[akroy]

Nice pics !! Where are pics of Langchha and Kochuris of Shaktigarh?

Abhi

[avishar]

@akroy people were too busy eating to take pics of the lyangchas!

[avishar]

The roads were super smooth,the drive was wonderful.

[Saurabh M]

Looks like you all had a gala meet. Sorry for not being able to make it finally, though had plans to come.

The Fiesta and the Civic are looking awesome.

@PW : Any luck at Panagarh ?

[avishar]

The ruins of panagarh,unfortunately did not find anything worthwhile.Souvik got 2 ammunition cases as a showpiece though.

[1100D]

Reporting anyone? NOS, PW?

[ultimatechamp]

Looks like you guys had a wonderful time.The pics came out brilliantly,especially the one in which all the rides are lined up on the side of the road with lots of sky and cloud.Whoever took it,kudos to you.

I came to know about this meet through Premjit at a very late stage,when I had already fixed prior commitments.Actually I am logging in to T-Bhp after a huge gap and mailer group too.Surely hope to make it to the next meet.

[1100D]

Originally Posted by ultimatechamp

especially the one in which all the rides are lined up on the side of the road with lots of sky and cloud.Whoever took it,kudos to you.

You mean the pic on which the cars are lined up front to back parallel to the kerb and only the sky/cloud as backdrop. Or the ones where the cars are parked at an angle to the road with trees and sky as the background?

[NOS Power]

Originally Posted by 1100D

Reporting anyone? NOS, PW?

Here it goes.

To start with we had a an initial list of around 15 people. We were all so excited to have this meet as it was after a very long time that a kolkata Team Bhp meet happened. But as the days came close our excitement turned into logistical tensions.

As my car was not available as it was on family duty i had to rely on someone to give me a ride. Octane1002, souvik and Evo were the people who stay closest to my place (premjit too, but his car was already full).

Thursday night we come to know that Evo's vRS had the engine check light on. Saturday morning Octane calls me up and tells be about his vRS becoming sluggish all of a sudden. And the unfortunate part to both vRS ownders is that the Skoda A.S.S. was moving shop so they wouldn't accept cars now for work. So Octane decided to forego this meet with a promise to come next time. 2 cars down.

Saturday afternoon i get to know from Saurabh M that the rejuvenated (after the major crash we had in the last rally) Black Hawk, though the name is definitely going to change now, had a few issues still to sort out and was not ready to go on road. Plus he had some prior commitments so he couldn't make it. 3rd down.

So ultimately on saturday night it was all about thinking how to get to atleast the junction where the NH6 & NH2 meet. Also in this mix was Avishar who does not have a car so Souvik brought out his OHC 1.3.

So far the bad part, now the good part.

Sunday morning i meet up at Souvik's place and we both then pick up Evo and head towards Arsalan Park Circus where Premjit and Co. had reached on time. We then head towards the Vidyasagar Setu toll gate where Avishar would be waiting. We pick him up at around 7:40 and then head onto Kona Expressway.

Surprise number one. Just as we were about to get off the long right hand turning flyover which goes onto NH2 we see a black Ford Ikon, wala its 1100D. The 3 cars then head towards NH2 and stop at a point where Predatorwheelz was supposed to meet. As usual Mr. Latewheelz called up and said he is at another point, so we head there.

Finally as the now confirmed group of 10 people in 4 cars hurtled down NH2 at around 100kph avg. (the highway was relatively empty and super smooth) we noticed a white spot bluring in our rear view mirror (i was in 1100D's Ikon). Surprise number two. Shuvc's white shuvcivic just zoomed past waving at all of us. Now the two elderly statesman, 1100D and Shuvc just took the game on from there. A little later 1100D tells me to look at his speedo, and i blinked my eyelids to see it hovering at 175kph, that too with AC on, and the Civic in front doing the same. A little while of this high speed dash and then we had to slow down for the rest to catch up.

Finally at around 9:10 we reached Shaktigarh. Lined up our cars and were hurried into breakfast by our ever so hungry Predatorwheelz and Rocket.
A round of kachori's for all and the Shaktigarh special Lyangcha were on call for all to devour.

