We did it, and conquered!
Troopers gallivanting in white t-shirts, hazardous drivers, overcrowded tuk tuks bearing various brands and redundant double Decker buses; an innocent bystander would have been puzzled by this disruption to Colombo’s normal Saturday morning dilemma. Sri Lanka’s version of Amazing Race, “The Colombo City Romp” took to the streets of Colombo on the 28th of April just as the metropolis which had a long night the previous day began to awaken. Classified as the ultimate reason to romp around Colombo and as an excuse to break all road rules, the challenge required teams ranging from 2 to 5 to complete a quest spread across the Island’s corporate hub within 5 hours. Kolon thota was the ideal location to host the back creaking obstacles and brain teasing quizzes the unsuspecting competitors came across due to the lush history and administrative clutter left behind by the Portuguese, Dutch and British conquerors.
Colombo’s fellow districts will assure her that such physical trials and mental assessments are of no consequence, however the busy and bustling city would worry as to whether the workaholics and corporate desk jockeys she hosts are up for the challenge. Or should she? As journalists we cover the day to day rallies that engulf the city, scavenge through the allies to report the gruesome, while battling with time to be the first to report. We dodge death threats, avoid white vans with superior agility and negotiate with profound flirtatious skills. Such is the norm of our careers and therefore NewsRadio argued who better to take up the challenge to raid the labyrinth than five journalists.
Obviously, no contest kicks off without a complicated registration process where one needs to submit the details of a diverse team. One may enjoy working with them but not so much so as to keep track of their dates of birth, particularly the years, and especially the T-shirt sizes. The stressful and complicated ordeal being completed the next challenge was to decipher the clues. Each team was provided a kit bag with an instruction manual, a list of clues, 500ml of Diet Coca cola and obviously the ever so helpful map of Colombo. Subsequent, to decoding the clues that finally led to the locations of the great physical tasks the 5 member team crammed in to the rudimentary suicide mobile driven by our able skipper with little knowledge or no knowledge on the fate that awaited.
After several calculated swirls and daring manoeuvres the team reached the Hilton Sports Club where the first task awaited patiently. A refined tea taster and a chocoholic were needed for the task and the leader appointed the relevant two, to carry out his bidding. Naming the three flavours, caramel, coconut and coffee, stuffed inside a thin layer of chocolate was hardly of any challenge to Keshini who spends every waking moment submerged in chocolate. However, on the far right stood the more sophisticated challenge, and the gentleman better suited for the task due to a recent voyage to the Isles of Britain depleted more precious time. Indeed, the flavours strawberry and mint were deciphered with much ease however, terming the other two cups as chamomile and non-caffeinated tea proved the real challenge for the local Brit, Dhammika. Evidently, doubts may creep in to your mind on the very existence of such flavours however; we assure you that they do in fact exist. We walked away with 200/200 points.
While 3 were engaged in this devious task Ishfaq and Anuk, who were the other two members of the team stood opposite a certain breakfast parlour diligently negotiating with the relevant authorities to meet Mr. Bombastic, aka “Shaggy”. The super sleuthing skills of Anuk led us to the unsuspecting musical genius with whom the team was supposed to take a picture to earn 2,500 points. As the 3 pleading teams and the apologetic authorities engaged in a battle of words, the unsuspecting man himself walks out after a hearty meal only to be forced to pose among a group of energetic troopers.
Elated by the success of the initial two challenges the team once again squashed into the suicide mobile to reach the bustling maze: Pettah. After stationing our dear transportation in the middle of 2nd Cross Street we proceeded to run through to our next check point. Panting and exiting with an aura of excitement we were then met by our hosts who provided us with the clue for our challenge. “Red or Black”, which would you choose? Well our colleague with profound knowledge in the apparel industry, Anuk picked Red and the choice resulted in us going in search of red thread. If you are unfamiliar with the norm of Pettah, each street markets only one product alone and the 2ndCross Street could only provide us with different varieties and blends of material. One solitary shop, #156, however, stood out from the rest and provided us with the necessary. ‘Nattami’, a man who transports material from shop to shop is a common site in Pettah. Our next challenge was to transport a team mate on one of the contraptions used to transport the said items. For the colleague playing the part of a Nattami, ‘Slave Ishfaq’, it was an exerting task while for the one being transported, ‘Her Majesty Keshini’, it was purely humiliating. One wonders how the everyday Kings and Queens enjoy such unwarranted attention and the other announces surprise on his level of endurance. The rest of the troop however stood in the sidelines with tears of merriment in their eyes and promises to never let the memory deteriorate.
