1. “The best family time is the road
travelled together”.
– Wes Fessler
T
The amalgamation of the
thrill of car racing and the
contentment of spending
time with loved ones
describes exactly what the
Woman's Era car rally is all
about. The racing bug is
never going to go away like
the Mafia, it seems. Sunny
morning, chirping of kids and
laughter of families made the 2014
Family Car Rally an unsurpassable
event.
A smile on each face is the
rationale behind organising the family
car rally. Unlike lazing around at
home on an off-day people came to
Tivoli Garden spirited and eager to
enjoy life with their friends and family.
It was a Sunday with a difference. It
126 Woman’s Era ● October (First) 2014
Flag off to the
pride-ride:
Rita Bahuguna,
MLA Congress,
Meenakshi Lekhi
Senior Lawyer
and BJP
Spokesperson,
Neeta Sobti,
Neera Nath,
Neelam Nanda,
director, Magical
Pharma, with
Rohit Nath and
his son Udhav
Nath at the
flag off.
A talk apart from politics: Rita Bahuguna and Meenakshi Lekhi
talking to media persons about the rally.
The Delhiites
turned roadies and
ruled the boulevard
after the
Get-Set-Go.
By Megha Jetley
THE ROLLICKING JAUNT
14th
14th
2. became a memory to be cherished
forever. Started in 2001 the Womanʼs
Era Mega Car Rally went on to
complete the Junction trio of 14
glorious years on 14 September
2014. Taking out some time for your
loved ones from the hurly-burly of
modern life is the main objective
behind this car rally.
The anchors for the show,
Vandana Vadehra and RJ Pratap
Batra, made sure that everybody
around was having a good time by
interacting with the participants. The
festive atmosphere was there all right
and the honking of cars, the high-
pitched voices of children and women
chit-chatting and receiving last-
minute instructions from their
husbands, provided the music.
Meenakshi Lekhi, the senior
lawyer and the national
spokesperson of Bharatiya Janata
Party and Rita Bahuguna Joshi,
Congress MLA from Lucknow Cantt
constituency of the state of Uttar
Pradesh, flagged off and declared the
car rally started. The unique idea of
uniting families through a fun-filled
weekend was discovered 14 years
back which soon became a success.
While speaking to the press
Meenakshi Lekhi, in her sporty
attitude said, “Womanʼs Era is doing
great in the direction of uniting the
family by providing them with such a
fun weekend out from stress.”
All the cars were flagged off. More
than 110 cars participated in the rally.
The idea behind the rally was not
only to instill a competitive spirit in
A gracious
presence:
Paresh Nath
editor, publisher
and printer, Delhi
Press Magazines
and his wife
Sharda Nath with
Neeta Sobti
adding glitter to
the party.
A beautific day:
R.K. Nanda, MD
Nature Essence,
exchanging
ecstatic
moments with
Neeta Sobti,
RJ Pratap Batra
and Vandana
Vadehra.
The Big Flag off
Frolicsome:
Monika
Solanki,
VP, GD
Foods
flagged off
the cars with
enthusiasm.
Wooing the decoration: Habib Ahmed, CMD,
Habib Cosmetics, at the flag off.
Woman’s Era ● October (First) 2014 127
We are
waiting:
Shipra
Aggarwal, MD
Prayag Group,
and her son
with Meenakshi
Lekhi flagging
off the cars.
3. the rallyists but also to ensure their
safety. As people were required to
ply their vehicles at a slow speed,
there was no risk to the lives of the
participants. For some first-timers,
this was a time to meet new people
and be part of a superb experience
while for some veterans it was only to
catch up and try to win that spot they
missed last year.
Dressed in their Sunday best, it
was great to see so many more
women drivers ready to conquer the
roads of Delhi with the winning spirit
and some people wore such amazing
costumes to compete in the fancy
dress competition. The picture of
Lord Shiva dressed in a traditional
lion skin costume with a rudraksh
mala and snake on the neck with his
family dressed as Parvati, Kartik and
Ganesha walking around on a hot
September Sunday giving blessings
to the people though did seem to be
a bit out of place, but the lovely family
was looking simply amazing.
The student volunteers from
MassCoMedia were dressed in white
T-shirts to help. People from all walks
of life came forward to take part in
the rally. From retired men and
elderly women to students and
homemakers to professionals and
high-end fashionistas, the
enthusiasm of the people was the
main highlight of the rally.
The cars had to drive a distance of
about 50 kms. The participants
followed the international standard of
time, distance and speed. There
were checks for time, distance and
speed at five marshal points which
were set up along the route.
Contestants had to get their times
logged with each of them as per the
navigation map given to them.
