Didn’t drink, didn’t drive...

...yet Bangalorean techie Rakesh Nathan won a prize at the Bacardi responsible drinking contest, and will get to meet Michael Schumacher

Didn't drink, didn't drive...

...yet Bangalorean techie Rakesh Nathan won a prize at the Bacardi responsible drinking contest, and will get to meet Michael Schumacher

This was definitely true for Rakesh Nathan, the Bangalore techie who will get to meet Formula 1 god Schumacher next month, thanks to his luck online.

"Sometime in March, I found a picture of Schumacher on an Indian news site. What's he doing on an Indian site, I wondered, and clicked on the photo," he said, when MiD DAY asked how he won the responsible drinking award.

ZOOM: Rakesh Nathan will go on a race track drive with Schumacher on May 13
Luck by chance

The click took him through to a questionnaire and once he completed it, he promptly forgot all about it. But now, he has won and he gets to meet Schumacher in Spain in May.

The prizes winners were chosen by draw of lots, and Nathan is among two who won from India.

"We will reach Spain on May 12, and event is on the 13th," he said. He will be back in India on May 15.

Nathan is a resident of Banaswadi, and works as a training specialist for Dell International Services.

Big moment

This is a big-ticket moment for Nathan. "I have been a Schumacher fan for over a decade and he is one of the main reasons why I started watching Grand Prix races. I never imagined I would be meeting him. In fact, when I heard about it, it took a week to sink in!"

So, what is he going to ask Schumacher when he meets him on 13th May 2009? "I want to ask him how he drives so well in the rain," said Nathan, and this is a very apt question because Schumacher is also called 'Regenku00f6nig' or the rain king because of his fabulous victories in wet conditions.

A Ferrari fan

A car buff himself, Nathan currently drives a Zen, but, like Schumacher, is a Ferrari fan.

"Of course, it is not possible to drive a Ferrari in India, so my dream car here would possibly be a SUV," he said.

Has this victory made Nathan a safer driver?

"I drink only on social occasions and whenever I do, my wife drives the car," he said.

Nathan has also been a "designated driver" for his friends on occasion, but he says he has never driven after drinking and never will.

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