The Hindu : Tamil Nadu / Chennai News : In the race to become an enterprising ‘young Indian’

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Thursday, Sep 27, 2007
ePaper

Tamil Nadu

Tamil Nadu - Chennai

In the race to become an enterprising ‘young Indian’

Special Correspondent

CII Young Indians’ reality race required students to match street smartness against one another, sans wallet, mobile phone, car keys

CHENNAI: How fast can you get across Chennai, following clues and performing tasks – without your wallet, mobile phone or car keys? A group of city students pitted their street smart credentials against one another on Wednesday in the preliminary challenge round of a nationwide reality race, to be conducted by the Confederation of Indian Industry’s Young Indians next month.

At 3 p.m., the 21 teams, comprising two students each, were given Rs. 200 and their first clue. Flagged off from the CII office in Velachery, the teams raced to bustling Pondy Bazaar searching the crowded ranks of parked cars for a specific license plate. There, they were given their second task: to make their way to the Satyam Theatre complex, buy a pair of movie tickets and sell it to bystanders in order to recover their money.

The winning team of S. Muthu Shankar and R. Saravana Prabhu, from SSN College and SRM University respectively, went a step further, making a profit by adding a “service charge” while reselling their tickets. “It’s all about the optimum utilisation of resources. We’re going to be managers, and that’s what managers are meant for,” said Muthu Shankar.

“Forget the money, what I really missed was my mobile. I never realised how much I depend on it,” admitted Neha Arora of Chennai Business School.

The teams then headed back to Velachery for a physical challenge: crossing a playground using two bricks without touching the ground. Sweating under the Chennai summer sun, the teams used all sorts of tricks, from breaking up the bricks to riding piggyback, to balance their way across the ground. The trail then led to the Citi Centre Mall, where they were required to make three purchases adding up to exactly Rs. 111.

Foresight pays off

Foresight paid off, as those who opted for speed with auto rickshaw rides in the first phases found themselves bankrupt halfway through the race. The savvier teams jumped into share autos, hitched rides with strangers and used their own two feet. “We really used our persuasion skills,” said a laughing N. Satish, who along with partner J. Sasiganth, managed to convince an auto driver to give them a half-price ride and beg an extra Rs. 100 from accommodating shoppers at the mall.

They were pipped at the finish line – in Parrys corner – by the winning pair, to whom they had considerately offered a lift in their auto. “We all arrived at the building together. But, while they were paying off the auto, we ran in,” said a smug Muthu Shankar. Since the first three teams all make it to the finals, no one’s holding it against him!

Wider challenge

The lucky six now head for a wider challenge: across India in 96 hours from October 26 to 29.

Starting from Delhi, the trail will lead through Kolkata, Chennai, Pondicherry and Bangalore before landing up on the beaches of Goa for a grand student summit. Apart from physical and mental challenges, the finals will include clues that will “teach students to explore their heritage and encourage them to get to know their own country,” according to Deepak Subramanyam, who heads the Chennai chapter of CII Young Indians.

Printer friendly page
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail