The Great Driving Challenge

Explore, Endure, Excel

08:46 PM

04 August 2009

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Hungry kyaa? Vada pav Khaane kaa!! Mumbai without Vada pav ... NOT happening !!

Posted By Pavithra

I have never been a fan of Vada pav , but after eating at Anand stall at Ville parle today i’d do anything for Vada pav!! Even take to doing it for a living because Rajaram who runs the stall claims he sells 500 to 600 pav’s a day! Boy , that is some earning at a cost of around Rs.12 per pav! Anand is located right outside NMIMS College, Ville parle. Open from 07:30 A.M. to 23 :00 P.M. It serves a vast array of dishes on the menu that include dosas , sandwiches etc apart from the most famous and sought after Vada pav.The menu also boasts Shabana Azmi’s photo on it considering she is a regular at this joint , not to forget Vivek Oberoi who also happens to be Rajaram’s favourite bollywood actor.People from all over the city flock to this little charming eatery that has been running successfully for over thirty years now .. Rajaram however is completely unaffected by his success and bustles about personally sserving his customers.

OOps did i also tell you that Anand stall has won the first runner up award from the Bombay Times for the best Vada pav in the Pow Wow contest ??

A MUST try !

07:09 PM

04 August 2009

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Luck by chance – a tryst with Bollywood!!

Posted By Pavithra

The day began with many challenging but exciting tasks on hand. The most exciting of them was the drive. ” Take the Cedia they said and hit the road!!” Umm… actually dreams are made of this. Only this was for real. But where did we want to go? Harish and I, as usual went into a huddle, and then quickly took an opinion poll from friends.” Do something on BOLLYWOOD!” said all.So bollywood it was .

Film City was close enough, but the challenge was getting in. And as it turned out, it was a piece of cake. Drove there in our spanking Black Cedia, Harish brandished his business card, and by golly! We were in! The first thing that struck us was the size of this place! It was sprawling, and dotted with make believe bungalows, temples, paan shops, chai shops and what have you. We knew the time we had would just not be enough to cover the whole place, so we just decided to quickly go to the more interesting spots.

It was a perfect merging of the fake and the real. Our pictures say it all. The buildings were merely facades, but the people there were real. Aspiring actors, spot boys, tea suppliers, all of them, who had come there with dreams and aspirations. Like Ramaswamy from Tamilnadu .We quickly got talking in tamil and he told me that he was recently appointed to guard the set of a famous teleserial which had been shot there in the past.We also met a group of aspiring actors who were waiting to be auditioned . . . who happily posed for us! There was the quintessential bollywood dwelling where you can imagine the typical bollywood MA residing and shedding copious tear’s for her long lost son or missing husband.And , there was the Radha Krishna temple.There was also the make believe Paan shop which had a board saying no visitors allowed at all , but Harish insisted on being photographed with the signage ! We could also almost hear the bollywood judge bringing down his gavel and sternly saying, ” order order”. The closest we got to Shekhar Kapoor or Kirron Kher who were shooting there was to see their name pasted on their vanity vans. We wanted to stay on longer , but it was time to leave we had much to do. So , we reluctantly said bye to Ramaswamy and gang and left . Enjoy the pictures Bollywood Ishhtyle :

02:20 AM

02 August 2009

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My mixed bag…

Posted By Pavithra

The last day before the BIG one… the last moments before the BIG ones and my head is a mixed bag. Stuffed with several thoughts, emotions and feelings. I’m going to keep some and throw out some… Nervousness, anxiety, apprehension, heebie jeebies, doubts, fear… here you go, out of the bag.
What remains… Hope, excitement, anticipation, confidence, sheer joy and a feeling of being blessed for being here. Our bag is mixed no more… it’s full of life’s best things.

TGDC HERE WE COME.

11:38 AM

01 August 2009

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Team E3-TGDC

Posted By harish

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Latest SMS Feeds

From : IIM Outdoor

Sent : 17th Aug 09 12:59:02 PM

Beautiful drive from Nashik to Bombay, one of THE best roads we have driven on!

From : TWaC

Sent : 17th Aug 09 12:40:00 PM

Had fallen in love with Cedia. Now, it s time for detachment.

From : IIM Outdoor

Sent : 16th Aug 09 03:20:55 PM

Bright, blue sky.. Cotton candy clouds.. We head to Nasik

From : TWaC

Sent : 16th Aug 09 01:30:31 PM

Heavy rains in Konkan. Near zero visibility.

From : TWaC

Sent : 16th Aug 09 11:58:04 AM

Back to Maharashtra

From : One Foot Wild

Sent : 16th Aug 09 08:27:16 AM

on the road again, heading from udaipur to baroda

From : TWaC

Sent : 15th Aug 09 04:28:50 PM

Rain welcomes us at Goa

From : IIM Outdoor

Sent : 15th Aug 09 03:54:33 PM

In pot-hole territory. Thank god we are on empty stomachs!

