[jawanak]

A very humbling experience. This was the first time for me. I went along with my wife and our navigator was Mr. Dattatraye Patil. A very nice guy who came along with couple of his friends and had participated in this event before. A big fan of Mohammad Rafi and fortunately on Sunday we did hear some of Rafi's songs. He shared few lines of his poetry with us and mentioned his like for the two particular FM channels primarily because of the hosts. I messed up the trial run but with his support and re-read of instructions I started again and completed the trail run as he navigated. We went along very well and he pushed me to do better by calmly assuring me to follow his instructions for the rally on Sunday.

The race was a different matter though. I again messed up. For instance, he said that after 0.25 km take right but I did not see any right for a good 1 km. He read again but I knew I was at a different place. We went back and restarted. I must admire his patience to re-read the instructions. He asked questions to inquire if I had correctly followed the speed, the distance and took correct turns. For some parts I went with his instructions perfectly well and followed the route. For some parts I was lost. Still, we were very excited and happy to find the first check point and the only one. Some landmarks were found others missed. Unfortunately, he was having cold and cough and fell sick halfway through. We decided to get him back and take some medication. Thus, we did not finish the rally but what an experience it was. I found it very tough, though we both enjoyed it for the challenge it posed and the way we worked together. I said thanks and goodbye before leaving. At night I received his call to inform me that he enjoyed his day and we will meet again some time.

I will definitely be back next time and hopefully finish with Mr. Patil as my navigator.

[Sahil]

Great event and for a good cause that made it all the more worthwhile. It wasn't as easy as I thought it would have been. Like FS mentioned earlier, I goofed up in the trial run itself. The navigator was experienced in such event as he had taken part in them several times and even won a few ! Unfortunately, he didn't show up on time the next morning(sweet chap did send me an SMS apologizing ) and I was assigned to another navigator who was a newbie too ! Her english wasn't as fluent and she was having a lot of trouble so I took a few directions over the phone from FlyingSpur and finally caught up with them in BKC. Then on it was smoothER(pun intended) sailing, I didn't want to stress my navigator out so I continued to follow the pack but yet kept prompting her for instructions so she feels involved and not take away her credibility.

Inspite of having 3 germans riding along, I must say we were very well behaved. Our combined output was over 1000nm torque, 600bhp and 8000cc

[FlyingSpur]

Originally Posted by Sahil

Inspite of having 3 germans riding along, I must say we were very well behaved. Our combined output was over 1000nm torque, 600bhp and 8000cc

Yes, totally well behaved. Except for that one moment where I got so fried with the route that I floored it through the right turn at Annie Besant Road to go to the beginning of Worli Seaface, and the tail stepped wayyyy out and I alarmed my navigator who was wondering whether we got hit or something I think it was either you or Platzda who was behind me at the time.

Also, Platzda and I had a very memorable run from Cuffe to NAB following my call to you when you said that you guys had already finished

[kthacker]

What a Day! Our 1st time and we absoutely had a blast.

Thank you TEAM BHP!

GTO thanks for extending a warm welcome & introducing us to the rest. Dippy, FlyingSpur , PlatzdaTurbo nice to meet you guys!

I had come with my Son and a friend, Hussein who was at the wheel. We had an amazing & experienced navigator in Mr. Tirath Singh Arora (Sardarji) who had come with his wife & 2 Boys, a lovely family indeed. (Incase you'll are wondering, the Innova gobbled all 7 of us with ease!). He read those instructions like a pro and except the turn before Lilavati we didn't loose track throughout. We covered all check points and had it not been for huting for a "Sulabh Sauchalaya" we would have comfortably come 3rd. We got 70 Penalty points overall with 14 being for the delay between Xaviers College & Nariman point on account of the (Pee't' Stop ).

But competitive spirit apart, It was great to see what The Round table does. Edcating children in the rural areas is a sure shot way to cure one of India's biggest evil's. Also the event was planned and managed so meticulously. Such a big responsibility keeping in mind the number of cars & participants etc. Kudos

A special mention on the Hardships our Navigators face in day to day life which most so casually take for granted! I have learnt a thing or two after yesterdays interaction.

GTO as I promised, I will start posting more often.

Next up- How to flip your Civic!

[PlatzdaTurbo]

Originally Posted by Sahil

Inspite of having 3 germans riding along, I must say we were very well behaved. Our combined output was over 1000nm torque, 600bhp and 8000cc

Oh there was 1 more brief stint which you might not have noticed as you were wayy ahead by then. We made up our mind to take princess street and somehow ended up getting the 1st row at the Wilson College Traffic Signal. (You were on the extreme right and me extreme left)
When i saw you blast off immediately ,i realized that you might have an idea of where to go once the left is taken and so i immediately floored her. As id find out later, we both had to wait in that cramped up corner after the left turn for Mr. Dippy the hippie to cruise past us mockingly as if saying - ' no matter how fast you go, you are going to end up behind me and i KNOW IT'

Originally Posted by FlyingSpur

Yes, totally well behaved. Except for that one moment where I got so fried with the route that I floored it through the right turn at Annie Besant Road to go to the beginning of Worli Seaface, and the tail stepped wayyyy out and I alarmed my navigator who was wondering whether we got hit or something I think it was either you or Platzda who was behind me at the time.

