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joseph's avatar
02:42 AM
06 August 2009
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Kabhi alvida…

Posted By joseph

We’re here, 17 minutes away to the results. We’re tense, but not gloomy. We’re just happy to be here.


Whatever happens, it has been an amazing 6 weeks of activity! TGDC took up our times, our lives, and most of our poor friends’ lives as well. But the real deal was these past 3 days here at the Royal Palms. I’m sitting now waiting for the lady to get ready and thought I’d let you guys catch a bit of the feverish excitement in the air around.


I don’t have time to detail out everything, but an obstacle course after 2 hours, a cocktail party with God and Auto-god taking centrestage, a dinner revolving around discussing Mitsu’s plans for the next year and of life in the strangest parts of India, and sleep after 36hrs was what the last day of the auditions were all about. I feel that every contestant right now feels there is a chance, and I feel that everyone seriously has delivered in spades for the most important task - the short travelogue here. But I won’t get all “politically” correct on you guys now. smile


I’ll say this though, whoever makes it through is gonna have the time of their life. The next 10 days are going to be a roller-coaster ride of joys, discoveries, disappointments, pleasant surprises, lots of hard work, unforgettable experiences, new friends and much more to keep you glued to that monitor of yours - even if your boss threatens to throw you out (but hey, he’ll be addicted too!).


So strap on your seat-belts, ladies and gentlemen. ‘Cuz the show’s about to begin in 11 minutes! smile


ALL THE BEST TO EVERYONE!


Cheers!
Joe & Nam

joseph's avatar
12:01 AM
05 August 2009
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Of dostana, speed-dating and some shopping challenge thing

Posted By joseph

I’ll be alright, I’ll be alright!


The addictive Jane Kyon track from Dostana came up on 93.5FM as we turned away from the highway towards Aarey Milk Colony. The time was 3:00PM and it was exactly 3 hr 6 mins since we’d kicked off our Great Shopping Challenge from the gates of the Palms Hotel. We had 24 minutes to beat the clock, but along the way we’d beaten choc-a-bloc Mumbai traffic, secured a parking spot on one of the busiest streets, devoured a tasty meal for Rs.75, and shopped for 7 things each for each other and a couple of goodies for the car.


Now, the song has been stuck in my mind since the time it played in the car, and I’m not complaining! It’s a peppy ode to good friendship and when was that ever a bad thing? (Of course, it stars the smokin’ hot Priyanka Chopra too!)


Anyway, I digress, let’s talk about our short adventure shall we?


The plan: Travel to Linking Road, Bandra - the choice destination for the bargain hunter and yet fashion conscious Mumbaikar. Take two different routes to n fro the place to ensure we capture the sights of the modern suburban Mumbai. Spend all of our Rs.2500 on 10 things for each of us, gifts for each others and lunch (including Mr. Rupesh from Team GDC!). Live tweet-telecast the entire adventure online. And see if we could meet any followers.


What really happened:

We started the engine of our Black Cedia at 12:54PM, waved our goodbyes to Unny/Bindhu, Thomas/Shilpy and Amit/Jasleen, and headed off towards Bandra via Jogeshwari/Oshiwara/Andheri/Juhu/Santa Cruz/Khar. The road takes us through some very gossip-flavored favorite places of Bollywood’s celebrities - something that Namrata tells y’all about in her posts.


It took us exactly 4 minutes to lose our direction in Palms itself, but thanks to the helpful security guards we found our way out. From that point onwards, Namrata took over centre-stage as the navigator - we did not need the GPS with her around! smile The mood was up-beat initially and we were doing good speed till we entered the road at InOrbit Mall, Malad. We slowed down to a crawl and ended up taking lots of shots of signboards and people who were genuinely staring at the stickered beauty.


Stuck with all the other “normal” cars


You don’t need a/c to love the weather


Save my soul too


All kinds of 4-wheelers


Even a pink-stickered Logan’s emblem gets stolen in Mumbai!


The other beauty


Painted Mitsubishi!


The not-so-useful dead speed-o-meter to complement the very useful dead-pedal


tu hain toh ulti-pulti baatein seedhi lagti hain…
Of course, not ALL of Namrata’s directions were useful. In some places, the BMC decided that going down under is the best way to beat traffic.


It was 1PM by the time we reached Juhu. The mind-numbingly slow traffic and the unrelenting stopclock had stolen all the excitement at this stage. And I was left with an unusually tense expression on my face. We were already 30% through our journey and we had NOTHING to write about and had been tweeting continuously about traffic-snarls and bollywood-gossip. Miraculously, the road opened up as we entered Juhu and my trusty navigator shouted out the one thing that a GPS can never say - “Bhagao, bhagao!