From : TWaC

Sent : 15th Aug 09 03:36:16 PM

Now on the fringes of Western Ghats

From : TWaC

Sent : 14th Aug 09 04:05:56 PM

Touched Kerala once more. At Bekal Fort

From : TWaC

Sent : 14th Aug 09 04:02:45 PM

Morning drive through misty Coorg

From : One Foot Wild

Sent : 14th Aug 09 01:31:24 PM

just reached jaipur... Its super warm here

From : IIM Outdoor

Sent : 14th Aug 09 01:17:21 PM

300km from home! :) :) racing to indore!

From : One Foot Wild

Sent : 14th Aug 09 12:18:33 PM

Still pouring, hoping its also raining in MP where the soyabean farmers are looking up hopefully at the sky

From : IIM Outdoor

Sent : 14th Aug 09 12:08:08 PM

2361 Shivpuri

From : One Foot Wild

Sent : 14th Aug 09 11:51:43 AM

Pouring all the way from Agra into Jaipur

From : One Foot Wild

Sent : 14th Aug 09 07:54:28 AM

On our way to Jaipur

From : One Foot Wild

Sent : 13th Aug 09 11:12:33 PM

Blogging! The bed beckons..

From : One Foot Wild

Sent : 13th Aug 09 07:46:54 PM

Just out after seeing the taj mahal!

From : TWaC

Sent : 13th Aug 09 04:51:36 PM

Madikkeri - Ghats, rains and pot-holed roads

From : IIM Outdoor

Sent : 13th Aug 09 04:10:44 PM

10km from Gwalior, pulled over by the police to be asked Kya yeh sports gaadi hai? ;D

From : IIM Outdoor

Sent : 13th Aug 09 03:43:28 PM

Had breakfast AND lunch today! Niiiice! :D

From : One Foot Wild

Sent : 13th Aug 09 12:38:26 PM

Still on the road to Agra...

From : One Foot Wild

Sent : 13th Aug 09 08:04:32 AM

Heading to Agra. Its going to be a long drive..

From : TWaC

Sent : 12th Aug 09 06:31:31 PM

On our way back to Mysore

From : TWaC

Sent : 12th Aug 09 05:35:06 PM

In Wayanad. Western Ghats Kerala episode

From : IIM Outdoor

Sent : 12th Aug 09 02:42:18 PM

Tan! Tandan!! .. Aaja aaja dilli chhodein! .. Delhi dropped from plans. We head straight to Agra!

From : IIM Outdoor

Sent : 12th Aug 09 01:46:03 PM

It s hot at the Hawa Mahal! :|

From : One Foot Wild

Sent : 12th Aug 09 12:59:33 PM

In Varanasi, walking along the ghats and looking at the Ganga

From : TWaC

Sent : 12th Aug 09 11:48:58 AM

Through Nagarhole National Park

From : IIM Outdoor

Sent : 12th Aug 09 11:41:21 AM

At Akad Cars, the Mitsu showroom. Mr. Abhinav, the MD, is tellim us the best way around Jaipur.

From : IIM Outdoor

Sent : 12th Aug 09 09:13:27 AM

Good morning world! We are in Jaipur! Today s objective: getting Joe a pink shirt/kurta ;)

From : One Foot Wild

Sent : 11th Aug 09 10:20:04 PM

In Varanasi, just got back to the room after the ganga aarti. Stunning.

From : TWaC

Sent : 11th Aug 09 09:03:36 PM

Swine flue alert in Hassan. We cancelled our stay and hit Mysore.

From : IIM Outdoor

Sent : 11th Aug 09 07:55:47 PM

On NH8, long day comin to an end.

From : IIM Outdoor

Sent : 11th Aug 09 04:51:56 PM

Dust storm outside, but IIM Outdoors is snugly cocooned in the Blackhawk :)

From : One Foot Wild

Sent : 11th Aug 09 04:06:41 PM

30kms from Varanasi and its pouring..

From : IIM Outdoor

Sent : 11th Aug 09 01:51:31 PM

Leaving Jodhpur ... On our way to Ajmer.. Hoping to visit the dargah today .. Jodhpur was beautiful! *sigh*

From : TWaC

Sent : 11th Aug 09 01:40:47 PM

Cedia Sports turns its SUV mode on. Climbs Kemmana Gundi peak.

From : One Foot Wild

Sent : 11th Aug 09 12:28:05 PM

Superbly bad roads on route to Varanasi. Soaking in the last sights of Madhya Pradesh.

