

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