Autorickshaw rally rolls into Mumbai

Teams from 10 countries are raising funds for schools in rural India

Wheelie Wheelie Mad, Too Tukkers in Tukxedos, Just Married — these autorickshaws are going places, literally.

On August 14, a group of adventurous racers from all over the world rolled into the city to complete the CEAT Mumbai Express Autorickshaw Rally 2008, a unique and exciting sporting event. The rally, which was flagged off from Chennai on August 1, had 18 teams and 39 participants including seven women from 10 countries. The participants made their way to Mumbai via Bangalore, Panaji, Ratnagiri and Alibaug.

Dressed in their attractive and colourful attires, the participants managed to race in their autos on the city’s moon-faced roads with panache. They were excited to reach JW Marriot in Juhu, which marked the end of their 2,000km journey.

“I have travelled as a passenger in an auto but never imagined that I would be driving one.  It was a lot of fun and it was nice to see people waving and encouraging us,” said an excited Tanya Knight from England. Recently wed, Tanya and her husband chose India for their honeymoon. “We thought it would be apt to put up a board saying ‘Just Married’,” she added.

Some even followed a colour theme. “We had coloured our rickshaw pink and so we decided to wear pink clothes everyday, including pink sarees. We both would dress alike everyday,” said Yvonne and Emily.

“We ran out of petrol when we were just 1km away from the endpoint of the race. We also lost our costumes in the hotel,” said Hillary Wheeler from UK.

Despite all this, most participants, especially women, were taken in by Mumbai’s charm. “Of all the places that we visited, I think that Mumbai is the most happening place. We have been here for only two hours and the place is just rocking,” said Susanne Patai, a German settled in Dubai.

Recounting her experience, Susanne said that the onlookers’ reactions were the best part of the rally. “People would be amazed to see a female driving an autorickshaw. Many would come to meet us and some of them would wave and cheer us on,” she added.

And though they had their share of fun and excitement, the participants did not forget the main reason for participating in the rally — charity, “We visited around eight schools in various villages and we were shocked to see that some of them didn’t even have benches or toilets. So, we have decided to donate to books, stationery, benches, etc, to the schools,” said Lindsay Haywood.