All geared up in my mind - reached TGDC Top 100

Dad and I recently decided to take part in the The Great Driving Challenge, a friendly competition that will have the driving and navigating skills of ten finalists put to the test. So far we have made it in the top 100 list and this news has brought back memories of a road trip in April 2007 that took us from Mumbai to Ooty and back. It was a special trip because we were going to visit my youngest sibling, Vivek, and see him participate in a theatrical play as well as a parade at the Lawrence School’s 149th Founder’s Day event. The journey started at around 10 a.m. when the whole family (minus my younger sister who was busy with college) along with my aunt and uncle got inside our roomy Ford Endeavour and we pulled out of the gates of our apartment building listening to the sweet melodies of golden oldies.

Dad, entertaining us with his singing, floored the Endeavour once we got on the highway. We were in and out of the Bhatan Tunnel in no time and reached the immaculate toll plaza for the Mumbai-Pune Expressway. Some portraits were clicked inside the car by my uncle while much of the scenery outside was also the subject of sporadic shooting by me. The Mumbai-Pune Expressway gave way to the Pune-Satara Expressway as our SUV whizzed past tunnels carved in hill sides and rugged landscapes that were canopied by an overcast sky. Lush vegetation and crops would signal a town or village up ahead and we passed through many of these throughout our trip such as Majgaon, Korti, Ozarde, Hitni, Kanagala, and Aralagundi to name a few. In four hours we had reached the Satara-Kolhapur Expressway and Bangalore was 712 kilometers away.
The Taswade Toll Plaza came in to sight soon after and we breezed through it. Our plan was to stopover for the night at Belgaum (sometimes written as Belgaon on expressway signs) which was at a distance of approx. 90 kilometers, but before that we needed to grab some lunch. Noticing a sign post for the Hotel Sai International, Dad meandered from the expressway to enter the parking lot of the place. The hotel looked great from the outside, a colonial style building lined with palm trees. Sadly, the hotel’s exterior was the only pleasant thing about it. The restaurant had slow service and the food that reached our table! Let’s just say we were really hungry so chowed it down anyway. By 4 p.m. we were on the road again, next stop being Belgaum. I’ll have to break this post in to segments, so my fellow readers you’ll have to wait for my next entry that will take you down the Golden Quadrilateral!

Visit to London and Cotsworld

We Landed in London At 7.30 pm. The next day we went for a 1 day London Tour. Our London tour consisted of the following

1. 1st destination was the most posh and expensive locality in London- Belgrave Square.


2. Next we Saw the Hyde Park- the largest of the 9 parks in London.
   
3. Then we went to the famous Buckingham Palace where the Queen stays and also saw the changing of the guards.
   

4. Then we saw this statue of Duke of York who commanded the British Army who was so much in debt that when he died everyone’s one day salary was cut to raise 30,000 pounds

5. Then we saw the Parliament Square, and there amongst the many statues there was a statue of Nelson Mandela.

6.We then went to the Trafalgar Square, from we then proceeded to have lunch in Covert Garden where there was this fabulous market- Jublie market which had all handicraft stuff.

7.Then we went to the St. Paul’s Cathedral which has the world’s largest cript. The church was absolutely huge and one the most beautifull I’ve ever seen.

And to end the trip we went last to the London eye from where one can see the whole of London.

Our next destination was Cotsworld where we were going to be staying in an area called Bourton on the Water. We took a train from London to Cotsworld which was 1hrs and 40 mins duration. From the station to Bourton on the Water was 30mins by car

1. Bourton on the Water was a little place with flowing stream. The ducks in it were very beautifull almost looked like they were just out of a canvas painting.

We visited many shops which had a lot of the traditional stuff.

Then we had the very Famous Cream Tea. It was light English Tea with Freshly made Scones wit clotted cream.
We also visited the Sudeley Castle. From inside, the castle was maintained as it looked in the times it was in use.

All in all my trip to London and its countryside was an absolutely an amazing experience. I simply LOVED IT!!!

