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The Great Escape… Indianised
NEW DELHI: He is 45 years old. He has traveled to more than 50 countries. He loves to eat popcorn and misses his eight-year-old daughter. Meet William D Chalmers, founder of the Great Escape 2004, an annual travel-cum-adventure programme on television.
Chalmers was in Delhi last week with participants for the Great Escape 2004 competition – The Hunt for the Global Scavenger.
“The global scavenger hunt motto is `trusting strangers in strange lands’,” Chalmers says. His scavangers are placed at such tactical junctions that it is eminent for the team members to talk to the locals, make friends and enjoy the experience of even searching out the scavengers.
“It’s the challenge of a lifetime to see the world as very few people ever do and that too in 10 countries across four continents at one go. But at the same time, you’ll be helping raise a million dollars for some great international humanitarian organizations,” he says.
The Great Escape is one of the best real-life travel-adventure programmes on television. It explores the cultural legends and people and places and is the best place to have experiences. The annual event is meant to be a cultural immersion across 10 countries and four continents.
Independent-minded travelers take a quick lap around the globe, “learning about the world and their place in it.”
The first phase of the adventure involved countries like Hong Kong, China, Vietnam, Cambodia, Thailand, Bangkok and India. The travel competition is also a prime time programme for the National Geographic Channel.
With 12 teams in all and two members in each team (there’s no bar on a participant’s age), selection does not depend entirely on fitness. Rather, as Chalmers points out, it depends on a would-be participant’s travel experience and how enthusiastic one is to go out and explore.
The annual adventure lasts for three weeks (this year from 16 April to 9 May) and the first phase ended on 30 April in Delhi.
Making it unique is the precise way the hunt for the Global Scavenger goes. “The hunt is strictly for travelers and not for tourists. Its not a vacation, it’s an adventure,” says Chalmers.
The programme becomes interesting not only because of the fact that it is a reality show, but also because the teams go about unraveling the mysteries of Delhi, Agra and Rajasthan during their four-day stay in India.
While relaxing at the Maurya Sheraton hotel in Delhi, which played host to the Great Escape team last week, Chalmers expressed his appreciation at the way India was conducting its general elections and that too completely on electronic voting machines.
Taking a potshot at US politics, Chalmers opined that he hoped this time the Americans “get the right guys for elections in the US because the people are still suffering from the misdoings of hiring people from Florida (a reference to the unfair US polls when George Bush junior got elected President).
News Broadcasting
Kamlesh Singh receives Haldi Ghati Award from MMCF
India Today Group editor honoured for three decades of journalism at Udaipur ceremony.
MUMBAI- Kamlesh Singh just turned a lifetime of sharp words into a shiny shield because when journalism wakes up a society, even the Maharana of Mewar wants to pin a medal on it.
The Maharana of Mewar Charitable Foundation (MMCF) conferred its prestigious Haldi Ghati Award on Kamlesh Singh, a senior editor at the India Today Group, during a ceremony in Udaipur on 15 March 2026. The national award, instituted in 1981-82, recognises “work of permanent value that initiates an awakening in society through the medium of journalism.”
Singh, who leads several editorial initiatives including Aaj Tak Radio, the Teen Taal community and The Lallantop, was presented the honour by Lakshyaraj Singh Mewar, Managing Trustee of MMCF. The citation highlighted his three decades of contributions to Indian media, innovations in digital journalism, mentoring young reporters, and his popular podcast persona “Tau” on Teen Taal, which fosters thoughtful public discourse.
The Haldi Ghati Award, named after the historic Battle of Haldighati symbolising valour and resilience, is one of four national awards given annually by MMCF. Past recipients include Tavleen Singh, Piyush Pandey and Raj Chengappa.
Other honourees this year included Padma Vibhushan Pt Hari Prasad Chaurasia, Vedamurti Devvrat Rekhe, Treeman of India Marimuthu Yoganathan, Vir Chakra Capt Rizwan Malik, and US-based researcher Molly Emma Aitken, who received the Colonel James Tod Award for contributions to understanding Mewar’s spirit and values.
In an era where headlines often shout louder than substance, the MMCF quietly reminded everyone that real journalism isn’t about noise, it’s about the quiet, persistent work that stirs society awake, one thoughtful story at a time.
