It was a scene straight out of The Amazing Race , the reality show where 12 teams of two race around the world in pursuit of the top prize. Only, the location was Thiruvananthapuram and the contestants, all 120 of them, also in teams of two, had to drive around the city in their vehicles, solving a series of clues. Welcome to the first-ever The Hindu MetroPlus ‘Heels on Wheels,’ an all women car rally-cum-treasure hunt in Thiruvananthapuram, which was held last Sunday, April 2.
Gearing up for The Hindu MetroPlus’ ‘Heels on Wheels’ contest in Thiruvananthapuram
The women of the city, from techies and homemakers to ISRO employees, teachers, architects... were out in full force, so much so that a curious (envious?) onlooker took to Facebook to ponder: ... Is there any treasure hunt happening ???? ... after he saw women in cars with numbers pasted on the front glass racing through the city.
Gearing up for The Hindu MetroPlus’ ‘Heels on Wheels’ contest in Thiruvananthapuram
For many of the lucky contestants (lucky because participation was on a first come first served and applications far exceeded the limit of 60 teams), it was adventure that drew them to the event. “The name tag – ‘Heels on Wheels’ – itself sounded like a fun ride and something adventurous. It turned out to be a thrilling way to spend a Sunday,” says kindergarten teacher Jasmine Sudheer. She teamed up with her friend Remya Rahul, who works on a higher education project, for the treasure hunt.
Sangeetha Sikhamani and Gearing up for The Hindu MetroPlus’ ‘Heels on Wheels’ contest in Thiruvananthapuram
Interior designer Meera Krishna and businesswoman Meenakshi S Nair say that they are still on an adrenalin rush from the ride. “It’s not every day that you get to go an adventure in the city, especially in a place where there are limited avenues for women to have fun. We’ve always wanted to take part in a car rally and it was such thrilling ride as we zoomed about the city,” say the duo, who eventually came in fifth.
Meera Krishna and Meenakshi S Nair at The Hindu MetroPlus’ ‘Heels on Wheels’ contest in Thiruvananthapuram
“I’ve actually participated in the ‘Heels on Wheels’ event in Coimbatore a couple of years ago and I recall how fun it was. I jumped at the chance to participate at the event here in the city. The whole experience was fun, fun, fun!” trills Meenakshi.
“It was fun all the way,” chips in bank manager Sangeetha Sikhamani, who participated in the rally with her friend, Sreelekshmi. “I’m from Kozhikode and it was a nice way to discover the city,” adds Sangeetha. In fact, there were several other contestants, who were not natives of the city and many of them gushed about how they enjoyed “rediscovering” the place they had made their home.
For others, it was their love of driving that made them sign up. For example, homemakers and long-time friends Sheeba Jayan and Sunu Mathew. “We both really enjoy driving and Sunu here has actually gone off-roading,” says Sheeba, as Sunu picks up the cue: “I’ve been driving since I was 16, having been encouraged to learn by my mother. I think knowing how to drive liberates women and gives them opportunities to seize the day. We always only go for long distance drives and thought this was an exciting way of doing something we love to do.” For yet others, like sixth place holders, Anuroopa Nagammal and her mother, Nagammal T, it was a time to bond. “My mother, a homemaker, inspired me to learn driving, though she herself doesn’t drive. She immediately agreed to be my navigator. I don’t think we’ve ever bonded like this before or had to work together like this. I am very proud of her for she spotted many of the clues that I would have completely missed otherwise,” says Anuroopa, a school teacher.
Gearing up for The Hindu MetroPlus’ ‘Heels on Wheels’ contest in Thiruvananthapuram
‘Heels on Wheels’ kicked off with an orientation session at The Hilton Garden Inn, where the contestants were apprised of the guidelines. Each team had a designated driver and a navigator and were sorted into two groups for the contest. Those in Group A drove to the Karamana area and back and Group B had to take the Kazhakkottam – Attakulangara route, with route maps and picture clues to nine destinations, to guide them, and two and a half hours to complete the task.
What a sight it was to behold the parade of cars as they were flagged off one after the other. Sporty women driving compacts, sedans, vans, SUVs and even classic cars put pedal to metal and zoomed off with a smile and a jaunty wave.
Maya Gomez and Asha Biju at The Hindu MetroPlus’ ‘Heels on Wheels’ contest in Thiruvananthapuram
Spunky singer Soumya Sananthanan and her friend, Sosy Thomas, in a yellow, 1994 model jeep, and businesswoman Asha Biju and her teammate, architect Maya Gomez, who dressed up for the occasion in red tops and white pants and black heels to match their bright red Thar (they later won the surprise prize for the best dressed team) drew gasps of appreciation from the crowd, even before they started. As did Bindu Sankarapillai and Sharmila Aniruddhan, both IT personnel, in their old Maruti 800.
The clues were not as straightforward as they first seemed and many contestants had a tough task solving them. “You need to have a keen eye to spot some of the clues. The blink and you miss ‘pazhaya thadi’ (recycled wood) clue at the scrap shops on the National Highway Bypass, for instance,” says Meera, who was in group B. They also had a fiendish time finding a set of rusty pipes at a sewage treatment plant en route. Group A contestants, meanwhile, found it difficult to spot a restaurant on the highway and once there the navigators had to jump down a level from the road to get hold of the clue. “The navigator is the key to completing the task,” says Bindu, effusively praising her colleague and navigator, Sharmila. “She really was the perfect navigator!” she adds. The duo came in third.
Soumya and Sofy breezed through the 30 km route and made it back in an hour and 15 minutes, with all the alphabet clues in hand to spell the word, ‘Refresh,’ the revamped The Hindu ’s tagline. Interestingly, all the top six teams checked in within minutes of each other.
Contestants shake a leg at The Hindu MetroPlus’ ‘Heels on Wheels’ contest in Thiruvananthapuram
The women, however, were not done for the day. After a sumptuous buffet, a few of the contestants, such as Soumya, Renju Chandran, a employee of the Liquid Propulsion Centre, Renjini and Priya, both VSSC employees and Reshma S Ranjit, to name a few, got up on stage and sang/ danced their hearts out and entertained each other right up until the winners were announced.
The Hindu MetroPlus’ ‘Heels on Wheels’ in Thiruvananthapuram had 120 contestants in teams of two
Winner’s take
Soumya Sananthanan and Sosy Thomas Gearing up for The Hindu MetroPlus’ ‘Heels on Wheels’ contest in Thiruvananthapuram
Soumya and Sofy say that all one really needed to do was follow the route marked on the map. “At first, we thought we would go to places that were familiar to us. Then, we figured out it would be quicker and easier to follow the earmarked route. In addition to the challenge of deciphering the clues, I was driving a vehicle with no fifth gear and hence not much speed. The trick is to keep moving. Sosy, who has been my friend since school, and I had a good partnership and used our phones and took help from local people to locate clues,” says Soumya.
