[Axe77]

Hi everyone.

Been a member here for more than a decade but never really posted an intro thread until I got elevated to the D Lair last year.

I’m a 45 year old professional based out of Mumbai. I was born and brought up in Delhi but moved to Bombay & Pune when I was around 15 years old. Spent my college years in Pune, a city I still have a close connection with courtesy my mum still maintaining a small base there where she spends part of her time - our primary home remains Mumbai though.

I’ve been nuts about all things wheels ever since I can remember. As a child it meant skates and bicycles and as an adult its pretty much everything with wheels that I can lay my hands on - from bicycles to cars to motorcycles - I even love zipping around on my N Torq scooter to be honest.

My professional life is fairly hectic and it means I can’t necessarily take all the kinds of road trips I’d otherwise love to - specially to remote, disconnected places. But I do love road trips and make up for it with whatever best I can muster. Covid has only meant that we’ve taken a lot more to the road in the absence of free movement by air or overseas and I’m not regretting that too much. Love the phase of being able to drive to a lot of my holidays. WFH also means ‘work from anywhere’ all too often so that again has facilitated taking many more road trips than we’ve ever taken in the past.

Since 2015, my primary hobbies revolve around endurance sports and I’d taken to running, triathlons and open water swimming. Have dabbled in full marathons, half Ironmans and up to 5 km in open water. Covid put a bit of a break on my training regimen, but I hope to get back on track on the training front this calendar. Fingers crossed.

My love for all things automobiles and this forum in particular meant I simply could not resist taking up the moderator role when Rush offered it up earlier this year. I look forward to this new avatar of my association with this forum and hope to contribute to it as best as can.

Cheers,
A.

[libranof1987]

Ladies and gentlemen,

It is quite the pleasure to be on Team-BHP, and now, even more so, as a Moderator. I’ve been a part of the forum for over a decade now and have thoroughly enjoyed contributing, and learning from it. The wealth of knowledge, across an immensely wide spectrum of topics, related to automobiles and otherwise, has been a continual delight. I often find myself reading about new car launches, to a neat DIY, then to fighter jets and then on to an entirely different topic, all within a day!

This, is to the credit of all the members, and all the Moderators. So, thank you! To that effect, I am sincerely glad to be on the Moderator team to further Team-BHP!

I grew up in Pune but have spent most of my adult life across India and abroad - studying, working and traveling. Armed with the cliched Engineering + MBA background, I now work in Advisory Consulting.

Automobiles have always fascinated me and while I am not the most technically-inclined, I find it very fulfilling to indulge in them - understand, maintain, and drive them beyond my heart’s content. What has kept me hooked is the the liberty of travel that automobiles offer - the ability to explore, immerse and gain perspective. Be it riding all over south India while in college, or driving across states to the ocean, mountain or someplace new, to hopping buses to destinations, to exploring countries by rail, road and air. An unimaginable privilege!

Beyond travel, I like to explore culture: so I’m up for theatre, plays and symphonies, music, trekking, reading, and aviation. Courtesy excellent threads and very knowledgeable members here, I've been able to further enrich my experience and understanding in them.

Being on this forum has led me to explore several hobbies and activities, and in equal measure, led to friendships I deeply cherish. All in all, a terrific place to be!

[Turbanator]

Fellow members,

My journey with TeamBhp started many Years ago; it went to active participation from casually browsing. I try my best to help others from whatever I know or can do for someone by nature. I feel at home on this forum, given how this has developed. Fellow members have great respect for each other, and we all feel proud to say that we are members of this portal.

I started driving a car way back in the eighties; I must have been twelve or thirteen when I sat in the car and my school friends pushed the car. I drove at slow speeds in the neutral across the street. Gradually, I could muster the courage and move the car in low gears. In later years, I will do the same with my Dad's Vijay Super scooter. Trust me; I have done more stunts on that scooter than I have on the bigger bikes I got later on. It reminds me of my friend who will say, "it's not important what car you drive but at what age."

I have lost more money by buying and selling cars than anything else (don't we all!) I started with Dad's Ambassador and then purchased a used old Maruti 800 (Original shape). This was around 1997; since then, I have been lucky to drive some of the best cars. For whatever reasons, I have been primarily loyal to Toyota, BMW and for a brief period to Mitsubishi. My First Mercedes car happened only a year back.

Apart from cars, my other hobby is Audio. Currently in the process of building my dream 2 Channel setup.

I never thought that I would move to this level here, and when the opportunity presented, I gladly accepted.

[graaja]

Hi All,

My name is Ganesh Raja. I was born in Theni near Madurai, currently settled in Coimbatore. I am an embedded systems engineer by profession.

I started driving cars a little late in life when I was in my late thirties. I love going on long road trips driving through different landscapes and scenery, seeing different cultures, historical architecture, and enjoying local cuisine. I love small things like having tea on a roadside tea stall, having simple food in that roadsize dhaba, rolling down the windows and enjoying that wind on the face in the hills etc. These are memories that stay with us for life. I also love to write travelogues sharing these memories.

Astrophotography is a hobby I enjoy. I love photographing deep space objects like galaxies and nebulae with my telescope and astro camera setup. Looking at these objects and studying them can be humbling. The size, the distance and the age of these celestial objects make me feel so insignificant in both space and time. I like to travel to dark sites with my equipment loaded in the car and spend nights capturing these deep space objects. I also like photography in general. I love shooting cars, animals, birds, landscape and architecture.

I discovered health and fitness late in life in my forties. From being an overweight unfit individual to a decently fit person, I have learnt so many lessons in health, fitness and lifestyle changes. I have tried my hand in endurance sports like long distance running, biking, and swimming and triathlons. I have retired from endurance sport now, but continue with fitness life with strength and mobility training and fasting as a lifestyle. I like to share these learnings with my friends and influence them to convert to a healthy lifestyle.

I have been on TBHP for about 10 years now and am very glad to be a part of the moderator team.

Thank you!

[Omkar]

Greetings!

Life has so far been interesting. Like anyone who's reading this, I too have loved cars since a very young age. Owing to this passion, I graduated as an Automobile Engineer. Fresh out of college, I took my first job as an insurance claims adjuster. But being around banged-up cars all day long and getting engulfed in endless paperwork wasn't for me. Decided to make a living by driving cars + writing about them. Got my first real opportunity with Team-BHP, then went on to write for a magazine and a few other websites. Now, I'm back with India's best car community! On the side, I spent a couple of years managing a car repair workshop in Mumbai with some friends. So, when I say life's been interesting, it's been a journey of exploring different avenues of the automotive industry. From testing new cars to helping with insurance queries to diagnosing car issues to finding the perfect used car...it's been fun. The quest for exploring more avenues continues, and what better platform to support it than Team-BHP.com.

My list of favorite cars is short. It includes the BMW E46 M3 GTR, Jaguar XKSS, Lancia Delta Integrale and McLaren F1. In my eyes, these are truly legendary automobiles. The car journey for me started with my Dad's Alto. Drove the wheels off that car and although it's not in the garage anymore, it will always have a place in my heart. I still have my carbureted Yamaha FZ-S from college, which is old, yet special. Currently, the family has a Swift and a Polo. Most of my weekends are spent watching F1 races or WRC videos, or even some random British Touring Car Championship races. I enjoy playing racing games on my PC, although I'm too old for it now. Going out usually includes a trip to the karting track for hot laps and some wheel-to-wheel action with friends. Other interests include photography, travel, food, coffee, pets, tech and movies.

Team-BHP has always been a great source of knowledge. But for most of us, it has also created a strong sense of community that is unparalleled on the internet (and off it too).

See you on the forums!