The Great Driving Challenge | Spartan Hedgehogs

Chew up the Road!

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04:38 AM

30 July 2009

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I’m back… and I have a long one !!!!

Posted By Roohshad

PHEW! Im still catching up with my breath from the Fashion Week and finishing up my pending shoots I had lined up before Mumbai… t’was crazy! BRILLIANT designers, gorgeous boys and girls, tonnes of faces i haven’t seen in a while. Crazy! I’m so pleasantly surprised to see how many small designers are fighting their way up, much to my surprise—a lot of them I’ve shot little projects for last year, and surprised to see from where to where they have got. Kudos to you guys!

This was the first time I went backstage specifically to take pictures, quite an adventure. Have you ever been back stage? Models screeching - three strands of their hair is out of place, the boys running around trying to find the designer cause something didn’t fit on just right, someone’s sari falling off, almost everybody with phones to their ears, some laid back and enjoying the make up, some annoying the stylists (who are usually the most fun in the backstage area), the backstage coordinators beating drums and making sure everyone is hurrying up, the choreographers making last minute announcements on arrangements, models pretending to be all prim and proper when they see the camera walk in, oh and should I tell you how much fun it is walking into green rooms :D—

The boys changing room is depressing for me, you have these hunks with tight abs and lean muscular bodies (makes me feel oh so fat!!!!) and the girls changing room is always the most crowded and alive, cause for ever model…. there are 3 assistants hovering around them making everything perfect. And when the models come back from the first run, Oh My God, the chaos is fascinating, the poor assistants get yelled at so bad (the models apologize later ), everyone’s screaming (I’m surprised u don’t hear it outside) after all, they have at most about 40 seconds to strip and get into the next set of clothes and get to the stage. Its just fascinating to see their expressions change… calm and composed while on the ramp, and then the minute they get off the ramp and are backstage— UUUH LA LA!! Satanic witch faces some of them have. LOL. All said and done, I thoroughly enjoyed my experience, and these guys are really so much fun to hang around with.

There were some great clothing on the ramp, some chic, some stylish-party wear, some alternative and some just sexy! Here, you only see clothing from just 2 designers on Friday evening.

The after parties were quite cool too. I got to meet a lot of people I haven’t seen around in a while (yea in case u don’t already know, the Bangalore nightlife has gone to the doggies with the 11:30pm shutdown rule, so I don’t party in this town anymore) and also got a chance to meet and greet a lot of those talented designers, a lot of whom I think… don’t get enough of the limelight. What is awesome is to find out… what inspires them, what makes their designs unique. Oh and before I forget to mention… let it be recorded that mister Vikam A pushes me (along with his girlfriend) into the darn pool AND I will have my revenge!! :D

And then on Monday, you must’ve heard… I was kidnapped! LOL!!But I didn’t mind. I was shooting some yummy stuff, I’ll just leave you with one image, lets see if the pictures speaks a thousand words….......... it sure makes me Umph!

And on Tuesday/Wednesday, I had to shoot this huge factory, its been pending forever and so i couldnt say no anymore… and the funniest thing has got to be me almost falling off a forklift which I was on, 10 feet above! (many thanks Lena for the picture!)

But you know the strangest thing…........ through these days of drama, all I was thinking of, was GDC GDC GDC GDC!! And every now and then when I met someone I knew they would go “Hey congrats on the race” and “So when does the action begin?” and the compliments and questions were countless. Throughout I’ve been thinking of how much fun these 10 days may possibly be if we make it through, the crazy adventure that has been thrown into our laps (well, kinda!), the thrill of driving everyday, the raastas, the potholes (read: craters), the possibilities of puncture in the middle of no where (READ: GDC please keep backup ready, Zinaida’s driving. LOL), the random traffic block because of some jacka$$ who decided to cut lanes, the ganna wallas and the coconut wallas which i will stop for everytime I see them, the pictures I would be able to take of those roads less treaded on, how different an experience the cities are gonna be cause a lot of them will be hit and run, and if I was there already then… how different it would look, now that I see it through the eyes of a photographer, what foods we will find on the way (hopefully, Lucy will stay in the sky with her diamonds!!) and the torrent of thoughts never seem to cease in my mind, and ideas for photos and video are coming on like a barrage!!!

But now I guess my thoughts have to shift more to the auditions, I cant wait! Some of the other contestants seem really cool too and I cant wait to get it on with the bunch. I ran through 2 blogs when I had time yesterday and saw some reaaally wicked wildlife photography! I haven’t done much of that, my favourite aminals to shoot are these rodents:

Before I forget to mention—the auditions are gonna be streamed live on Youtube, and I cant wait! I LOVE being on camera :D We are being put up at this really gorgeous resort in Mumbai (Thank you GDC) and i already know what my plans are—soak up the pool!! I’m so stressed with work right now (only now cause I have to hurry everything up) and can sure use some downtime.

I’m finally gonna have a lot more time at the computer, so you guys stay tuned for a lot more updates!

Cheers!!

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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

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

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Heavy rains in Konkan. Near zero visibility.

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Back to Maharashtra

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on the road again, heading from udaipur to baroda

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Rain welcomes us at Goa

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

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Now on the fringes of Western Ghats

From : TWaC

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Touched Kerala once more. At Bekal Fort

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Morning drive through misty Coorg

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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

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

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2361 Shivpuri

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Pouring all the way from Agra into Jaipur

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On our way to Jaipur

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Blogging! The bed beckons..

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Just out after seeing the taj mahal!

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Madikkeri - Ghats, rains and pot-holed roads

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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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Still on the road to Agra...

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

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On our way back to Mysore

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In Wayanad. Western Ghats Kerala episode

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

From : IIM Outdoor

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It s hot at the Hawa Mahal! :|

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

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Through Nagarhole National Park

From : IIM Outdoor

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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 ;)

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

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

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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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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

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Driving through coffee estates to Kemmana Gundi peak

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Bhadra dam & WLS. Touch & go.

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

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

From : One Foot Wild

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Heading from Khajuraho to Varanasi..

From : One Foot Wild

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

From : IIM Outdoor

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In Jodhpur old markets - SHOPPING!

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

At Shimoga after a rainy day in rain forests

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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

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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

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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

"Zinaida! You, me. Mitsubishi! 3000kms. 4 days to go." Roohshad tells me at 01.28AM, Saturday. Roohshad is primarily an adventurer, a (ridiculously brilliant) photographer, artist and sometimes human.

Based in Bangalore, he's the centre of attention, and a big brat! I'm a DJ, a partner in Goa's biggest nightlife firm, a writer (and an angel of the lord). When not being awesome, I sing, play the Piano and drive better than your better than average man.

I’m back… and I have a long one !!!!

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