We are among Top 100

The results are out and we are among the top 100 in the ongoing TGDC contest. And boy we were relieved. !! Its been quite some time since we felt like this. The feeling akin to a student waiting for results or a lover waiting for the nod of his sweetheart. Very unusual circumstances for a normal techie couple to undergo, but then since we entered this contest, things have been anything but usual. Since Anand is very busy with his work commitments, I had to take it up as a challenge to work on the application, those maps etc, and after we put the kids to sleep, we would discuss and rework where necessary , sometimes well until 2 am. This contest has got us into backpacker mode since the day we saw the advt and we've been fighting that childlike giggle everytime we think of our travel plan. Its been amazing till now and now we've set our sights higher.

Around the World in 18 days

The voting phase has finally come to an end and we finished 107 with 667 votes, which in my opinion is not bad. We were careful not to mail everyone in our contacts, maintained protocol, but requested our closest friends to pass on the mail to their close friends. Our link has literally gone around the world in the last 18 days.Our friends changed their status messages to help us garner votes, campaigned vigorously in their offices, and supported us wholeheartedly. Thank you once again. Team GDC has been reiterating that votes is not the only criteria. So we took care on all aspects to the best of our ability. It took quite a deal of time and effort, but then i guess its worth it. Considering we have not fully utilised our contacts, potentially , our vote count could have been more. But nevertheless, we dont regret anything. Our Journey so far has been great.

A Dream called TGDC

Welcome to the weird, wired, virtual world.. where everyone's connected to each other via Orkut, Facebook, or Gmail. The Great Driving Challenge campaign has brought out travel enthusiasts, bloggers, photgraphers, amateurs and professionals alike. Everyone vying for votes, some reaching out to their long lost cousins, some making up with his nitpicky neighbour, just to make that extra vote count. Everyone tweeting, burning midnight oil or CFL lamps rather, staring at their lappy screens , tracking their vote count.........what not. This campaign brought out a thousand dreams, but one desire to turn it into reality. Whoever goes on to drive those 3 golden cars will be followed, cheered, encouraged, applauded at every milestone.

Coming to our journey in this contest so far, We have done a great job reaching out to friends, friends of friends, and our Orkut communities. Our friends have genuinely supported us, campaigned on our behalf, and cheered us at every step. Their love has touched us in a way never felt before, and we are really grateful to each and everyone of our voters. We're happy to have experienced the love and affection of 630 + (at last count) wellwishers through this campaign. Integrity is something which we stand for and genuinely believe in. Hailing from humble middle class households, our feet stand in terra firma and our life so far is self made. Our travels are all about self discovery and living the moment to the fullest. Whether the chai that we have in a road side shack or the pasta in a high end Italian bistro, its our togetherness which adds flavour to our experiences.

Thank you TGDC for a wonderful campaign which brought out a thousand brilliant stories, dreams, travelogues, photographs and an enriching learning experience. We enjoyed this experience with all humility, integrity and creativity.

Lastly, TGDC, if you were looking for a couple for whom, travel is all about discovery, and not going from point A to point B, then look no further... Your search ends here..

Winning Streak

As the The Great Driving Challenge Campaign reaches the end of voting phase, I got some pertinent questions lingering in my mind. What appealed to people in this campaign that couples of all ages , classes, want to take part and share their story ? Why, people who already own hi end cars like BMW's, Merc, or even Mitsubishi Cedia itself, want to embark on this journey, collect votes, and then go on to be the final lucky three? There are people in this contest who are millionaires already and on the other hand those , for whom the prize in this contest is twice their annual salary.

I guess its the age old quest for supremacy. Man has always had that competitive streak in him where he wanted to show he's the best in what ever he takes up. Whether it was the gladiators in bygone eras, or the Olympics, or now the contestants in TGDC , its only human nature to want to win, to better ourselves, to be the best.

As to why we entered this challenge, we loved the novel idea of travelling 3000 kms in 10 days and telling the world as we go by tweeting, blogging and having fun. We took this mission to gift our workaholic selves a vacation well deserved.

We don't have high end digital cameras or for that matter, fast luxury cars but we made sure we never fell short of integrity, spirit, creativity to the best of our ability. May the best one win..

Thank you TIA

I'm part of this orkut community and blessed I am to be a TIAn. I've posted our link requesting fr votes and got great response from this close knit family of sweet,cute, smart, intelligent and progressive women.

Telugu Inti Adapuduchulu !!!!!

We Rock!!!

TB and TBFC

Today we requested our orkut communities, Telugu Brahmins, TBFC to help us in getting more votes.. and got some good response. Considering the fact that , it was against rules in the above communities to post personal advertising threads, we could not do it earlier. We requested the moderators, but they promised to keep the thread only for 48 hours. Let's hope for the best.