Jaane kyon dil jaanta hai,
Tu hain toh I’ll be alright

My trusty navigator’s screams helped awaken the Cedia and we zoomed off on the last stretch to our destination; we snaked past rogue cabs and autos with Namrata pep-talking me all through (and cursing at the traffic!). Her navigational skills coupled with her ability to psyche out traffic through her stares and lip-sync’ing the choicest of local curses ensured we not only found the shortest path but it was also empty when needed!


1:13PM ...and we reached National College!


Oohu hu hu oohuuu…
I’ll be alright, I’ll be alright!

We had EXACTLY one hour at Linking Road to have lunch, shop around, hunt for our treasure and wrap it up with great photos - I’d say we did a darn good job at it! smile


Thirty-five rupees worth of cheese goodness!


Garish, gauche, subtle, understated…what your’s foot-style?


Not the most popular shop around


Everything glitters in Linking Road


The Zoo-zoos are back! Now on t-shirts for Rs.150 only!


Colorful, shiny, rugged…how do you want to waist it? - Taukeer’s belt-store!

(Waqar said “Most welcome, come next time also!)


Selling Popeye t-shirts is a serious busines - Popeye t-shirts sell the highest here!


My gifts for my trusty navigator! smile


The funniest t-shirts this side of “Tantra” - sold exclusively by Mohammed Bhai!


Rajesh sells “magic pearls” - bead-sized balls which inflate when soaked in water!


Love kills slowly - as opposed to this cap which will ensure you’re killed swiftly for your fashion sense!


*ahem ahem*


After the mad-rush of shopping, photography and interviewing random individuals we headed off to pick up the Cedia, and guess what? We had a run in with the cops!

A Police Qualis had comfortably parked right behind our car.


Namrata sweet-talked them into moving their vehicle a bit while I went click-click!


With that out of the way, I slotted the car into first gear at 2:19PM and gingerly stepped out of the narrow lanes, only to be greeted by Amit and Jace’s White Cedia. A short-stop before we headed off to the Palms.



...and it was down to our final few miles in the Cedia.


Chotte chotte..
kuch palon ka dostana yeh

‘Cuz when it zooms this way, the world seems alright. The traffic becomes a blur and the 30 seconds of overtaking before you reach the next light seem worth the wait. As I zig-zagged through the Taxis on the Western Express Highway, I looked back at the time that had raced past us. Cossetted in luxury, shut off from the humidity of Mumbai, it was a time to reflect on the machine that brought us here. The Momo steering wheel is compact and injects a whole new level of fun. The drilled-aluminium pedals stick to your feet and are almost telepathic in their connection with you. The SatNav touchscreen is polished and the climate control is enough to transport you to another world. But then, all this means jacksh!t if it does not drive well enough. And boy does it! You ride a wave of torque available at any rev in any gear, heck you can drive around the whole day in one gear if you want. Ride it a bit hard and the growl at the higher revs is addictive enough to want to do it all day, on any road. Try it. Finally, the bullet-proof reliability that will keep you singing “i’ll be alright” all the way on any road, any condition, at any time of the year! smile


Today, then, was the ultimate example of a speed-date. A date with Mumbai - its traffic, its people and its ability to bridge the gap between the affordable and the exorbitant on one single road, a date with my navigator in our first road trip together, and a date with the Cedia Sports. All in 3 hours, but friendships that last forever.


See you. Again. Hopefully still as a follower. smile


All the best everyone!
Cheers!
Joseph

namrata's avatar
11:50 PM
04 August 2009
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The great shopping challenge – accomplished!

Posted By namrata

Linking Road was buzzing with activity as we pulled up in our posh sports car in front of National College, at Bandra. Like some teeny-bopper movie, the doors should have swung open, a close-up shot of my heels, Joe’s all-weather boots, pan up to show youngsters from Bombay’s swish set, turning up for yet another day at college.


But what scrambled out of that beautiful car were two work-weary souls in search of a life-line, to save themselves from the drudgery of corporate life. On a mission, we marched straight to lunch, to the Jay Sandwich stall, outside National College. A quick, working lunch of their special Cheese Masala Toast, a scrumptious, grilled sandwich filled with potatoes, tomatoes, onion, capsicum and generous helpings of cheese took us around 15 mins. While we waited for our sandwich, we chatted with some regulars at this joint – college students and working professionals, who swore by their favorite sandwiches here.


Free-rider Rupesh, Sagar, Krishna and Loretta from Max New York Life Insurance meet us to save their souls!