A good round of photo's and car talk followed with most questions about the two new kids on the block, Premjit's Blue Streak and Shuvc's shuvcivic. A few went for TD's in Souvik's OHC and Premjit's Blue Streak.

Since myself, Predatorwheelz, Souvik, Evo, Avishar and 1100D were planning to go on to Panagarh we bid goodbye to the rest of the crowd and continued the highway dash to the vehicle scrapyard of kolkata.

Reaching there by around 11:15 we park our cars and head for the first major dealer of military disposal vehicles in panagarh. Owned by a certan Deepak Bhalla he is known to have the biggest stock of gypsy's, MM's and the mighty Amry trucks.

On scouting through his shop and backyard we were dissapointed to see no new stock and also a lot of old stock had been sold off. The only thing we found was a huge number tyres. 2 new additions to Mr. Bhalla's stock was an Opel Astra and a Premier 118NE. not in the best of conditions though. When quizzed about the recent auction Bhalla Jr told us that since they were bought on a partnership basis there is some delay before the vehicles come.

Dissapointed we move on and walk towards greener pastures. We saw a couple of Gypsy's but in pathetic shape, so didnt care to ask. The only good condition vehicle on sale was an early '98 civilian Armada 4x4. Dealer was asking for Rs. 1.1 Lakhs, but it didnt interest us as we were looking for Gypsy's and MM's. We walked and walked till Souvik decided to purchase a couple of disposed ammunition boxes from a dealer. Happy with his purchase we move on. This walk was turning out to be dissapointing as we couldn't find any vehicle interesting enough to take a look at. On the return walk Evo went into a bike dealer and a truck scrap dealer and asked them about prices of bikes and a 6 cyl. engine block.

As nothing major materialised at Panagarh we headed back to our cars and decide to call it a day. So we finally left Panagarh and went back home with the interest to come again and look for those elusive pieces of military scrap which might be of great use to us.

Thanks to everyone who came for this meet, made it really great. The drive was the icing on the cake and as 1100D summed it up, "Its been a while since i had this much fun in my car". But yes it was done with safety being top most priority .

[premjit]

Guys, First off, thanks to all for making it a super small meet. We did miss a lot of folks but then had as much fun. My try at a narration:

0545 Hrs: Alarm bells go off in the Chatterjee house. Meet time, burshing, loo n bathing gets forgotten in a mad rush to reach Arsalan at 0700 hrs. On the way, haveta pick up Icy and Romit (Entire Chatterjee family)
0615 Hrs: Rocket is still getting ready for the meet. I stay out of her way. Dont want to get blwon into smithreens
0630 Hrs: Leave NewAlipore for Jadavpur thana, where the other 2 Chatterjee brothers await (No...They were'nt in the Thana but outside it)
0700 Hrs: reached Arsalan. No other car in sight. Hearts starts sinking. Am I dreaming?
0710 Hrs: Call from NOS. He;s hitched a ride with Shouvik and is picking up Evo. Should be there in 10 mins. :-)
0715 Hrs: SMS to Shuvc. Will Shuvcivic be there? 50:50 needs to be 100: 0, either way. No reply.
0730 Hrs: A Silver OHC appears in the mirror. Yoo Hoo...Meet is on. Aniket replies to my SMS. At least there are 3 cars.

The 2 cars, Blue Streak and the OHC speed towards the meeting point short of Dankuni where we are expected to meet Aniket (Predatorwheelz). Rendezvous done, all 3 cars speed towards Shaktigarh for Breakfast (Aniket leads the way...abetted by his hunger for the luchi torkaari and the P shaped sweet).

Deval asks what a "lyangcha" is??

Speeding, I see, a Black 1.6 IKON up ahead. Number seems familiar. Could it be 1100D??? Icy suggests otherwise. Suddenly, it blasts down the road and i know it has to be Anirban. Yipppeeee, we're up to 4. This is looking good. But still, no reply from Shuvc. I've given up hope. No chance to check out the CIVIC and the ICE. 1100 D drives brilliantly, probably chomps up kms like no one else.

