Friday (25-Jul-08) :
The usual weekend Chennai party is on in full swing at the R.K.Salai private bar aka header's apartment. headers has picked up a new Honda RWD and is pretty excited about it - no wonder his signature reads as "RWD Rocks". Will keep the identity of the Honda-RWD as a suspense for now. Unlike the usual calm meets, this one is getting pretty hot. And I am not really surprised because a seasoned off-roader like Arka (ex670c) is getting all animated about dragging.
I think this is a contagious virus which Arka picked up from the one-and-only dragger in C-tbhp ie. headers. Apart from the 4.5 off-road vehicles that Arka owns (including the 1-ton), he also has a Fiesta-D which he
occasionally brings to the meets. The topic veers to the power of the TDCi and from somewhere the DICOR also enters the conversation and then all of a sudden Arka and nitrous are debating which of the two will
win if they drag each other.
Arka is 100% sure that the Fiesta will decimate the Safari and as per nitrous, he is a little 'cocky' about it too. And most of the crowd seem to agree with him. This leaves only nitrous and me supporting the truck's winning the drag. I have not driven the truck, but from the adulating reviews on the forum about the truck beating sedans on the highway, I think it should be good enough to atleast beat the 65bhp Fiesta.
Anyway, as is usual when we get into arguments about our cars, things get a little too loud for comfort. It is 2AM and the ruckus is sure to wake up the neighbours, which worries headers. So, everyone intervenes
and cool down things. Due to the Blore blasts, there were random checks on the road and so, me and neoranjith leave at around 2:30AM.
Anyway much before the Ford-Tata war started, around 10PM or so, nitrous gets a call from some hyderabad tbhp-ians who are driving into town the next day. We decide to plan something on Saturday and tentatively decide on the Ambassador Pallava hotel in Egmore as the venue.
Saturday 26-Jul-2008:
Wake up around 10:30AM. Feel hungover and also sleepy. Not surprising because after reaching home around 3AM, instead of hitting the bed, I spent another 2 hours reading Chetan Bhagat's new novel "The 3 mistakes in my life", which in hindsight was a mistake.
Anyway, finish up some work at home that was pending for a long time. Then wash the car, get a new battery for her and around 4PM I get an SMS from John that we are meeting at 7PM at Ambassador Pallava.
Reach the hotel around 7:20PM, do not get parking as there is an Anglo-Indian wedding reception happening there. Refuse the offer of valet parking and go park under the Egmore flyover.
1) The hotel marquee :
Walk to the bar expecting a big crowd of tbhp-ians there, but all I see there is headers and ofcourse loads of pretty females who had come all decked up for the reception.
2) The wedding car - a Corolla
He has walked the Pantheon road a couple of times looking for a AP registered Viva-CRDI which is supposed to be parked there with the 2 bhp-ians inside, but no luck. So, he goes to the bar and asks random guests whether they are from tbhp.
We go to the parking of the hotel and see an empty space, which headers kindly reserves for me while I get my car from under the flyover. Anyway,we get the phone numbers of the hyd guys from nitrous and call rider60 - it seems they did not get parking at the hotel so were parked in the parking lot of the more dept store next door.
Catch up with him and kkr2k2 and by that time madan9876 and neoranjith also are there. Due to lack of parking we decide to leave the cars at the more parking lot. But when we reach the hotel, we see 2 spaces and promptly me and headers stand in each one, while ranjith and rider60 get their cars.
3) rider60, kkr2k2 and headers at the more parking lot.
4) headers and rider60 pose with the viva.
Parking issues solved, we head for the bar, which is crowded and does not have space for 6 guys. So we move to the adjoining restaurant and get a table for 6. A trio is belting out live songs, but we are too busy with our own discussions to give it much attention. Madan has to leave as he has some guests coming over for dinner.
5) madan9879 says cheers. Don't be misled - it is Romanov vodka and not water as madan would like his wife to believe. :-)
We order beer pitchers and some light eats and around 8PM or so Arka joins. Discussions shift to 4x4 with rider60 interested in getting a nice 4x4 that should be comfy and also have space for his bike.
6) madan, rider60 and headers
7) kkr2k2, neoranjith and madan
8) neoranjith and arka.
9) headers confidently proclaims that his new Honda RWD will lick any car around in a drag.
10) The trio at the hotel who kept the diners entertained.
11) kkr2k2 and neoranjith trying a shot with an improvised tripod.
12) A 'different' snap from their joint effort.
13) John was tied up with some family get-together and finally lands up around 10PM or so.
Everyone have a good time till around 11PM. The hyd guys plan to drive down after the meet and I lead them till the Anna Nagar arch and point them to the road they need to take to Kaalahasti,
a place in AP, some 100kms from Chennai and which happens to be rider60's hometown.
Being the good tbhp-ians that they are, they did not drink as they had to drive. OK, rider60 had a glass of beer and kkr2k2 a large whiskey, but
spread over 4 hours, that is nothing IMO.
14) A hazy shot of the viva and Baleno.
15) The viva after the drizzle we had in Chennai.
It was a nice meet and thanks rider60 and kkr2k2 for joining. It was nice meeting and talking to you guys. One person we missed at the meet was nitrous who had some other engagements and could not make it. It would
have been nice to continue the Fiesta-Safari discussion. Anyway that's for the next Froday meet.
e_l, headers, madan, ranjith, arka, rider60, kkr2k2 et. al., add any stuff that I might have missed.
16) And finally, the Honda RWD that headers picked up cheap last week. LOL