Also, Platzda and I had a very memorable run from Cuffe to NAB following my call to you when you said that you guys had already finished

OH it was me ! A total,...well.......Heart in mouth ,moment for you AND ME TOO ! Instant reaction was - ' What on earth is he doing ?..& how is the navigator after he did what he just did ????'

[Rehaan]

Another awesome and fun filled event!!

The day started off with me getting some penalty points even before the rally started . I was car #43, but had to start right at the end... oops.


At the flag-off, there was a cop alongside the line-up of cars and he told me "Woh dekh Bangalore se aaya KA plate gaadi apke piche hain. Pukka pehla round mein hi miss ho jayega". [There's a KA plate car behind you from bangalore, they are sure to get lost within the first round itself].

Ofcourse that was funny at the time, but it turns out those guys won a very close 4th place!! NONE of them (including the nav) had ever been to Bombay before! Amazing job guys

My navigator Allauddin was a very chilled out dude, and we had a great time together. Unfortunately we missed the notorious #5 checkpoint as well, though all other instructions went super smooth for us.

Great to meet a whole bunch of BHPians -- though next time hopefully we can all meet each other somehow, as im sure there were a few i missed.


A big thanks to the organizers. I've said it before - its the best organized event i've ever been to in India :


For those who took part -- see you next year. And tell your friends and family about it too.

cya
R

[mobike008]

Great pictures there F_S and thanks for a great report as well.

It indeed looks like a real-fun filled event.

Nice to see Aditya after a long time and he hasnt changed a bit. Last i saw him was in Goa a few years ago during the mega meet. Looks like he changed his car from the white contessa that he used to drive to the Lancer

[Sahil]

Originally Posted by PlatzdaTurbo

' no matter how fast you go, you are going to end up behind me and i KNOW IT'

I still did manage to finish up well before him tho. I abandoned him after the last check point and joined up a faster car to trail behind, NSX(GTO's friend). I think i gave him the impression that I was trying to race with his Ikon as he would floor it everytime he saw me behind him when all I was doing is following his lead !
But once we reached Worli Seaface I gave the throttle a little extra tab and took the lead right before NAB No wonder I landed up at a respectable no.15 !!

[Dippy]

Originally Posted by mobike008

Great pictures there F_S and thanks for a great report as well.

It indeed looks like a real-fun filled event.

Nice to see Aditya after a long time and he hasnt changed a bit. Last i saw him was in Goa a few years ago during the mega meet. Looks like he changed his car from the white contessa that he used to drive to the Lancer

Addy never changes. hes like the evergreen Dev Anand. 50 years down the line he'll still be the same. His Conti is still there, he took part with the Lancer this time

Originally Posted by Sahil

I still did manage to finish up well before him tho. I abandoned him after the last check point and joined up a faster car to trail behind, NSX(GTO's friend). I think i gave him the impression that I was trying to race with his Ikon as he would floor it everytime he saw me behind him when all I was doing is following his lead !
But once we reached Worli Seaface I gave the throttle a little extra tab and took the lead right before NAB No wonder I landed up at a respectable no.15 !!

You finished before but I can never forget the lost look on your face everytime you came up next to my car asking about the route. The only time I goofed up was at the Kamla Nehru Park where we all had to reverse.

I'm sure you German boys would have missed the Bandstand check point too if not for me

One question being no. 21 just how fast did you drive to catch up with us?

And I lost finishing respectably thanks to the phonecalls, constant route questions and what not. Next time bluetooth stays at home

[PlatzdaTurbo]

Originally Posted by Sahil

I still did manage to finish up well before him tho. I abandoned him after the last check point and joined up a faster car to trail behind, NSX(GTO's friend). I think i gave him the impression that I was trying to race with his Ikon as he would floor it everytime he saw me behind him when all I was doing is following his lead !
But once we reached Worli Seaface I gave the throttle a little extra tab and took the lead right before NAB No wonder I landed up at a respectable no.15 !!

Serves old Dips right ! You did to him exactly what he did to us !
& about you taking over from NSX right before NAB, all that flooring each time he saw you in his RVM ,pretty much in vain ! LOL
I managed to gain a couple of places just before NAB as well.All it took was a slight tap of the throttle.

