Delhi, Goa and the six-pack

In a world where everything has been explained and discovered, some part within us still craves the feeling of adventure that comes from stepping into the unknown. Perhaps this is the sole reason why people travel, to experience something new, to be out of the routine of their lives, and maybe in the process discovering something new about them.

Little wonder that when the bosses at Delhi McCann Healthcare asked the team “who would like to go to Goafest 2011” many hands shot-up in the air instantly! After a few meetings, huddles and approvals, finally a list of six was prepared. I call them the six-pack, aligning more to a certain refreshing drink than to a set of perfectly formed abdominal muscles.

Taking the metaphor of drink a little ahead, let me introduce the six to you. First comes the senior most member of the pack, Mr. Peace, who continues the glorious traditions of the flower children well into the new millennium, he is the age old, classic Guinness. Then we move on to the other ‘senior’ amongst us, Mr. B. Although his name also kind of links to peace, I’m choosing the alphabet B for him as he loves the words starting with it, like beach, beer, babes and yeah, you can let your imagination build on from here 😉 He is the ‘Fosters’ amongst us. And now we move on to the ladies. First up, the always chilled, sophisticated Ms. Dusk, let’s name her that demi-goddess of beers, Heineken. Next amongst the women is our earthen Ms. Brown, never to be the one caught slipping off the stairs. She is the Carlsberg of our pack. Ooooh, and the next one is well, wait, I don’t think Punjab has a beer brand associated with it, so what do I call this bubbly, vivacious Ms. Sunshine amongst us. Ummmm, let’s call her the party special Tuborg! And in the end, let your humble narrator call himself Mr. Blue, based on his always brooding countenance, a preference for the Blues and this being his favorite color! So he becomes the Kingfisher Blue of the pack.

Let me tell you something about Goafest, the Indian advertising industry’s biggest awards festival. It is the meeting ground of the best minds that our industry has to offer. This year, it was the sixth edition of Goafest, I’ve been there before in 2008. The five other members of the six-pack were attending it for the first time, so naturally the overall excitement level was high. Apart from the fun one has there, Goafest is also famous for the many sessions conducted by industry leaders. You get to meet a lot of your friends from different regions and agencies, many a new friendships are built over drinks and you emerge with a broader perspective of life and work in Indian advertising. And of course, the overall appeal of the fest increases manifolds due to its location, Goaaaaah!

Our journey started early on Friday the 8th morning and ended earlier on Sunday the 10th. All in all, we got to spend less than 48 hours in Goa, but the sheer amount of fun we’d in such little time was amazing. We learned, we interacted, we danced, we drank, we traveled, we cheered those who won, felt sad for those who didn’t (especially for our TAG teammates), we met most of our Mumbai mates and they made this whole time so much more enriching. Thanks to Ulka, Puro, Ganesh, Sanjay, Yogeeta, Prasad, Rohit, Deepa and all others!

Back to our desks and mundane lives, I’m sure all of us will cherish the moments we spent together at Goafest 2011. And because the girls are after my life to upload the pics, I won’t say much now, and let the pictures below do the talking 🙂 Do read the captions to travel the journey with us! OR you can watch it in full screen here: click click!

Here’s to Goafest  2012!!!