#Task 1
Satiated, we moved on to the next phase of our Great Shopping Challenge, part-Amazing Race and part-treasure hunt we quickly set about purchasing some essentials for the trip ahead. Each of us could spend a maximum of Rs.1000 on ourselves. Many of our friends & followers had recommended stalls & shops that would stock exactly what we were looking for. Hence, we headed to the stretch bang opposite the college. While Joe took some amazing photographs, I hunted for some comfortable footwear that was both flexible and airy. Having too many choices at hand, can be quite perplexing! 



After purchasing my sandals, the owner Mr.Zakir Hussain gave us a short interview describing his shop & wares.

Video!!
While browsing through the stalls, I recollected some ‘fashion tips for the monsoon’ that I had read somewhere. Avoid metal – wear wooden accessories, brighten up your day with colored flip-flops, avoid denim – it takes longer to dry, etc. Feeling wiser, I closely observed the other shoppers for clues.  Some charming girls from Delhi offered some tips. Watch them here!

Video!!
We helped each other make some tough choices too.



We also met some of our followers Suhas & Kedar Deo (link) also a fellow TGDC contestant. 


#Task 2

We each had to spend Rs.200 on a gift for each other. I bought Joseph a funky hat while he bought me a pair of sunglasses, in what he believes is my favorite color, pink! Check us out, don’t we look all posh! smile



Here is how the final tally stacked up.

Excel sheet

Spread the love
We returned to the Cedia to find a small group of TSEC (Thadomal Sahani Engg. College) students checking out our car.  We let them in, of course.


After peeling those boys away from the Cedia, we rushed back to the venue but not before halting at the Aarey Milk Colony to study some wildlife 



Since we both bought an equal number of items, no clear winner emerged. We did accomplish all our objectives in the allotted time. We reached Bandra, met some of our avid followers, shopped, relished a delicious sandwich, got back on time.


More importantly, we enjoyed every moment of this adrenaline rush, enjoyed working together as a team after such a long time, enjoyed the drive and above all re-discovered our joy in each other’s company.


All excited and awake,
Namrata

namrata's avatar
11:16 PM
04 August 2009
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Linking Road chalenge kya?

Posted By namrata

Fresh from the mental alertness tasks in the morning, driver and navigator set off to conquer the Great Shopping Challenge. We hopped into a passing Cedia (very new, very shiny, very nice smile ), TGDC team member Rupesh hitched a ride too. Our share-a-mitsu was soon on its way to Linking Road, Bandra.


To give our visitors from Hyderabad and Jamshedpur a flavor of the suburbs, we ditched the quicker Western Express Highway and waded through some heavy afternoon traffic instead. Driving past some famous, infamous and not-yet-famous places, the radio was our constant companion with regular traffic updates and some groovy music.


The leafy lanes and clean air of the Aarey Milk Colony in Goregaon soon gave way to the narrow lanes of Jogeshwari, this area is famous for its cane furniture and is the place to hunt for some good deals. Oshiwara, always a bottle-neck, has new constructions like the Infiniti & Mega Malls, Citi Mall, Fame Adlabs, Fun Republic, Star Bazaar all along a 1 km stretch to thank.


Cane furniture shops of Oshiwara


Juhu’s Gulmohar lanes, home to quite a few birds and bollywood chicks, are notorious for shady activities too. Uniformed guards are quick to chase suspicious-looking cars away, especially if they have some heavily tinted glasses or a bunch of college kids looking for some quiet corners.


Amitabh Bachchan & his family reside in the vicinity, as do Hrithik & Susanne (at the JW Marriott Hotel– ever since their family residence became infested with ‘white ants’ called Barbara Mori ). JW Marriott, known for some good music at its popular nightclub ‘Enigma’ as well as a sumptuous mid-night buffet spread, is also the Bachchans’ favorite spot for parking their expensive wheels during the monsoons, when their low-lying bungalow ‘Prateeksha’ is often flooded. Juhu, once upon a time a peaceful locality, was rocked by a shocking incident last December, when two women, exiting the JW Marriott, were molested by a crowd of 70-80 men on New Year’s eve.


Coasting along the curves of Juhu Beach, much cleaner thanks to Ms.Hema Malini’s untiring efforts (you can actually see the sea now as you drive past), we quickly drove through Santacruz and Khar to reach our final destination – Bandra – the Queen of the Suburbs.


Let the games begin!


Signboards along our way

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From : IIM Outdoor

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

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

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

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

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2361 Shivpuri

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

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Had breakfast AND lunch today! Niiiice! :D

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

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It s hot at the Hawa Mahal! :|

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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.

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

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

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On NH8, long day comin to an end.

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

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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*

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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

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

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In Jodhpur old markets - SHOPPING!

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

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

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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! ;)

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

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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!

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

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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

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

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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

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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

Namrata and Joseph, Bombay-ite and Hyderabadi, implore all you interesting, smart, cute and sexy people reading this to please, pleeez follow us !