After a winding three-hour journey
through the roads of Delhi, the rally
culminated at Tivoli Garden. The
winners were announced and prizes
were distributed. Some interesting
award categories – such as the best
decorated car, fancy dress, youngest
woman driver and the oldest woman
driver – clicked with all. Interestingly,
the worst driver was also given an
award and not punished. This annual
128 Woman’s Era ● October (First) 2014
Caught and
captured:
Samar Jahan
from Oxyia
cheering the
participants at
the starting
point.
The cheers:
Preeti and
Siddharth from
Cocoona Wave
the flag.
Smiles
everywhere:
Nidhi Dhaka,
CEO, Barofit,
boosting the
spirit of
participants
Tete-a-tete:
Gokul and
Shelly Narang
from Peaches
enjoying the
chat session
and giving a
joyous start to
the rally.
4. Woman’s Era ● October (First) 2014 129
event, organised by the Woman's Era
magazine for the last 14 years,
seems to be attracting more people,
especially as it helps a family come
together and have a good time. The
day ended with laughter and
merriment.
Jazzy combo:
Sara and Dr Liue
from
Nutas Clinic
flag off with
Neeta Sobti.
Ebullient:
Rajesh
Sharma,
director,
Dutta and
Dutta
Advertising,
ready to
commence
the rally.
Enriching
endeavour:
Chief guests
having a
chit-chat with
Neeta Sobti.
The posing
mood:
Aradhika
Singh from
Green Dot
Foods with
Neeta Sobti
and Ashita
Kumar
having a
great time.
Letʼs wave it: Bharat Bhushan from
Hans Herbal with his wife at their effusive best.
The vivacious mood: Vikram Bhalla, GM,
Tivoli Garden, gave a get-set-go to the rally.
We are a family: Neeta Sobti, Rohit Nath
and Neera Nath with master Udhav Nath
sharing the joy together.
6. Car Rally No. Participants Vehicle No. Car Rally No. Participants Vehicle No.
110 Dr Pramod
111 Bimal Kumar
112 Amit Singh
113 Pradeep Singh
114 JS Kohli
104 Amit Sethi DL2CAN 0225
105 Nidhi Dhaka
106 Rani Kumar DL10CE0920
107 Samar Jahan
108 Rakesh Kumar DL5CC 9927
109 Sanjay Yadav DL3CAL8412
FAMILY PARTICIPANTS OF THE 14th CAR RALLY
7. The Hullabaloo: Dr Mandeep Singh having a pleasant time
with his family.
The after party: Harminder Singh with Neeta Sobti.
The trio: Amit Singh from Tipsy and his wife having
Neeta Sobtiʼs company.
Close bonding: Dr Deepak Tak with his family.
Smiles all the way: Dr Neeta Ratti with
Dr JB Ratti from Vital Clinic with a lovely
celebrating smile.
Just rave out: Dinesh, proprietor, Vision Care with
Abhay in a mood to chill.
Fun begins here: Suniti Soni from Coloressence with
R K Nanda, Anand Baruah, Aroon Roongta and Neeta Sobti
having a fun talk.
8. Party time...
The woopee-crack: Peddy, investment director, MEC
having a gala time.
The cocktail fete: Vidhu Sagar, executive VP, Carat Media
Services Pvt. Ltd., showing the party spirit.
The special capture: Asim Miglani, Proprietor
Lahori Restaurant with his wife Babita Miglani and daughter
Vriddhi Miglani sharing a moment with Neeta Sobti.
The Jamboree: Shelly and Ravi Narang from Peaches
having a great laugh.
The party spree: Shweta Patel and Navin Patel from Patel
and Company celebrating the occasion with Neeta Sobti.
Joy of celebration: Naem Shah (managing partner)
and Samar Jahan (director) from Oxyia Unisex
Saloon and Spa enjoying a cheerful moment.
Party all night: Neelam Nanda, director, Magical Pharma
enjoying the bash.
Fun and frolic: R. K. Nanda with wife Neelam Nanda
sharing the laughter with Neeta Sobti.
9. AND THE WINNER IS...
Winning a prize remains the ultimate
goal for every participant...
1st
prize
Womenʼs Category
goes to
Namita Taneja
2nd
prize
goes to
Ameen Kataria
3rd
prizegoes to
Kuldeep Singh
1st
prize
goes to
Piyush Nayyar
10. Youngest
Woman Driver
goes to
Tejaswani
Keshwani
Fancy Dress
goes to
Parul Jain
Worst score
Rajender Singh
Oldest
Women Driver
goes to
Asha Virmani
Best
Decorated
Car goes to
K. Viswanathan
2nd prize
Best
Decorated
Car goes to
Meera Batra
1st prize