After another successful completion and a drive that would put veteran Sebastian Vettle to shame the team arrived at the prestigious Independence Square. Here, three of our fittest members (Sunesh, Dhammika and Ishfaq) were compelled to run around the square within two minutes. One (Ishfaq) failed miserably while the other two arrived in record breaking time, causing the time keeper himself to lift an eyebrow in awe. Coordination is a key element of being physically able and the challengers did not forget to test us on this superior skill. If you haven’t guessed already, the team was supposed to attempt an 8 step Kandyan Dance move. However, little did our challengers know that our fearless leader Sunesh, was once a veteran Kandyan dancer himself. The task was ultimately a breeze and we were fortunate enough to receive additional marks for an “Excellent Performance”.
The next task required the journalists to first ponder and remember each synchronized movement, Legolas from Lord of the Rings made. Yes, the team was provided 10 arrows and a target and left to decide our next move. Taking up the challenge to make the elf population proud, the shortest member of the team (Keshini) and one who hoped to portray Robin Hood (Sunesh), eagerly took up the challenge. The final results established that 50% of our arrows were on the correct path. However, it is quite astounding to note the looks of sheer excitement on the faces of all the valiant troopers when handed a weapon of destruction.
Females like jewellery and the male species spend their earnings procuring such items. To each his own however, do you know what the ‘Sri Lankan stone’ is and what the Padmaraja looks like? Indeed, the task required a team member to discover the two stones within 10 minutes from the varied display at Commons. The able skipper proved himself once again by putting his subordinates to awe and completing the task not with skill, but sheer good luck and wit. And we the team members thought, ‘good luck to the woman who goes jewellery shopping with him’.
Keeping a keen eye on our watches we tumbled off to the next task which awaited us at the Sandwich Factory. Word of advice, never get on the wrong side of the usually cheerful management at this establishment because they can produce a gruesome serving of chicken wings submerged in chilli. A daring co-worker (Ishfaq) valiantly volunteered for the task and completed it with pride. Of course, he spent the rest of the 5 hours in sheer discomfort.
The task that proceeded was one which accounted to 2,800 points and we were expected to prance through Viaharamaha Devi Park in search of Mr. Muzammil. You may ponder the thought as to whether our good Mayor actually took part in all this madness, no. However, with a little help our absconding suspect was found. Police have help and so we too had a little guidance from our fellow teams competing for the same title. Stamped, sealed and released our next stop was to count the statues at the Borobudur Section of the Gangarama Temple. Treading barefoot with utmost silence and speaking in hushed whispers we located the structure and attempted to count but to no avail. Finally, we stood next to our host and proceeded to annoy her with a stream of guesses to finally get it right.
The final challenge was of no great skill but the conquerors had to portray great amounts of stamina. Indeed, it was no challenge to out athletic and physically capable team yet, the clue was of little help and we circled around the high security zone, Chaitya Road many a time. After being victim to many suspicious looks by the security forces stationed in the area we arrived at the final challenge point, the Sambodhi Chaythya. Once again Dhammika and Sunesh who proved to be more athletically able ran around 12 storeys of the building, “high fived” the guard at the topmost floor and ran down earning 500 points.
Subsequent to this we returned to our launch point, Park Street Mews, and rested our now withered and tired bodies to let our minds wander in search of the answers for the quiz. After pondering on each question and racking every cell in our brain, we submitted our answer and challenge sheets to the examiner. After scrutinizing his every calculation and negotiating for more points we were finally awarded 10,210 points. Leaving our destinies in the hands of the 3 fates, the 5 tired heroes then sat in a corner and awaited Zeus’s final decision. The gods were gracious and our hard work paid off as we were in the lead of the corporate category. In short, the stress, dedication, competitiveness, humiliation and bravery paid off and the successful result, only added more spice to the phenomenal experience.
Elated, we headed to a local pub where we celebrated till 3 in the morning re-enacting every challenge, only for Anuk to return to work at 6 in the morning because ‘The News Watch Never Stops’.
By Keshini De Silva, Dhammika Ekanayake, Ishfaq Imtiyas & Anuk De Silva
Editor – Sunesh Rodrigo