Suddenly, something fast appears in my rear view mirrors. Its white and looks menacing. My heart skips a beat. Could it be Shuvc? The 06D numberplate confirms it. The car overtakes me, the glass comes down and the "statesman" of Tbhp Kolkata, waves his hand. It is Shuvc.

After that, it became kinda hazy, cos Shuvc and 1100D flew off. Amazing driving without a doubt. Some day, I aspire to be as good.

The remaining 3 cars were limited to watching the show of driving. Did manage to get some spirited driving myself with the needle hovering at 160 plus, despite the fact that there was 4 folks in the car. The driving characteristics of the Fiesta 1.6 never stop amazing. Be a gear short and the engine rewards you with an amazing rasp.

Finally, all 5 cars reached Shaktigarh, the Langha Bhawan (Touted to be the original lyancha bhawan among at least 100 such bhawans, bhuwans, mahals and palaces that have sprouted up everywhere) at around 0930 or so. Time for the famed luchi and lyangcha. Aniket rubbed his hands in glee. After a hearty breakfast, it was time for the photo shoot. Cars lined up, the snappers had a whale of a time taking snaps from all angles. Shouvik with his D90 and tele lens made it look like a shoot straight out of an auto magazine.

Shopkeepers at the competing Lyangha Bhuwan complained that the shoot was hampering business. They were politely informed that pics would appear in all newspapers with the photo of their shop in the background. Peace bought...returned to photoshoot.

Post the shoot, the cars broke off with Shuvc and me heading back to Cal while the rest went on to Panagarh.

All in all, an amazing meet. Wish there are more and more such driving meets organized out of Kolkata in the future. Thanks all.

[planet_rocker]

Sorry, i couldn't make it - was down with stomac ache and flame thrower.

@ 1100D - couldn't take your call - i was in a very bad state. Will call you later.

Take care.

[octane1002]

You guys seemed to have a good time.Sorry I couldnt come along for the drive.

Took the RS out on saturday morning n realised the pik up was not clean.Called up NOSPOWER and took him along for another short test drive to confirm.NOS called up ShuvD and my fears were confirmed.Its either a clogged fuel filter or the air filter.Gotta attend to this.

@shuvC:White Civic lookin smashin as always

[AyAn!]

Lovely meet guys.But I guess the drive was better! I regret missing it.

OT-Love Joseph's new look!!

[blackasta]

Great to see the pics.
I was on girlfriend duty that day , that too after 2 weeks - so no way I could attend.
I'll be sure to hop onto the next meet.
Cheers!
P.S: I wouldn't even dare to think about those 175esque speeds in my little 1.2 kappa powered hatch!

[1100D]

Nice reports both @NOS and @Premjit

Originally Posted by blackasta

P.S: I wouldn't even dare to think about those 175esque speeds in my little 1.2 kappa powered hatch!

Never mind, the fabulous OHC 1.3 was not crossing 130 on 5th. Yet We were all together.

Infact if you ask @NOS, from the Dankuni toll-gate till the time Shuvc came blasting in (around 40kms), the Ikon was kept in 5th gear only (not a single gear change), we were doing crazy stuff like, slowing down to around 35 and then pulling from there, observing how much time it takes to catch up with bluestreak, testing the OHC 1.3 in 4th gear driving side-by-side, checking if it redlines in 3rd gear. Rather than driving insanely fast, we were finding other ways of having fun. The 1.3 was then able to touch 150upwards in 4th.

Although when Shuvc came in, we had a little different enjoyment, I feel that car is yet to open up to its full potential, when it does, the 6yr old can not even hope to match up.

On the way back from Panagarh, had a nice time with the Verna crdi, for a car that gives you the running cost of the cheaper fuel, the performance on offer, is outstanding, to pull away from it, you need to maintain crazy speeds (atleast for C segment mid-sizers), practically impossible to maintain that level of concentration over extended periods of time. That car is Darth Vader!!


Now before anyone gets other idea's, most of the drive happenned in a very controlled manner. There was only one small near-incident on the way to Panagarh, for which a road-blockade, placed at a very easy to miss place, was responsible, happenned when 3 cars travelling to Panagarh were cruising at 80kmph, one behind the other lead by the OHC.