From : IIM Outdoor

Sent : 11th Aug 09 12:20:07 PM

Just had a long conversation with Mr.Brijraj Singh - great-grandson of HRH Ratan Singh .. Visit to Mehrangarh Fort delayed

From : TWaC

Sent : 11th Aug 09 12:20:02 PM

Driving through coffee estates to Kemmana Gundi peak

From : TWaC

Sent : 11th Aug 09 10:23:44 AM

Bhadra dam & WLS. Touch & go.

From : IIM Outdoor

Sent : 11th Aug 09 08:52:51 AM

Just got up, not a single post been uploaded so far, gotta hurry.. ttyl :)

From : One Foot Wild

Sent : 11th Aug 09 08:31:52 AM

Passing through the Panna Forest Reserve..stopped on a bridge..

From : One Foot Wild

Sent : 11th Aug 09 08:01:54 AM

Heading from Khajuraho to Varanasi..

From : One Foot Wild

Sent : 10th Aug 09 08:43:24 PM

Sitting at Raja Cafe having a European thali.. :)

From : IIM Outdoor

Sent : 10th Aug 09 07:56:44 PM

In Jodhpur old markets - SHOPPING!

From : TWaC

Sent : 10th Aug 09 07:50:45 PM

At Shimoga after a rainy day in rain forests

From : One Foot Wild

Sent : 10th Aug 09 07:40:11 PM

Back at the hotel after seeing the absolutely stunning temples of Khajuraho.

From : IIM Outdoor

Sent : 10th Aug 09 06:47:10 PM

As the sun sets, we enter Jodhpur, today s travel - 396km, but not feeling blue at all :)

From : IIM Outdoor

Sent : 10th Aug 09 04:50:05 PM

100 km away frm jodhpur, horrible truckyktraffic on the way. Had lunch for the second time in four days! :)

From : IIM Outdoor

Sent : 9th Aug 09 02:27:22 PM

Just had tea with Mr.Dhanraj Mallik, Rann veteran & advisor to the BBC. Right now, on our way to discover some salt pans, thts how we spend our Sunday! ;)

From : IIM Outdoor

Sent : 9th Aug 09 12:05:24 PM

On state highway 07. Namrata s driving while I m writing and Enrique s crooning.

From : IIM Outdoor

Sent : 8th Aug 09 07:30:34 PM

At the Vintage Villa of classic cars, droolin over the sports tourers. Got here after blastin the 88km NE1 Expressway in 42mins! Cedia, take a bow!

From : TWaC

Sent : 8th Aug 09 12:01:23 AM

Sagareshwar Wildlife Sanctuary A manmade forest spread over 84 sq km A haven for deers peacocks an many birds

From : IIM Outdoor

Sent : 7th Aug 09 10:25:40 PM

Ab hum bhi poore punjabi! ... Current track: Kangana .. For Gaurav from Chandigarh :)

From : IIM Outdoor

Sent : 7th Aug 09 09:56:45 PM

Just discovered d USB connector for the blackhawk s music sys... one of d best moments of d day! :D

From : IIM Outdoor

Sent : 7th Aug 09 05:28:25 PM

Reached our first destination Daman, it even has its own airport! :)

From : TWaC

Sent : 7th Aug 09 04:38:22 PM

We haven't heard the 'Suprabhatham' chant for many many years. While we were in Chennai and Kerala we used to hear that quite often. First day morning. And as we walk into this nice restaurant at Vashi for breakfast, the 'Suprabhatham' chant welcomes us. Perhaps a good omen on the first stop on first day.

From : IIM Outdoor

Sent : 7th Aug 09 04:19:19 PM

Just drove 21 km in our cedia, for the very first time! This vehicle is just so smooth!! :) 50 km from Daman. Joe s taken over coz we have to reach by 12

From : IIM Outdoor

Sent : 7th Aug 09 03:09:15 PM

Good morning! :) on our way frm thane to vapi. Jus done upma n rawa dosa at Kamat Vithals. Catch the pic on our flickr n twitter!

About us

Hi! We are Harish Kukreja and Pavithra Ghanashyam. I have been involved in all forms of motor Sport since I was 15 and am popularly known as ‘Handbrake Harry’ My hobbies vary from the mundane to the exciting and am presently involved in RC car and Airplane model racing.

Photography, trekking, cycling, music, reading, driving, tree planting, are my other activities. Pavithra & I came together a few days ago thru a common friend. My driving partner has been an RJ, and is an actress and inveterate traveler.

Hungry kyaa? Vada pav Khaane kaa!! Mumbai without Vada pav ... NOT happening !!

Luck by chance – a tryst with Bollywood!!

My mixed bag…

Team E3-TGDC

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