[vigsom]

Introduction

This is my sixteenth year on the forum, and am thankful for the five stars that have been awarded to me recently. Team-bhp has given me opportunities to meet some wonderful people across the country, and have some good friends too. These posts are my small way of remembering the good times I've had through several meets with several bhpians over the last 13 years.

The first meeting with a bhpian

Feb-2009

What a way to start this journey off by meeting up with a then D-Bhpian, @V-16 in Mumbai. When I reached his place, it felt like I was being escorted to meet a Don. He was a great host, and it was nice meeting him in his underground chamber, which was filled to the brim with auto magazines. I was also fortunate to see his collection of cars, from an old Mercedes to a Dukkar Fiat to a Honda City i-DSi.

Subsequent meet ups with bhpians

Feb-2010

Bhpian @frankmehta drove me around in his white, beautifully audio-tuned Fiesta S, and treated me to some Irani chai . The drive from Prabhadevi to Pedder Road was unforgettable, and so was the chai.

Later in 2010

A chance meeting with audio guru @Bass&Trouble at his office; he took time off, we had some outstanding cutting chai together, and then he dropped me off at Byculla in his Lancer.

Aug-2011

Met then D-Bhpian @ex670c aka Arka, along with bhpian @headers and two others (forgot their handles) at Kodambakkam, Chennai.

In around the same month or in Sep-2011, had a quick meet with @camchennai, @MutantX, and @Mi10 at Boat Club Road; enjoyed the ride in camchennai's 2005 Camry and also saw @Mi10's Verito there. When we were about to disperse, an elderly resident there shooed us away stating we were parked on a private road.

Jul-2016 : Mahabalipuram

This was the first time I "registered" my participation on a team-bhp meet via the meet thread, and what an experience the meet was. After a long time, I got to take my car out of the city on ECR and enjoyed the drive. This was where I met a new set of bhpians for the first time.

At the team-bhp meet at A2B Mahabalipuram L to R : @CGB, @Cruiser_D, @CAPTAIN REX, @BenHarPee, @Vignesh_N/A, @aLY, @vigsom. Pic taken by @srinath.s


Sep-2016 : Chennai

I was surprised to see a larger gathering this time, so large that all cars couldn't be parked together. @Thad-E-Ginathom made it to this meet, much to everybody's surprise

At the team-bhp meet at Sangeetha OMR : L to R @Makin Rulesz, @razorBlades, @swami69, @Maverick79(partly hidden), @CGB, @srinath.s, @DeepakChan, @Prowler, @Thad-E-Ginathom, @hyper-VTEC(sitting on the Safari hood), @Jack Sparrow, @Queryanalyzer, @vigsom, @7Heaven (@hyper-VTEC was the meet organiser)

[vigsom]

Nov-2018 | The micro-meet at Pune

I'd moved to Vadodara in mid-2018, and by then had befriended bhpian @sridhar-v and @thewhiteknight, who owned Grand Vitaras. There was this chance meet up with them in Nov-2018 in Pune.

Day1

I had the pleasure of driving @thewhiteknight's rocket 2.0 Grand Vitara MT for a short distance on winding uphill and downhill roads. We had home cooked food by the lake.

Grand Vitaras of @thewhiteknight and @sridhar-v in wild growth


Day-2

@sridhar-v forced me to drive his neat black Grand Vitara through the woods, and through slush, rendering it all dirty: . Why sad? because I like cars to be spic-n-span.

Random pictures in the Varasgaon - Panshet area




My handiwork

[vigsom]

Meets in Gujarat

Jan-2019 : Nadiad

If I hadn't taken that last minute decision to partake in a meet at Nadiad in Jan-2019, I might not have realised what I would have missed - an excellent set of bhpians, a five star set up, and an electrifying experience in winter, that set the ball rolling for more meets.

A big shout out to @SJM1214 for organising the meets in Jan-2019 at Nadiad and Jul-2019 at Dastan Auto World Ahmedabad

Jan-2019 : Boulevard 9 at Nadiad - the five star experience



May-2019 : Vadodara

I'd classify this as a micro meet, but an energising one nonetheless.

L to R : @RedStallion, @porsche_guy, @vigsom, @aaggoswami



28-Jul-2019 : Dastan Auto World Ahmedabad

Massive group at Dastan Auto World Ahmedabad




I'd made it to the Dastan meet riding with @Adi_77, thinking that I'd ride back in a GSRTC Volvo after the meet. A torrential downpour, that was the precursor to the mega downpour of 31-Jul-2019, put paid to my plans. What was supposed to be a full attendance dinner became a 5 member dinner since everyone wanted to get back to base because of the rain. After dinner, I rode with @Pathik810 and @SJM1214 to Anand, where I was again shocked to see no transport to Vadodara.

