Broke on the road

Beg,Borrow,Steal (every Sunday at 7 pm) poses a unique challenge to travellers – journey from point A to point B,with only a few bare essentials in your backpack and Rs 100 in your pocket. Even for seasoned backpackers,who know how to scrimp while travelling,the show is bound to be a challenge. “I’ve always been up for anything,so I figured this show would be easy,” says Khan,who had to travel from Mumbai to Panjim,Goa,“But it was much tougher than I thought. Since the resources I was provided with were very limited,for the first time in my life,I was forced to beg. It’s not an easy task,and people tend to think you’re insane if you tell them you’re begging because you’re on a TV show”It’s not as if the crew accompanying the traveller will be very helpful,either. “I was left to my own devices. I’d been told at the outset that they would not do anything for me and that’s exactly how it was.

So while I had to plead for two pedas from a grocery store,these guys ate in restaurants,” she grimaces. Not to mention the tasks involved. “I’m really good at hitching rides. So when Prashant Madan,the show director,found that out he set me a challenge – take rides only from vehicles,the last two digits of whose license plates are even numbers.”

Of course,the lonely traveller is not entirely alone. Madan says,“There is a crew of nine which accompanies the contestant,including a security guard. It can get really scary on the road,because one of the challenges on the show is that you might not always get a proper bed. You’ll have to curl up wherever possible and to prevent any untoward incidents; we decided to take this measure.”

The biggest challenge,however,is not personal safety. Khan says,

“We travelled for four and a half days and by the third day,I was so down with loneliness. I badly wanted to go home to familiar surroundings. Luckily,I became friends with an auto-rickshaw driver and his family,and they gave me something like home comforts.”

Will this unique format find success here?

According to Madan,it will. “We’re targeting the age group of 18 to 25 and they’re generally up for anything. We’re hopeful of attracting travellers for our other destinations. And even if it doesn’t pick up,the loss for the channel is minimal as there isn’t much overhead involved.”

Going by Khan’s responses however,it’s safe to say that this could be a success story. “I just wish I could be on the next trip too; I had so much fun the first time. And yeah,the journey is definitely more rewarding than the destination.”