Moving on...this was the CRAZIEST party idea we've had till date - coz believe it or not, we were completely partied out!!! Theme parties, trips, treks, the works - we'd done it all.
Of course once you've done it all, you get back to your childhood, with games adapted to your current state and BOY is that fun.
This particular group of ours has been together for the last 10 odd years - give or take a few years with different people. So we conceived the clues, according to the places we hung out at. Making it our unique TREASURE HUNT! Just a peek at the teams, the clues, the destinations and all the adrenalin and excitement the hunt brought with it.
Clue # 1: "This is as easy as can get. One venue you guys can never forget. Where it all came together and all begun. With one snack vendor this trail will run. A vendor who always delivered - not food, but entertainment we will always remember. So find your clue to start this game. But remember to keep them safe for a rainy day."
Creator's Note: Each clue had a digit printed on the far left corner of it. The digits, put together would form a phone number, which the teams had to call to find the last clue. This particular clue was at Dhiraj - an old favourite with Mithibhai / NM college kids.
Highlight Moment: I had hidden the clue and had just finished crossing the road when I was spotted by Team Red. Two of it's members came hurtling towards me at TOP speed, thinking I had the clue. When they realised it was not with me, their sprint to the other side of the road almost had us with our hearts in our mouths! They narrowly escaped a BEST bus!
Clue # 2:
Clue # 3: "I'm in the cockpit of a special aircraft. Come get me before it prepares for take-off. It's only supposed to carry children. But for you guys, we made an exception."
Creator's Note: A park in the neighbourhood houses a large airplane mock-up. Popular with us as kids, now the mock-up is frequented by couples looking for privacy and urchin kids pretending to fly the plane.
Highlight Moment: Watching the team members scurry across the muddy park one by one through the little airplane window was fun! Everyone in the airplane too was highly amused by the game and wanted details about the next clue!
Clue # 4: "Cricket. Romantic walks. Jogs galore. Fights, swims, games and more. Awash with memories, rich with emotion. You'll find me buried somewhere near the ocean. If you don't look carefully, I'm hard to come by. Because I'm surrounded by nothing but Sun, Sand and sky."
Clue # 5: Was an MMS of just a part of the sign board and doorway of ASIAD restaurant in Irla. The MMS had a message saying, "Look carefully for this location. For inside the entrance, I am hidden."
Creator's Note: The MMS was on our phone, which was wrapped in a plastic bag and buried right outside Sun & Sand hotel on Holiday Inn Beach.
Clue # 6: "Open. Green. A wide space. A theatre lies somewhere near this place. Many a game it has seen in the years. Victories and losses, including ours. Our cheerleaders were many, always enthused. Where they used to sit, you'll find your next clue."
Creator's Note: This clue was placed in a ground near Chandan cinema, where the boys in our team generally play their cricket matches.
Clue # 7: Was a sheet of the following lyrics placed in an empty beer bottle on a bench at the ground.
"Return To Innocence
"That's not the beginning of the end
That's the return to yourself
The return to innocence
Love - Devotion Feeling - Emotion
Love - Devotion Feeling - Emotion
Don't be afraid to be weak
Don't be too proud to be strong
Just look into your heart my friend
That will be the return to yourself
The return to innocence
If you want, then start to laugh
If you must, then start to cry
Be yourself don't hide
Just believe in destiny
Don't care what people say
Just follow your own way
Don't give up and use the chance
To return to innocence"
Creator's Note: This was all to denote a small watering hole called Enigma, a popular hang-out with the group. The lyrics are of a popular song by the band called Enigma.
Highlight Moment: Nobody got this clue! They were breaking their heads trying to figure out what link returning to innocence and being true to yourself had with beer! They got it finally though and came hurtling into Enigma!
Clue # 8: "At this point now, you've run out of clues. But you can do one thing if you don't want to lose. Get to Juhu and rent a movie. If you think of your state right now, your choice will be easy."
Creator's Note: I figured this one would be easy, as Readsure Library is pretty much the only decent place in Juhu one can rent movies from.
Clue # 9:
In this movie cd the clue was: "It's time for a snack. Aren't you hungry? Roadside Chinese sounds perfectly lovely. Now team that with an Indian girl's name. A name of the Hindu Holy Book fame. Quality's opposite but no worries. Your clue is in the menu - so go on HURRY!"
Creator's Note: Oh my god! Before I could even place the clue (a photograph) in the menu, they were there. Luckily I slipped it to the owner and he hid it near his cash register.
Highlight moment: 8 enthusiastic people scurrying like ants around a small roadside restaurant trying to find the clue! While the waiters stood by and smiled sportingly!
Clue # 10: Was printed on the back of this photograph:
"Congratulations on coming so far. The journey is almost done. The only thing left to do to end this war, is pick up your phone and call someone. Someone you know, but who's number you may not. But simply look back carefully. The number is part of this hunt."
Creator's Note: When they called the phone number, they were told by our friend that the prize was in the same place as was shown in the photograph: In this case, Alfredo's restaurant, an old haunt.
Highlight Moment: And that's it! The racy finale followed, the photograph was torn to shreds in 8 grabbing hands. Car doors slammed, tyres screeched and the teams were on their way.
Team Black won. Simply because they had taken the main road (which had less traffic) and Team Red thought it would opt for less traffic by taking an inner road.
Team Black ran into Alfredo's to claim their prizes of Gift Vouchers worth Rs. 1000 each. The people there were shocked as the teams hurtled in like hurricanes thinking that they had a last clue to grab. Of course we then took the entire top floor and discussed over many pitchers, the adrenalin of the hunt, the priceless moments and the clues!
After loads of yelling and screaming, both pumped up teams agreed that this was the craziest fun we had had in a long, long time. Everyone's looking forward to the next one now! All I know is, I'm not making it - this time, I'm playing!
