Exhibitor Magazine features my Tata Nano Superdrive Photos!!

Exhibitor Magazine, a Rochester, MN based media house that focuses on trade shows and corporate event marketing has featured my ‘Tata Nano Superdrive’ photos as part of their article ‘Nano’s Big Adventure’.

I was a part of this road show that was conducted last summer and have some very fond memories as I travelled through the heart of India across 26 days. Thank you Tata Motors and Shobiz for taking me on this great journey!! This road trip also helped me find great friends in Debarpita Mohapatra and Shrinidhi Hande, fellow photographers and travel bloggers.

This feature also ensured that all of us 3 travel bloggers got paid for our featured photos. It sure does feel good when your work gets published and you also get paid for it. Now, I am waiting to see my photographs in print. I guess I will have to wait for the package to arrive from the United States.

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Tata Nano Superdrive – My Journey through India

As most of you would know…Starting June 2, 2010 and for the next 26 days, I travelled on this road show as a travel blogger and photographer, providing live coverage of this pan-India event on the Superdrive Blog.


The Tata Nano Superdrive was a road trip that aimed to take the Nano car to the common masses of India. Over 26 days, 9 cars left on 3 different routes. 3 cars on each route. I was on the ‘White Route’.


On the White Route, we covered 6,200 kms across 9 states and 17 cities during our 26 day journey. Geographically, this route spanned West – Central – East India.


The route map for the ‘White Route’ looked something like this:

Ahmedabad (Gujarat) –> Indore (Madhya Pradesh) –> Bhopal (Madhya Pradesh) –> Nagpur (Maharashtra) –> Raipur (Chhattisgarh) –> Raigarh (Chhattisgarh) –> Ranchi (Jharkhand) –> Patna (Bihar) –> Dhanbad (Jharkhand) –> Kolkata (West Bengal) –> Bhubaneshwar (Orissa) –> Visakhapatnam (Andhra Pradesh) –> Vijaywada (Andhra Pradesh) –> Hyderabad (Andhra Pradesh) –> Aurangabad (Maharashtra) –> Nashik (Maharashtra) –> Mumbai (Maharashtra).


The other two routes were the Green Route (West-South-West) and the Saffron Route (West-North-West). Shrinidhi Hande and Debarpita Mohapatra were the travel bloggers for the green route and saffron route respectively and they wrote about their journey on the Superdrive-Green Route and Superdrive-Saffron Route blogs.


This road trip was really special for me as this was the first time I consistently travelled in high summer temperatures. More or less, during the entire trip, the temperatures stayed well above 40 degree Celsius. The highest was at Nagpur when the maximum temperature touched 49 degree Celsius.



(The above video is the copyright of Tata Motors Limited)

The White Route was the longest amongst the three different routes and hence the entire squadron and me included spent the most time on the road. The bad to worse road conditions of the central India states didn’t help our cause and we fell further behind in our time management.


This was also the first major road show  I was a part of. Tata Motors and Shobiz, the event management company executed the entire road show very well. They were ably supported by local media partners, radio partners, folks from the press and other local event management partners.


While the Shobiz team and the other partners managed the road show, I simply enjoyed my journey. Photography and Blogging is so much an integral part of my normal life that I found no trouble in playing the role of a ‘Travel Blogger and Photographer’ on this road trip.


Connectivity at some stretches were patchy, but Reliance Netconnect sure has an amazing reach and does a commendable job while travelling through the interior parts of the country. I used a Reliance Netconnect Broadband +.


Here is how my typical day in the city looked liked…


Breakfast –> Flag off Ceremony from local Tata Motors Dealership with media presence –> Advertising, Press, Media and Photography sessions at three pre-decided prominent landmarks within the city –> Locals can use the landmark sessions to check the cars out and also test drive, if possible –> Radio Partners take their lucky listeners on a test drive and then share their experience on air. Even I went on air once, I guess at Nagpur…Radio City or Mirchi. –> In parallel, events are executed in a mall within the city.


Once the pre-lunch session was over, I used to be given one car for close to two hours to go explore the city. This was a great idea and gave me freedom and flexibility to travel outside of the trip itinerary and plan.


In the evening, there used to be a dinner party in some large hotel in the city where all Nano customers were invited. This open gathering drew in significant crowds. Most of the time, I used to miss these dinner parties as I either used to be dead tired from all the travel or was held up with photograph processing and blogging work.


Most of the days, I was pressed for time. I got a tummy upset once. The lack of sleep hurt. The hot weather used to get to me consistently. But, the sheer love for travel and exploration used to make up for the tough times.


