Stormed Away ! - With the TATA Safari STORME!

A warm breeze, mud and dust blowing across my face, the whole ground was filled with cheerful excitement. A sudden calm, was broken by the loud sounds of the engines revving. 

It felt like thunder, it had to be thunder! The STORME was here!

It all started a week back. A text from a friend read “Are you coming for the Xtreme Drive meet?” This was replied to, with a simple “No” Tata Safari Storm, Xtreme Drive, Eh? Such a guy thing! For a girl who does not even know how to drive, such a meet would be read as B-O-R-I-N-G. The only thing that could convince me to come along would be free food. And then, the next text read “Hey there is dinner there” Yes! I jumped from my couch and registered myself for the meet. And that is how, me and my friends tugged along for the Xtreme Drive meet which was held at the Chitrakoot Ground in Andheri.

Had really low expectations from the meet considering it was to be held in an open ground and will be filled with high-testosterone induced car aficionados. But all this changed soon. I was pleasantly surprised to be welcomed in a well constructed Air Conditioned hall! The meet started off with my favorite part of all Indiblogger meets- The 30 seconds to fame. Although my name failed to appear on the screen, I did not miss out on an opportunity at the end to introduce myself and my dear blog to others. A friend of mine won a sleeping bag in the twitter contest which was being run simultaneously. Got a tad bit jealous, but did not care much as the only thing running through my mind then was ‘What must be SO special about this car?'

As soon as the introduction ended, we were asked to form teams of around 15-20. After much running around and jostling for space, 5 teams were formed. All the teams were taken out into the open ground.

The sun had just set, standing in the middle of the ground, under the lights, was a Tata Safari Storme! Everyone had an inquisitive look on their faces as no one knew what was coming. Whispers were heard that everyone is going to get a test drive, or that members of one team were going to win Tata Safaris!

What happened next was least expected. Every team had to pull the car across a distance and the team who does it in the quickest time wins. Yes, you heard it right. PULL!

All the teams gave it their best shot and after much huffing and puffing, a clear winner could still not be decided. The top 2 teams then had a good old-fashioned tug of war, or lets call it the Tug-of-Storme competition. The winner takes it all! This too ended in a tie as the rope broke! Maybe, the might of the Tata Safari was too much for the dear rope. This whole activity was fun and exciting, but what awaited us was beyond my wildest dreams.

Tired from the physical exercise we were taken to another section of the ground where we were treated with Red Bulls. What really caught my eye were the various slides and inclines made there. The whole set up seemed like an adventure park. Standing there were 4 Tata Safari Stormes. We were told to form a line and were informed that each one will get a ride on the slopes and inclines, and will get a chance to experience off roading right there.

Wait. What! 

Test rides, off roading, slopes, inclines!! This was getting too exciting! I rushed to grab a seat in the first Tata Safari and headed out for a ride which I will never forget. The climb up each slope made my heart beat faster, the whole off roading experience gave me chills and the high speed turns, well I just closed my eyes during those. As the ride ended, I got down from the car sweating and thrilled. Never before have I felt so scared and safe, both at the same time. 

I acted greedy and went for the ride, the second time, oh and then for the third too ! I began enjoying this. This seemed no less than an adventurous ride in a theme park. Heart thumping, and so memorable! This was turning out to be one of the best blogger meets of my life! Could it get any better? 

Yes! It did get better. The buffet opened and everyone treated themselves to a tasty delicious meal. You could see a huge smile at every ones faces at the dining area. Everyone knew then 

what Xtreme Drive really meant.

After the dinner we decided to leave. My friend carried with him the sleeping bag that he won earlier, but I was not empty handed by any means. I carried with me a satisfying smile, a filled stomach and memories that would never fade away.