Fresh out of college, we were thrown into the dust bowls of U.P and the jungles of M.P. Sneaky trainees that we were, we took full advantage of the available resources to explore. Whether the pine trees of Almora or the ruins of Khajuraho, a Bhojpuri film shoot or some gun-laden, mustachioed dudes in the Chambal areas of Bhind - our travels always had added flavor!

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The journey begins!

Monday, August 17, 2009


Parking Spots - Part II

Monday, August 17, 2009


A last look - Jaipur

Monday, August 17, 2009


Clippity-clop! Tickkity-tock! - Ajmer!

Monday, August 17, 2009


Bumper stickers - the Indian way!

Sunday, August 16, 2009


Joe broke the car!

Sunday, August 16, 2009


Two teetotallers at a vineyard!

Sunday, August 16, 2009


60 km from Nasik

Sunday, August 16, 2009


Rearview - Indore to Dhule

Sunday, August 16, 2009


Rearview - Rajasthani Roads

Sunday, August 16, 2009


Love. In. With. Jodhpur.

Sunday, August 16, 2009


What’s for lunch?

Saturday, August 15, 2009


Taj - does the love remain?

Saturday, August 15, 2009


Jai Hind!

Saturday, August 15, 2009


11 o’clock maggi on campus!

Friday, August 14, 2009


1136PM aloo onion parathas!

Friday, August 14, 2009


We’re here! Where we belong!

Friday, August 14, 2009


Rain, rain go away!

Friday, August 14, 2009


Roasting in the sun at the Sun-fort!

Friday, August 14, 2009


Royal Rajputana Rajasthani at Ratanada

Friday, August 14, 2009


Gwalior!

Thursday, August 13, 2009


Drinks are served!

Thursday, August 13, 2009


Lunch in d Cedia, I’m lovin it

Thursday, August 13, 2009


Mugal Sheraton

Thursday, August 13, 2009


We’re famous!

Thursday, August 13, 2009


Where it is?

Thursday, August 13, 2009


I love you

Thursday, August 13, 2009


65km from Agra, driving through

Wednesday, August 12, 2009


Enroute to Agra

Wednesday, August 12, 2009


Driving past the Jal Mahal

Wednesday, August 12, 2009


Hawa Mahal

Wednesday, August 12, 2009


At the Mitsu showroom, Jaipur!

Wednesday, August 12, 2009


Parking Spots

Wednesday, August 12, 2009


I am the Rann

Wednesday, August 12, 2009


Ajmer in a tonga!

Tuesday, August 11, 2009


Rajasthan rocks

Tuesday, August 11, 2009


On our way to Ajmer

Tuesday, August 11, 2009


Thodi si toh Lift kara de!

Tuesday, August 11, 2009


Meherangarh Fort, Jodhpur!

Tuesday, August 11, 2009


Roots in an arid land

Monday, August 10, 2009


Day 4 - on to jodhpur

Monday, August 10, 2009


How was your Sunday?

Sunday, August 09, 2009


Hello Ahmedabad, goodbye Ahmedabad

Sunday, August 09, 2009


On Sanand highway

Sunday, August 09, 2009


We are back in operation

Sunday, August 09, 2009


Who da’man!

Sunday, August 09, 2009


Day 2 begins

Saturday, August 08, 2009


Pehla nasha - udwada rly. cross

Friday, August 07, 2009


The journey begins…

Friday, August 07, 2009


Breakfast at Kamat Vithals!

Friday, August 07, 2009


Kabhi alvida…

Thursday, August 06, 2009


Linking Road chalenge kya?

Tuesday, August 04, 2009


Maroon-ed!

Tuesday, August 04, 2009


IIM Outdoor@GDC Auditions - Day 1

Monday, August 03, 2009


We’re here!

Sunday, August 02, 2009


Before I run away - Part II!

Sunday, August 02, 2009


No expectations…

Sunday, August 02, 2009


How you bin’sar?

Saturday, August 01, 2009


Ho ye rickshaw!

Friday, July 31, 2009


Watch it!

Friday, July 31, 2009


Before I run away…

Friday, July 31, 2009


‘Cuz we all need a purpose in life!

Thursday, July 30, 2009


Paradise lost

Wednesday, July 29, 2009


Lunchtime! At the end of the universe.

Wednesday, July 29, 2009


Pirates of the Indian Ocean!

Wednesday, July 29, 2009


Varanasi - a city of two tales

Tuesday, July 28, 2009


Traffic - the great equalizer

Monday, July 27, 2009


Of new beginnings and new heights

Monday, July 27, 2009


Blackhawk, will you be mine?

Monday, July 27, 2009


The pitch that got us here

Thursday, July 23, 2009