Bandra Worli Sea Link

Its never about Quantity! Its all about Quality!!! said someone long ago and i completely agree for while we harp and boast about our long drives and adventurous journeys with zest and pride here's one example of a similar journey but not between two cities or states but simply between a few stations within the city. A to and fro drive of approx 45 kms!! For those who'll know I am talking about a drive between Powai and Lower Parel but through Mumbai city' s latest miracle monument- the Bandra Worli Sea Link!

Our plan was to spend a day at the Phoenix Malls browsing around...eating whatever...and of course clicking pictures! It should have been a simple drive up and down but then it would not be US, would it?? hee hee!

We left our house at around 11 and ten minutes away form our house realised that we did not carry our camera along. Now, we were not going to any nature park or any heritage site to need a camera and could have carried on but NO! Beauty is in the most unexpected corners and special moments can happen anytime ...thus you got to stay prepared! As such we turned back to get our camera and after getting it started...again!!

The weather was perfect for a drive...the clouds were spreading out and drizzle was making an occasional lazy appearance as we approached the magnanimous looking sea link! The air conditioner was switched of and the glasses were rolled down to usher in the wild breeze and the talkathon of the waves!

The city hits you with its magnanimity when you are cruising along the sea link and this is the only place in the city where the slow traffic is not as much a hindrance for you get that much more time to enjoy the drive...

I'll let the pictures tell you the rest of the story... Please note that there are empty bus stops too!! Thats more notworthy than the sea link! what say?

(All things being as beautiful as they are the sea link should not have cost as much as it did!!)

The Driving Challenge - A Family Mission!

We came across the driving challenge one Sunday morning and it wont be an overstatement to claim that life was NEVER THE SAME SINCE!!! Wow! that's larger than life but its been fun since then to not only put up the profile page on the site but also to garner votes and to relive all the lovely, crazy and adventurous drives we have had thus far! A lot of long lost friends have come back in touch and many incomplete conversations have re-opened!

However the best part is to realise how much joy it gives each one of us when you are doing what you love and love so dearly! In this case its the driving and travelling part! Who would have thought something that we did as a family for our own sake could end up in us contesting for a challenge wherein you drive around 3100 kms in a brand new car and hell!...get paid for it if you do well!!!! This is bliss and its only the beginning...

Until yesterday i still believed to some extent that this was too good to be true...everything was too nice about it...making me too happy! and despite having got myself busy with pushing my friends and fellow women to vote for me and dad, the number of people in the race were so many that i had almost planed to take the route anyway in our own car...for we have got ourselves too charged up to not take a drive now!! But we are now in the last 100 couples of the 1080 that were contesting for the final seats!!!! Phew...now that's a crowd!

There is some evaluation that's too happen and hence fingers are still crossed(not while typing of course!!) and hopes are high for my bag is packed an the camera is out and the diary is hungry... the drive is on for sure!

THE TIME HAS COME TO MAKE THE JOURNEY…

There are two kinds of travelers…one who move from one point to another and the other who explore while on the move, making the journey a wholesome experience in itself. I am proud to fall in the second category and never have been able to understand how can there ever be any travel without the experience of the journey!

Even if it’s a mundane 1 hour 45 minutes flight from Mumbai to Chennai for my film shoots I can’t help but make a travelogue of it. Be it observing the people around or trying out something new on the flight…it’s the world I can create between my destinations that makes me look forward to traveling.

My profession as an actor also provides the icing on the cake with shoots being held at beautiful and less explored locales. I will definitely share with you the details of my travel to Kodaikanal for my last film shoot where amidst the work at hand I could not help but take note of my mind keenly grasping the people and the aura of the place like the various different ones I have been to!

As actors we are required to understand the nature and soul of every character that we portray and likewise I tend to understand such character traits of every place I have visited or simply passed through even though with a brisk stop at the road side chaiwallah…

Hence road travel in my own car with my own people gives me that much more scope to explore and experiment and I am glad to having done that consistently over the years since a very young age.

Yes…yes…I owe that to my parents…my mother for being a supremely efficient planner and my dad for being an energetic executor…and of course- ‘ME’ being the ever so curious learner.
The time has come for me to graduate from a learner and take the initiative myself to make my journeys and make them an experience of lifetime…each time…