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!

Here is how the final tally stacked up.

Excel sheet

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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