Plus, I used to meet so many interesting people and personalities. At each city, I would meet a new Tata Motors Territory Manager and a Customer Service Manager. Then, different people from the press, media and from the common mass. All these different people made for some interesting company and great memories.

 
In overall, this was a great road trip that gave me this brilliant opportunity to be a part of such a large scale road show and allowed me to explore more of India. I would like to thank TATA MOTORS for having selected me for this fantastic journey.

The entire photo album from this Superdrive journey can be viewed in the slideshow below.
 

Note: Tata Nano and Tata Nano Superdrive are registered trademarks of Tata Motors. The Tata Nano Superdrive video is the copyright of Tata Motors Limited.

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Hotel Reviews from my recent West-Central-East India Road Trip

In case you didn’t know, I was on a 26 day road trip across West-Central-East India from June 2 through June 28, 2010. This road trip, titled ‘Tata Nano Superdrive’ took me to 9 states and 17 cities across India’s central belt. During this road trip, I got to sample the facilities and services of 17 different hotels in the various cities and thought it would be helpful to fellow travellers if I shared my reviews on these hotels.

Most of these hotels are in the budget range of Rs. 1,000 to Rs. 5,000 and can be classified as business hotels. Corporate discounts are available in most of these hotels. At the end of each review, I have rated these hotels on a scale of 1 star to 5 star. 5 star being the best. Here is the lowdown:

Ginger Hotels, Ahmedabad, Gujarat
A decent budget business hotel. The hotel rooms are air-conditioned, clean and come with most of the modern facilities. Breakfast came complimentary for me, but Wi-Fi gets charged here. Ginger has no room-service and one has to avail the services of their in-house restaurant and snack bar for meeting one’s food needs. Room rates range from Rs 2,500 to Rs 4,000. Corporates get healthy discounts. The corridors here were a bit stuffy for my taste though. The hotel that I stayed at was situated next to a mall and thus a lot of facilities are close by.
Overall Rating: 4 Star

Hotel Kalinga, Indore, Madhya Pradesh
A decent hotel situated in the central business district of Indore. Rooms have sufficient facilities. Room service did not look very hygienic to me. Nothing complimentary, though nothing to complain about too.
Overall Rating: 3 Star

Classic Hotels, Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh
The only thing good about this hotel is that it is situated right in the centre of Bhopal’s bustling No.9 market. The rooms were stuffy, the bed sheets left a lot to be desired. The taps in the bathroom were broken. The wash basin was just a show piece. Room service wasn’t great either. A bad experience for me in this hotel.
Overall Rating: 1 Star

Siddhartha Inn Hotel, Nagpur, Maharashtra
Decent 2 star hotel situated close to the railway station and on the main road. Rooms are decent, though I found them to be a bit small. The bathroom especially was very small. I had to watch my head while entering and getting out of the shower. The chef must have been good as all my room service meals were delicious. Breakfast was complimentary. Service at reception is not up to the mark. In spite of me having booked my stay here, they made me stand at the reception for a long while citing they could not find my booking.
Overall Rating: 3 Star

Hotel Simran, Raipur, Chhattisgarh
Situated on station road, this hotel looks good only from the outside. The rooms were huge, but lacked comfort. Was a bit stuffy too. Since it is situated on the busy station road, one can hear the traffic in the room all through the night. Room service is just about ok. Bathrooms could have been cleaner.
Overall Rating: 2 Star

Hotel Ans International, Raigarh, Chhattisgarh
A very pretty looking 3 star hotel property. Rooms are luxurious, though you can find mosquitoes in the rooms. My room on the fifth floor commanded a brilliant view. Both restaurant and bar are great. Room service is also great.
Overall Rating: 4 Star

Hotel Landmark, Ranchi, Jharkhand
An excellent hotel that is on par with a 3 star hotel. Right from the start, I was impressed with the professionalism of the service staff. Since they were out of economy rooms, they bumped me up into a deluxe room. The rooms were large, clean, luxurious and simply great. The room service and laundry service were also good. The food could have been tastier. Though, no complains on that part. Breakfast was complimentary.
Overall Rating: 4 Star

Hotel Windsor, Patna, Bihar
Everything about my experience here is bad. This hotel calls itself the best budget hotel in Patna, but I would disagree on all counts. The reception staff seemed to struggle with my booking. They showed me 4 rooms and I was unhappy with all. I had to finally check into the hotel as the rest of the hotels in the city were booked owing to a political gathering in the city that day. The rooms were stuffy, the sheets were unclean, the AC was not working, the food was just ok and to top it the hotel corridors looked like a scene from a red light district. Till late night, I had to manage with all the sounds coming from my neighbouring rooms. I would never ever stay in this hotel again.
Overall Rating: 0 Star

