A trip down the Memory Lane….Vintage Cars Museum

Ahmedabad has always had a lot to offer in terms of history and culture. Whether it’s the beautiful archaeological sites of Adalaj Stepwell and Modhera’s Sun temple or the historical and spiritual adobe of Gandi Ashram. But this week I discovered a totally unexpected element of Ahmedabad’s historic prides – a sprawling vintage car collection with over 105 cars.

A proud collector Mr. Pranlal Bhogilal, founder-president of the Vintage and Classic Car Club of India, has converted his personal car collection into a museum named Auto World Vintage Vintage Car Musuem – Dastaan Farms. The museum is open to public at a nominal fee of Rs 50 per person. And in case you plan to capture some of those eye pleasing wonders, like the giant Daimler, on your camera then you would have to buy an additional camera pass for Rs 100. But the wonderful pics are worth much more than that nominal charge. Checkout some of the pics I managed to click @http://www.flickr.com/photos/11193960@N06/set

To begin with it’s a great drive from Ahmedabad, along the SG(Sarkhej-Gandinagar) Highway. Newly constructed toll-road on which we went speeding on our bikes at 110-120 kmph. A must see place if you have half a day to spare in Ahmedabad. Think of any car brand that you have ever heard of (and some ever unheard of) – the Rolls Royces, Bentleys, Jaguars, Mayback, Daimlers, Langodas, Maybach, Pakards, Cadillacs, Buicks, Austin, Ford, Lancias, Chryslers and Lincolns. And the most amazing part is that each one of them is in perfect driving condition. There is a car with complete wooden exterior as well as a car built completely with silver aluminium body and then there in a 1906 Ford. They also offer rides around the estate for a charge of Rs 500 in some of these beauties.

Someone fascinated with automobiles, as most of boys naturally are, it’s probably the best getaway around Ahmedabad. Even the attendents at the museum are more than happy to take you around the aesthetically laid out museum which is planned in a way that you don’t miss out on any of the cars.

Plus the place also has a great restaurant that serves some nice authentic Gujarati food at very nominal prices. Just the perfect settings to discuss and savour your memorable experience before kick staring the ride back home.

Address :

Auto World, Dastan Farms, Kathwada, Sardar Patel Ring Road, Ahmedabad. Ph. 079-22820699 – (they were more than happy to assist us with driving direction when we called this number)

Driving Directions :

From SG Highway, turn right after Nirma University to get onto SVP Ring Road,
Keep going straight passing 3 toll booths – Bhat, Tragad and Ranasan.
Keep going straight towards Baroda from Kathwada circle (with power grid) for about 3 km.
You’ll see big hoarding on left which indicates take a right for the Auto World Vintage Car Museum/Restaurant.

Ultimate Frisbee Challenge at IIM-Ahmedabad 4-5th July|DAY 2

Flying Dutchmen(IIMA) beat Indicorps comprehensively to win the Ultimate Frisbee Finals

The finals got off to a slightly delayed start at 11.15 pm. Flying Dutchmen (FLD) won the toss and decided to catch the Frisbee first. But the first move of the match went against the home team as they lost the disc with a careless turnover and Indicorps shot into 1-0 lead in no time. But that was the first and the last time in the entire match that FLD trailed, as they soon got their act together and finished the match with a 26-13 scoreline.

FLD off-field strategy contributed as importantly to the win as their on-field execution. The decision to play “zone-defence” which is used more commonly in games like basketball and football instead of the commonly used man to man marking proved critical. They started with 3 men taking care of defence and 4 others playing mid and upfront. Starting with Subodh, Kaboothar, Sood, Pissu, Kunjii, Nacho & Convo the team was ably supported by the substitutes – Satnam, Manu, Arun, Raheel and Kishen.

Indicorps were once again heavily dependent on Jay and Jesse to create their moves and they did not disappoint coming up with some spectacular throws. But somehow they could not create the same magic as yesterday either shocked by the zone marking or tired from yesterday’s exploits. The Indicorp team also had smart contributions from Jiga, Henna and Nick.

In the end FLD’s unique playing style – swift passing, quick runs, and zone-defence left the opponents clueless. Inspite of the tight man to man marking by the indicorp team FLD were able to create space. Kudos to their smart fakes and enduring stamina. Indicorp employed their bench strength to full use, making regular substitutions giving all younger players a chance to play.

All in all a great tournament and an amazing win for IIMA team. At the same time it also proved to be an amazing learning experience as we got to play Fribee with the international rules.

The match concluded on a positive note with acknowledgements from both the teams. Indicorps presented the hosts a bouquet for organizing the competition and respecting the spirit of the game. They also informed Flying Dutchmen about the different Frisbee teams in India and about a tourney commencing on 19th July – right opportunity to take the Game to higher levels!

