Nano Carnival and the Nano Seal

I should have written more text than I've written so far. But time constraints, poor connectivity had clipped my arms. Now that I've got some time and decent speed, watch out for more articles and writeups

At each city, we've Nano Customer Meet, called Nano Carnival. Its more of a party and entertainment than a formal meeting. It involves lots of games and entertainment, music and of course buffet dinner. The entry is by invitation only. (Nano customers in that city, and a few FM Radio winners are invited)

Access control is very critical in events like this, (to ensure that uninvited people do not get in) and after verifying the invitation of the Tata Nano customer, he/she and his/her family members will be let in, after putting a seal on their arms. This seal is the basic rubber stamp with Nano logo on it and helps identify that a person's entry has been confirmed. Even at resorts and clubs a hand ribbon or a seal is always used to identify authorized customers.

From TataNanoSuperdrive

Regular party goes are used to this mode of authentication and readily extend their arm for the seal. For others this is a new experience and they take it with good spirit. I've seen a few kids showing discomfort towards this and trying to rub it off...

In Mangalore, one esteemed gentleman, who came pretty late to the event, almost got ignited when the guy manning the door touched his hand to put this seal. "What is this? What are you doing? I'll write to Tata Motors!" was his reaction. The poor guy, who was a college student,working part time for an event management co in Mangalore (to which Tata Motor's event management co Shobiz had sub contracted) was taken aback. The gentleman was eventually allowed in without the seal but I am still wondering what text would have gone into his letter/mail if he were to write about this to tata motors!

Kolhapur's Mercedes Benz connection

Kolhapur, as a city is fairly small in area. The streets are poorly maintained, with no traffic signals in operation. However Kolhapur is a very ancient city, famous for its food, headwear, footwear, jewellery, wrestling and religious connections. According to legend it was settled by Kolha-Asur, a demon who was later killed by Mahalakshmi to relieve the local populace. However, honoring the demon's dying wish, the city was named after him.

As we passed through Kolhapur, we recalled that Kolhapur city also houses several rich businessmen. Apparently, Mercedez Benz had opened its second dealership in Maharastra at Kolhapur, after Mumbai. We were told that long ago, when a rich business man from Kolhapur went to Mumbai to place an order for a Merc, the staff and show room said "Sorry sir, we don't deliver to small towns like Kolhapur" This aggravated the the businessman completely.

(Above: File photos of me with Merc)

Back home, he met his peers in Kolhapur and all of them together, went to Mumbai and placed a bulk order for 110 Mercedes Benz cars. This shocked and surprised Merc officials, including those sitting in its headquarters. Subsequently Merc opened a dedicated showroom in Kolhapur and rest is history. (Read a related Times of India article)

And now, Kolhapur seems to have a competition. It looks like rich people at neighboring Aurangabad have placed a bulk order for 114 Mercs (details), half of them for the E class and rest split across categories...

Unfortunately I couldn't meet any of those super rich people in Kolhapur, but managed to click this poorly clad gentleman counting crisp notes by the road side...His face was intentionally avoided to protect his identity...(Isn't that a great way of covering up my photographic mistake? ;D )

From TataNanoSuperdrive

Right now I am dancing to this song from the movie, Mamma Mia...
Money Money Money... its so funny... in a rich man's world!

Statutory disclaimer: All information mentioned in this post are sourced from private and unverified sources and may not be fully accurate. The post is published in the individual capacity of the blogger and written purely as an information pertaining to his city of travel and no other intentions. Readers are advised to cross verify the information before interpreting the same.

Solhapur landmark pics

Nanos at Datta Mandir Chowk

From TataNanoSuperdrive

At City Park

From TataNanoSuperdrive

At Sat rasta...

From TataNanoSuperdrive

Day 11-Day 20 Activity Summary

For the benefit of those who are unable to follow the green route blog on a daily basis, here's a brief summary of our Day 11 to Day 20 activities (for Day 1 to Day 10 summary check this post)

Day 11: Mangaluru to Calicut
We were flagged off from Automatrix, Mangalore by about 10am and were supposed to reach Kochi by night. However, narrow NH17, heavy rains and traffic ensured that we could reach only half way, till Calicut, on Day 11. We halted at Calicut and left for Kochi early morning on day 12

View Day 11 photos and text * Mangalore's stock broker Ramesh's feedback on nano can be viewed here (He drove with us from Mangalore till Kasargod)

Day 12: Calicut to Kochi and Kochi landmark activities
We left early from Calicut (or Kozhikode or Kallikote) and reached Cochin by 11 AM. We visited Chinese Fishing net and two churches in Kochi

Kochi landmark pics * Kochi Media Coverage *

Day 13: Kochi to Coimbatore
The drive was scenic. Road was reasonably good. Rain was occasional and distance was about 200kms. We reached Coimbatore before evening.

Blog posts: Day 13 in pics *

Day 14/June 15th: Coimbatore Landmark activities

Posts: Coimbatore landmark pics * Test drive feedback * Radio winner's feedback * Preeti's feedback * Media Coverage * Puja Time *

Day 15: Coimbatore to Chennai: 500+kms
We started fairly early as we'd to cover 500+ kms and reach Chennai. We drove through the scenic Mettur Dam. Drive through western Ghats was fun and later we hit 6 lane superhighway and from there all nanos cruised at their top speeds...

Day 16: Chennai landmark activities
Big FM Radio winners * Customer meet pics * Nanos at Trident Hotel * Chennai landmark pics * RJ Akhila of Nano *


Day 17: Chennai to Bangalore
About 390 kms distance was covered well ahead of time, thanks to great roads (heavily tolled roads though). Traffic at Electronic city to Madiwala, Bangalore's dreaded traffic jam zones was minimal, may be due to the new elevated flyover.

Blog posts:Flagoff pics

Day 18: Bangalore landmark activities
TV9 Coverage * Blr landmark pics * Nanos in front of Vidhana Soudha *

Day 19: Bangalore to Kolhapur
This was the longest route in our entire trip, but covered in about 12 hours or 9.5 hours excluding break. We drove across the state of Karnataka and re-entered Maharastra at Kolhapur, through which we'd already passed during our Pune-Goa journey, thus completing full circle.
Blr-Kolhapur in pics *

Day 20: Kolhapur landmark activities

We covered two circles and a heritage building in Kolhapur...
Posts: RJ Manish on Nano * RJ Anaya on Nano * Shalini Palace Kolhapur * Nano's at Taramani Chowk *

That's how our day 11 to day 20 went... Standby for more

Kolhapur Radio winners speak about their Nano Ride

Kolhapur Radio Winners spoke to the RJ about their Nano Experience...

From TataNanoSuperdrive

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