Seventeen Degrees Hotel, Dhanbad, Jharkhand
A tastefully done up deluxe hotel. I didn’t stay long at this place, but was happy during the little time that I spent here. Breakfast is complimentary and is decent. Service Staff are efficient.
Overall Rating: 4 Star

Hotel Park Inn, Kolkata, West Bengal
The rooms were so bad and stuffy that I decided to cancel my booking here and find a place elsewhere. The reception staff was arrogant too.
Overall Rating: 0 Star

Tata Motors Guest House, Kolkata, West Bengal
A very decent service apartment like facility run exclusively for Tata Motors. Meals that are booked in advance are served in a common dining hall. Very cordial staff too.
Overall Rating: 4 Star

Ginger Hotels, Bhubaneshwar, Orissa
Review similar to that of the Ahmedabad Ginger Hotel. Corridors still stuffy. Staff at reception extremely helpful.
Overall Rating: 4 Star

Orange Hotel, Vishakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh
A no-frills budget hotel similar in business model to that of Ginger group of hotels. Rooms are comfortable and sufficient. Breakfast is complimentary. No room service and buffet for all 3 meals is served at the restaurant below. Hallways can be a bit cleaner.
Overall Rating: 3 Star

The Gateway Hotel, Vijaywada, Andhra Pradesh
A 5 Star property. Rooms and service are in line with what one expects from a Taj group hotel. Surprisingly, I was not that happy with the food served. Ordered Italian, but my risotto hardly tasted Italian. Authentic global cuisine is something the 5 Star hotels pride themselves on and hence I was a little unhappy.
Overall Rating: 4 Star

Anchorage Serviced Apartments, Hyderabad, Andhra Pradesh
Tucked away in a quiet residential locality, this serviced apartment is the ideal replacement for an expensive business class hotel. Breakfast is complimentary. Meals need to be booked in advance and is served in a common dining hall. Food is simple and is prepared in home-made style. Choices are minimal. Laundry service is also good.
Overall Rating: 4 Star

Lemon Tree Hotels, Aurangabad, Maharashtra
An excellently designed deluxe resort like property with swimming pools and spas. The rooms are beautifully done up and are extremely comfortable. Breakfast is complimentary and the breakfast menu is fitting a king. Food is tasty too. Room service is also great. I was unhappy that I could not stay here longer.
Overall Rating: 5 Star

Ginger Hotels, Nashik, Maharashtra
My experience similar to that of the other ginger hotels, though I would have loved if the restaurant is open 24x7. I checked into the hotel at 11:30 pm and had to head out after a tired day to search for a restaurant. The reception staff could have been better too.
Overall Rating: 3 Star

Hotel Astoria, Mumbai, Maharashtra
Situated close to Mumbai’s marine drive, this is a great deluxe hotel. Rooms are luxurious. Service is decent and food is good. Breakfast is complimentary and offers a large menu. Hotel staff are very helpful too. Since it is situated close to churchgate station, commute becomes easy too.
Overall Rating: 4 Star

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Official Blogger for the Tata Nano Superdrive!!

The time has come for me to be on the road again!!

I have been selected as one of the 3 official bloggers to cover the Tata Nano Superdrive road trip. The Nano Superdrive is a trans-India road trip across 3 different routes. Each road trip starts and ends at the Nano plant in Sanand and it lasts a total of 26 days. More details about the Nano Superdrive can be found out at the Tata Nano Facebook page.


Of the 3 different routes, I have been allotted the ‘White Route’ or geographically the West to East route. This route is the longest route out of the 3 routes and covers a whopping 5,888 Kilometres. The road trip starts on June 2 and ends on June 28.


This role brings in two major responsibilities for me. One, to be a Tata Nano Superdrive Blogger and the second to be a Tata Nano Brand Ambassador. As a part of both these roles, I  would be responsible for covering the entire “White Route” road trip. This would include documenting the entire road trip, preparing journey diaries, covering the city events, sharing photos and videos and promoting the content within the social media.


All updates to the road trip will be published on the Tata Nano Facebook Page Social RSS. If you are interested in following me on my journey, you can look up Superdrive – White Route. If you wish to follow the other routes, you can click on Superdrive – Green Route and Superdrive – Saffron Route.

On a weekly or bi-weekly basis, I will keep posting a journey summary on this blog, which is my primary travel blog. If you like the Superdrive blogs, do put in a word of appreciation and share it with your social media contacts.

I would also like to take this opportunity to congratulate the other two official Nano Superdrive bloggers, Shrinidhi Hande and Deparpita Mohapatra who will be covering the green and the saffron routes respectively. Look forward to meeting you both at Sanand and hope all of us have a great road trip!!

Stay tuned for more!!

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