Campaign Planning Avijit Lahiri | Words Shiv Arora | Photos Rajeev Bhendwal
The best part about travelling through the different states of India is that each has its own uniqueness in terms of the social fabric, culture, cuisine and lifestyle. In the final lap of the campaign, the team criss-crossed Gujarat and Rajasthan with every halt and event adding to the list of memorable experiences
Over the past three issues we have covered our journey through various Indian states as part of the Go Extra campaign. Now it’s time for the last and final chapter from our enthralling pan-India campaign.
Before we started off on the next lap, our last stop was at Hubli, the second-biggest urban destination of Karnataka after Bengaluru. We now headed for Gujarat. This state with its all-inclusive, sustainable and rapid growth is emerging as a globally preferred place to live in and to do business. It was a long drive of more than 1,200+ km and we had to take halts in between. Our first stop in Gujarat was at Surat where we also had a real ‘Gujarati’ meal and more importantly, had to undergo a test to ensure that none of us had corona virus.
Surat is by and large one of the cleanest cities in India and known for its diamond production. It was March 16 and having acquired the required permission to conduct our event, we pitched tent for the first one at the parking lot of Ultratech Cement on the Dumus Magdalla Road. It was a hot and humid day but our spirits were high as we spoke to the drivers’ community about the importance of road safety. The audience participation was commendable. People visited our stalls and loved the event and it gave our partner brands an opportunity to present their products too.
Early morning the next day we left for Bharuch for the next lap of the campaign presented by Bridgestone India. It was a distance of 75 km and that took about two hours. It was a sunny day and the event took place at Zadeshwar Chokdi where we were joined by Bridgestone India’s Technical Manager Jayant Pate and District Sales Manager Nand Kishore Rajput. We also had with us officials of Delux Bearing, including Deputy General Manager Parthiv Mehta, Associate Sales Manager Santosh Jha and Sales Executive Poonam Chunara. Also present on the occasion were Mayur Bhatti, Sales Executive, Jamna Auto Industries and Mosam Tamboli, Sales Executive, Excelite DH India.
The games, quiz sessions and the displays enticed one and all. Before leaving Bharuch, we had an interaction with the management of Mahadev Hotel that offers services and facilities to drivers and mechanics. We also got the opportunity to explore Dahej, an industrial area. We then left for Vadodara, covering the distance of about 75 km in 1.5 hours. Vadodara is also known as ‘Sanskari Nagari’, it being a cultural city. The weather was now perfect and the event was held at Ranoli in the presence of truck fleet owners, drivers, mechanics and operators. We made them aware of Bridgestone V-Steel MIX M721, the 15 % extra mileage tyres.
It was then time to head to the former capital city of Gujarat, Ahmedabad, 111 km away. The city has emerged as an important economic and industrial hub in India. Ahmedabad, in western India, is the largest city in the state of Gujarat. The Sabarmati River runs through its centre. On the western bank is the Gandhi Ashram at Sabarmati, which displays the Mahatma Gandhi’s living quarters and artefacts. Across the river, the Calico Museum of Textiles, once a cloth merchant’s mansion, has a significant collection of antique and modern fabrics. Our event was held at Aslali which saw participation in huge numbers.
After completing the event we headed towards Mehsana which was our last stop in Gujarat. Overall, it turned out to be wonderful experience given the fact that Gujarat has a very unique culture of its own, not to mention its cuisine. Rajasthan was going to be our next chapter – a long drive of 250 km that took about six hours. Rajasthan, geographically and culturally, occupies a very unique position. Its major features include the ruins of the Indus Valley Civilisation at Kalibangan and Balathal; the Dilwara Temples, a Jain pilgrimage site at Rajasthan’s only hill station; Mount Abu in the ancient Aravalli mountain range; and in eastern Rajasthan, the Keoladeo National Park of Bharatpur, a World Heritage Site known for its bird life.
In this state of ancient palaces and royal heritage, we pitched our first base at Udaipur, which never fails to mesmerise. In this ‘city of lakes’, the event was graced by officials of the Maharana Pratap Nagar Transport Association, namely, President Narender Singh and Secretary Lalit Somani. Bridgestone India was represented by Prahlad Bansal and Yogendra Sharma along with their dealer Rameshwar Suwalka of Satyanam Trading Company, North India’s topmost Bridgestone tyres’ dealer. Interestingly, we had lunch at a restaurant whose owner has a fleet of 40 trucks. Of course we couldn’t let go of the chance to explore Udaipur and that is what we did the next day before driving onward to Kishangarh at a distance of 292 km.
In this ‘marble city’ our event was held on March 26 in the presence of high-ranking dignitaries such as Deep Chand Choudhary, Hari Ram Choudhary, Rameshwar Yadav, Sunil Sharma and others. Our discussion revolved around the trucking business and the improvements that it called for. And then it was time to hit the road once again for Jaipur, the ‘pink city’. And since it was Rajasthan that we were travelling through, high on the menu at all times was the wonderful local dish called ‘dal baati’. Rajasthan is peculiar in the sense that the days are extremely hot and the nights very cold. Notwithstanding the heat though, we hosted our event on March 27, which was our last one for Rajasthan.
Since we were also going to have our closing ceremony here, we tried to make the event as memorable as we could with hundreds of balloons. The vibe on that day was something different and amazing as the whole team, including representatives from partner brands, displayed a high level of energy and enthusiasm. In fact, apart from the usual magic show and other games, we had a cake-cutting ceremony too. Many fleet operators visited the event and were honoured on behalf of Bridgestone India. Since the entire campaign could not have been managed without the effort of every single team member, each of them was presented a shawl.
A journey that began on January 28, 2021 with a mission to create awareness about the products and solutions of our partner brands with the main aim of helping fleets and to make the lives of drivers, operators and mechanics easier and better was signed off on March 27, 2021. Each and every member signed the AVTR and wrote beautiful wishes and their memories on it. It was also the Holi festival and this added more fervour to the concluding ceremony. The next day we returned to our base at Delhi, loaded with amazing memories of a campaign that covered 6,500 km across 32+ cities and created awareness in the market about the Bridgestone V-Steel MIX M721 extra mileage tyres. It was mission accomplished!
We would like to bring the curtains down on this amazing journey coverage by saying one big final ‘Thank you’ to Bridgestone India and our other partners – Ashok Leyland, Delux Bearings, Jamna Auto and Excelite – DH Lighting India –– for believing in us and joining us for this pathbreaking expedition. Until our next campaign, adios!