Now that the madness has subsided, it's time to celebrate a great Expo, and a special milestone.
It's funny how time can feel so contrarily elastic at times, like at the 12th Auto Expo. Each never-ending day just flew by. From waking up at 5am to passing out at 3:30am, it was all a deliciously maddening rush. At the end of the day, only my feet were true witnesses to the many kilometres spent walking up and down the halls. But the noodles in the noggin still stirred restlessly, thinking of what remained to be covered.
The entire Autocar team was working non-stop to do justice to the Expo and to all the people logging onto our website to get the very latest on all the action. Our secret to getting stuff done was our own WhatsApp group, through which all the updates from the press conferences were relayed to the rest of the team members, including those at the Mumbai office, from where the stories were going live. I assure you, our phones never stopped buzzing for even a second.
The 12th Auto Expo was chest-thumpingly well organised. It came across as professionally managed and not as some fiefdom languishing from neglect like it has been in the past. Nonetheless, I still have to grumble. Day 2 was a mess with far too many "business visitors". I can only suggest that the next Expo have two "press-only" days. Else, I won't be surprised to see most manufacturers doing pre-Auto Expo unveils like Tata, Ford and Hyundai, to avoid the chaos. And that would be a real pity as the Auto Expo has never shown as much promise as this.
Coming to the 300. The Auto Expo coincided with our preparation for the 300th episode of the Autocar Show. That's a chocolate cake with chocolate icing on top. It's been six years since we kicked off this journey. Again, I can't help but wonder about that special quality time has which makes it possible for so much to happen in what feels like a day or two. If left just to Renuka, Hormazd and I, turning the show out week after week would have been impossible. But there are many more capable hands, tireless feet and outspoken voices that make the Show what it is. So, to all of those, "Thank you". And thank you for watching. We're pretty sure we'll give you enough reason to keep tuning in.