It is worth mentioning here that @Pathik810 took me to the Anand railway station, and left only after I'd confirmed that I'd got a ticket and was on the platform waiting for a train.


Mar-2020 : Vadodara

It was here that I met @pd_scorpio for the first time.

L to R : @pd_scorpio, @vigsom, @aaggoswami, @RedStallion, @porsche_guy



Jan-2021 : Vadodara

It was at this meet that I met the kid D-Bhpian @Vishy76 and was listening to him in awe when he was discussing machines. Here's where I also met bhpian @Bapu for the first time and was amazed at his size and his top class demeanour.

Missed opportunities

I missed two opportunities late last year - to meet @saket77, @Leoshashi, @ChiranjitP and many others when I had to drop out of a Pune-Assam road trip, and @paragsachania in Bengaluru, when I was there very briefly in South Bengaluru. But missed opportunities are actually meant to be converted later which I am looking forward to.

Key takeaways

1. Every meet, 1-0-1 or 1-to-many, were all energising, and nobody looked at the clock

2. Nobody showed attitude at any meet; there was mutual respect for each other, and everybody was eager to help

3. Team-bhp could unite folks like nothing else would

Once again, I thank team-bhp for providing the opportunity to interact with such wonderful people, and help me live a wonderful existence off-the-job and off-the-home !!!

[Aditya]

Thread moved out from the Assembly Line. Thanks for sharing!

[Crow]

Congratulations on becoming the most recent D-BHPian. Having been a huge fan of your threads, I was wondering when you’d get the badge you deserve, Vigsom.

Nice to see all these great memories along with the meticulous collection of pictures and usernames. Some day I hope to join a forum meet up with you.

[PrasannaDhana]

Awesome!

I totally agree with the "teambhp unite folks like nothing else would".

For a person like me, who is totally not into meeting new people or making new friends, teambhp has given half a dozen close friends.

I have had 4 such teamBHP meets. Mostly involving motorcycle enthusiast TeamBHPians along with a couple of car nuts. A very varied group of men, age-wise, riding style-wise and philosophy-wise.

You are a veteran in comparison to me, who has just been here for 5 years now. Hence the number of friends you would have made will be much greater. Nice to see all the pics. Specially the ones with CGB in it. He was the first BHPian who I met (or say he stopped me in traffic and told me he recognized me by my teambhp review of the CBR250R). I ended up buying his Duke 390 later. It has been a good ride ever since.

From one such meeting, which we planned as an epic group ride to Kolli hills riding around 140 hair pin bends.

[Aish_4761]

Being a TBHP follower for over a decade now, I became a part of the forum in last year itself, and to my surprise, even in this short of a duration, I missed a micro meet in Vadodara!

Kindly roll me in for the next episode Sir!

[R-Six]

What a journey and what a beautiful way to pen down your experience over the last 15 years on the forum. Congratulations for the well deserved five stars. I’m always amazed at the enthusiasm you have and the level of details you capture in your threads.

It was a pleasure meeting you during the Dastan meet and glad that we 5 could at least find dinner in that downpour rather than head back home empty stomach.

Thank you!
R-Six

[saket77]

Fantastic write up and good on you to help us put faces to a lot of names. TBHP happens to be one of the best finds of my life. The community is knowledgeable and more importantly open to sharing. I am not ashamed to accept that I’ve gained more than I’ve given to this wonderful community. But I wouldn’t have been able to put down my journey so beautifully in words that you’ve done effortlessly. More or less, this is the journey of all BHPians. Thank you for sharing.

Regards,
Saket.

[pd_scorpio]

Awesome write up and definitely it was our pleasure and luck to get in touch with you as well.

each meet gets us some fantastic knowledge about this ocean of Automotive.

We would love to get in touch as and when we get a small chance also.

Your humble nature and exceptional knowledge are great, for which I really feel lucky to be on your contact list.

We will keep meeting the same way as you have described.

At last, again a very great write-up.

[vigsom]

Originally Posted by Crow

Nice to see all these great memories

Thank You, @Crow, for those nice words. This is thanksgiving time, and no better way to do it than do a memory recall

Originally Posted by PrasannaDhana

For a person like me, who is totally not into meeting new people or making new friends, teambhp has given half a dozen close friends

Thank You Prasanna. You don't know how much of an introvert I was earlier. I'm no party animal even now, but it gives me a good feeling when I'm meeting bhpians.

Originally Posted by Aish_4761

I missed a micro meet in Vadodara!

Most welcome, @Aish_4761.

Originally Posted by R-Six

glad that we 5 could at least find dinner in that downpour rather than head back home empty stomach

Thank You, @R-Six. That was one evening I'll never forget.

Originally Posted by saket77

I’ve gained more than I’ve given to this wonderful community

Thank You Saket, for echoing my views and feelings.