After what we have done, I wouldn't be too surprised if an extra clause next year says - NO GERMAN SEDANS PLEASE !

[manaa45]

This was my second year of participation but unfortunately dint even qualify as I too missed the notorious Shahrukh ka bungalow's check point # 5. But it was fun nevertheless with my nav Ms Kusum and my passenger, Rohini (Cargirl) without whom I would not even managed to complete the whole thing.

Special thanks to Rohini who patiently managed to note down my nav's instructions and also because of her the southern part of rally, from Worli to Nariman Point and back was smooth sailing as she is used to all the roads out there. Got to see Mukesh Ambani's abode and I think it is great piece of art but then too flamboyant for me.

I also am proud of the fact that many bhpians participated in this event and was glad to meet a lot of new faces like Vikram, Kiran, Sahil, Narendra, Mr Behram Dhabar, Santosh, Akshay and some more but am not able to remember them all. It was great to meet up with old buddies which I think will become a yearly reason for me to meet them. Thanks Addy, Dippy, Rushabh, Rehaan, Sam, Jenny for great time spent.

Looking forward to 2012 edition. I think time flies too fast and so will this year too.

Special mention to the organisers for having done a great job.

Way to go Team-bhp.

Mansi

[Technocrat]

Wow looks like another well managed fun filled event. Great Pics & report FS.

Originally Posted by Dippy

Addy never changes. hes like the evergreen Dev Anand. 50 years down the line he'll still be the same.

+1

EDIT - I believe Vikram18 & MoralFibre from Pune came at 12th position. Congrats Guys

[amitwlele]

Originally Posted by GTO

I know people make friends through the forum, but this seems to be a case of reuniting with an ol' pal?!

Yup. It was like a Manmohan Desai film. Meeting old classmate after 18 long years. Uploading a couple of snaps.

Below the ride after sticking the numbers on it. Just after sticking it see hvishwanath using cello tape to stick the numbers on the car. Sure gave me a scare thinking that the paint is going to come off while removing the stickers. Thankfully no such issues faced.




With my navigator Arun and his relative Manoj before the start of the rally.

[GTO]

Hwishwanath's black Alto looks awesome! I crossed paths with it various times over the event.

Originally Posted by jawanak

Thus, we did not finish the rally but what an experience it was.

Always a next time! Most of us who missed the notorious Shah Rukh Khan checkpoint were effectively, and immediately, DQ'ed from the event. But we still drove on . For the fun of it.

Look forward to seeing ya next year, Jawanak!

Originally Posted by Sahil

Great event and for a good cause that made it all the more worthwhile.

Sahil, just wanted to say Thanks here for your kind gesture in supplying gift food packets to all participants. It was a really sweet one.

Originally Posted by kthacker

But competitive spirit apart, It was great to see what The Round table does. Edcating children in the rural areas is a sure shot way to cure one of India's biggest evil's. Also the event was planned and managed so meticulously. Such a big responsibility keeping in mind the number of cars & participants etc. Kudos

Seriously man. Some hard-core automotive events could take a few tips from these guys.

GTO as I promised, I will start posting more often.

Look forward to it!

Originally Posted by Rehaan

The day started off with me getting some penalty points even before the rally started . I was car #43, but had to start right at the end

I called you because I didn't see you in the sequence. Pat came the reply "Rush, I'm still at home".

Originally Posted by Sahil

But once we reached Worli Seaface I gave the throttle a little extra tab and took the lead right before NAB

Story reminds me of Schumy-Barrichello moves.

Originally Posted by manaa45

Mr Behram Dhabar

Behram was there at the BMCR? Where? I don't believe I missed him.

Originally Posted by Technocrat

EDIT - I believe Vikram18 & MoralFibre from Pune came at 12th position. Congrats Guys

Either 10th or 12th. Yeah, this year, Vikram didn't take any "early morning pitstops"

Originally Posted by amitwlele

Yup. It was like a Manmohan Desai film. Meeting old classmate after 18 long years.

LOL! You can say that again.

[moralfibre]

I had been wanting to be a part of this wonderful event for the last 3 years but somehow never managed to make it. This was my first year of participation and boy did I have fun. I was driving Vikram18's civic alongwith Mohammad Raza our navigator who was an absolute ace. We did miss the checkpoint at Band Stand but were apprehensive and drove back after we got confirmation from GTO of its existence. Our trip meter was naturally screwed up and did not match the tulip charts. I told Mohammad that I'll reset it to zero and counter adjust it to the tulip. But, Mohammad had other plans, he would compute my trip reading by adjusting the difference in the trip meter and tulip charts. I was shell shocked with his accuracy. I am surely going to participate in all the coming years and hoping more people from Pune would join in for the cause.

It was great meeting all bhp-ians at the event.