Ultimate Frisbee Challenge at IIM-Ahmedabad 4-5th July|DAY 1

A breezy saturday evening, and the beautiful LKP lawns lit with floodlight – an almost perfect day was made even better with some spectacular ultimate frisbee display tonite.
The three teams – Stormchasers(Mumbai), Indicorp(Ahmedabad) and Flying Dutchmen(IIMA) were out for some great contest on the opening day of the Ultimate Frisbee Challenge. And guess what home team dominated just the way all
the home supporters expected beating both the opposing teams quite comprehensively.

The results :
Match 1: Indicorp beat S’chasers 18-16
Match 2: Flying D’men beat Indicorp 27-17
Match 3: Flying D’men beat S’chasers 25-12

Indicorp were led by the brilliant combination of their 2 star players Jay and Jesse. One of the youngster (prob Jiga) also showed some spectacular throws and collects. Jesse’s 12 feet high collect, flying over 2 offense players and one
of his teammates was the kodak moment of the first match. The Indicorp team deserves a special appreciation for the fact that it was mixed gender team making life really tough for all men opposition team.

Stormchasers put up a good fight in the first game but really lost the plot against in the 2nd game against the Flying Dutchmen.They had a great thrower in Sanal and a few good chasers in Qwick and Jhonny, but it seemed the team had a
few less experienced people  as well and this cost them the game. But great spirit shown by them in coming over from Mumbai and making this event possible.

Flying Dutchmen were the team of the day (or night- considering they played both their matches back to back after 9pm). May be no star players like Jesse or Jai but the team was a really well balanced unit with no apparent weakness.
Defense was resilient and impressive to watch , offense was lightning fast leaving the opposition defense chasing ghosts. The domination was so obvious that in the 2nd half of the last game they were scoring freely even with the reserves.
On a technical note – just need to iron out our throwing to make sure that fewer turnovers happen.

All in all a great day of competition. Some great sporting spirit and some great competetive frisbee. Hoping for a even greater final tomm at 9:30 pm, same venue.

Media Coverage:

http://www.ahmedabadmirror.com/index.aspx?page=article&sectid=3&contentid=20090705200907050236339953d609615&sectxslt=

http://www.ahmedabadmirror.com/index.aspx?page=article&sectid=3&contentid=2009070620090706025918183ff4bb722&sectxslt=

Wimbledon QF Line-Up

Well we are into the 2^nd week of Wimbledon, the business end of the most prestigious and the oldest of the 4 grand slams. With the unexpected loss of Rafael Nadal, who partnered with Roger Federer to produce probably the most cherished final of our generation (Goran Ivanisevic and Pat Rafter 2001 final would probably come in as a close 2^nd).

But with or without Nadal we have 4 great clashes on our hands today – and interestingly all 8 players involved in these 4 clashes come from 8 different nations.

Match 1: Ivo Karlovic (Cro) [22] vs. Roger Federer (SUI)[2]               IST 5:30pm

A match that may be won in the tie-breakers as the 6ft 10 inch giant has not dropped his serve so far in 79 service games, firing 137 aces in just 4 rounds. The more famous big server by the name of Andy Roddick comes a distant second at 96 aces.

Can Federer settle the dispute outside tie-breakers or will Karlovic succeed in doing to Federer what Richard Krajicek did to Sampras in 1996. Federer fans world over will love to remain away from those tie-breaks. And without doubt the magician has the ability to break those towering serves.

Match 2: Tommy Haas(GER)[24] vs. Novak Djokovic(SRB)[4]           IST 5:30pm

Almost a cross-generation battle between the youngest (22 years) and the oldest (31 years) players remaining the men’s draw.

Novak Djokovic had promised a lot when he burst on international stage winning the Australian Open last year, but off-late he seems to be going the Roddick way. This is his opportunity to answer the critics but the resilient German, whose form seems to improve with age, would be a sure favourite if the matter enters a 5^th set.

Match 3: Andy Murray(GBR)[3] vs. Juan Carlos Ferrero(ESP)           After Match 1

Home crowd favourite and the bookies choice to take on Federer in the final, given Rafa’s absence. Although a defensive or counter punching style of play which won’t win him many fans outside UK, still he is really consistent at what he does making life miserable for more attacking opponents.

Juan Carlos Ferrero has nothing to lose, having already made it to QFs on a wild-card entry, and should play a pressure free base-line game. opportunity for him to cash in on the performance pressure that British crowd would be exerting on the young Scot.

Match 2: Lleyton Hewitt(AUS)  vs. Andy Roddick(USA)[6]                After Match 2

A true slug-fest expected between 2 fighters on tennis court. Roddick may have a slight advantage with his big-serve but Hewitt has his scrambling abilities and the confidence boosting comeback win over Radek Stepanek. Bound to be a true entertainer, with no clear favourite. Tennis quality may not be the highest but competetivness would more than make up for it.

Will come back with the results and post match analysis soon.