Acknowledgement is in the air, I would like to bring up another experience of mine with bhpians - that young minds have limitless potential, knowledge, and right attitude. With the permission of the chair (aka Mods), I'd specifically refer to my interactions with @aaggoswami, a 23 year old in 2010 , @porsche_guy (18 today), and @Vishy76 (who is 19 and now famous). There are many more on the forum, and a casual look at their posts would help us appreciate what I just mentioned above.

If I look back at what I knew in automotive at 18-23, all I knew was to start a Standard Super 10 using a starting handle, knew nothing much about the Luna Double Plus that I used, and would always turn to a technician to fix issues. I had neither the general knowledge of machines, nor the practical experience.

I am attaching extracts of a PM that @aaggoswami sent me in Jan-2010, when he was just 23. Did I know or do so much at 23? Definitely not.

BHpian @aaggoswami's PM to me in Jan-2010 - sorry for the low font size but look at the content in there


My reply to him

[anjan_c2007]

Thanks vigsom for chronicling and narrating your sequence of teambhp encounters and experiences since the past 13 years. It makes a beautiful reading and we saw your rendezvous with members from the NSEW. Got to see a lot of our members, whom we usually know by their handles.

I am also here since 2008 but to frankly put it, if I were to engage in a similar exercise as you have done, it would take a long time to put things in order.

[porsche_guy]

Originally Posted by vigsom

May-2019 : Vadodara

It was at this meet that I met you the first time! Boy, I didn't know what would happen ahead! It was also my first TBHP meet as well as the first one I'd organised! I still vividly remember how nervous and excited I was in this last minute impromptu meet.

Mar-2020 : Vadodara

We were dying to meet by this time! Good food, good friends and nice rides make you forget all about the crisis that had just started!

Jan-2021 : Vadodara

I'm not sure if we can term this as a "tapri meet" but this was by far the most amount of time all of us BHPians have spent together. We just couldn't leave until we all had a push from home in the form of missed calls. It was an absolute treat getting a ride in your very elusive GV. Extra marks to @Bapu who rode all the way from Surat for this meet!

Originally Posted by vigsom

Acknowledgement is in the air, I would like to bring up another experience of mine with bhpians - that young minds have limitless potential, knowledge, and right attitude. With the permission of the chair (aka Mods), I'd specifically refer to my interactions with @aaggoswami, a 23 year old in 2010 , @porsche_guy (18 today), and @Vishy76 (who is 19 and now famous). There are many more on the forum, and a casual look at their posts would help us appreciate what I just mentioned above.

If I look back at what I knew in automotive at 18-23, all I knew was to start a Standard Super 10 using a starting handle, knew nothing much about the Luna Double Plus that I used, and would always turn to a technician to fix issues. I had neither the general knowledge of machines, nor the practical experience.

I am attaching extracts of a PM that @aaggoswami sent me in Jan-2010, when he was just 23. Did I know or do so much at 23? Definitely not.

It has been a huge pleasure knowing and interacting with you as well. Had it not been for SJM1214, I am not quite sure we would know each other today. Such is the power of Team BHP. While there are many opinions about the forum in our circles, one thing nobody can deny is the fact that we have come to know such priceless people and been a part of a truly delightful and knowledgeable community.

Lastly, you've been a mentor to me about a lot of automotive stuff, infact you're my "chacha"

Cheers and Keep revvin'! Here's to the next glorious years to the community!

[vishy76]

Thank you for the mention on this thread Vigsom. I completely agree with Porsche_guy when he says you are a "chacha" to us. You have acquired his skills and passion and continue to pass it down to people like us.

Your methodical approach to solving issues and narrating them is what impressed me the most at the meet. I am just a hot blooded teen who relies more on DTCs to find out what is wrong with an engine. Your style of analysis and the patience you portrayed were both very inspiring personally.

Hope to have many such meet-ups with fellow bhpians. Special shout-out to all the GJ bhpians. This state and the people gave me my first big break and they are one of the reasons why I sport the 5-star insignia. I might have only attended one meet, but I felt at home with all of them. The warmth and hospitality of the people here will always be something I will remember and cherish.

[sridhar-v]

Originally Posted by vigsom

Nov-2018 | The micro-meet at Pune

Day-2

@sridhar-v forced me to drive his neat black Grand Vitara through the woods, and through slush, rendering it all dirty: . Why sad? because I like cars to be spic-n-span.

My handiwork
Attachment 2164556

Glad to have been able to make you experience something out of the routine.
And you did manage to accumulate a lot of mud on the subframes and on top of the transfer case, gearbox etc etc. And that is how a SUV should be.

If it is of any consolation to you I later got the SUV pressure washed and completely detailed (inside out).
But old habits die hard. So this is how it looked during a 2019 trip to Hampi!