Aravind Bremanandam – Rickshaw Challenge

It's a Rickshaw Challenge Adventure

admin — Mon, 02 Jan 2012 07:53:30 +0000

The 2012 Classic Run is on the way and the press is all over it. Below is a piece from the Deccan Chronicle, titled ‘Get in an auto, give to society‘
‘The thought of taking the auto to work today may faze you, but you won’t be thinking twice before jumping behind the wheel of one at the Auto Rickshaw challenge. With the promise of fun, adventure and a culinary tour like none other, the Rickshaw Challenge comes to Chennai for the sixth year — minus the quintessential auto anna!
Started to cater to adventure, the Rickshaw Challenge has put Chennai on the world map of adventure tourism.
Says Aravind Bremanandam, the brain behind the enterprise, “This year we have 33 participants from nearly nine countries. The participants are a cross-section of society — from students, businessmen and nurses, we have a diverse lot participating. In the past few years the event has come to be a cultural gala that is about adventure, discovery, vacation and social giving.”
The Rickshaw Challenge has so far raised 80,000 US dollars and has been giving back to the Round Table of India for the last six years.
This year, participants of the Rickshaw Challenge will race their autos across a distance of 950 km, between Chennai to Poovar in Kerala. In the course of their journey, the participants will get to sample the gamut of cultures and cuisines that comprise south India.
“The challenge is quite like any other,” says Aravind. “Points are given for being crazy and unconventional,” he adds.’
Via: Deccan Chronicle

Welcome to the Deccan Odyssey!

admin — Mon, 20 Jun 2011 08:13:27 +0000

The Rickshaw Challenge Deccan Odyssey was flagged off by Panaji mayor Yatin Parekh on Sunday, in which participants will be driving their auto-rickshaws to Mumbai.

Having had two days of intensive training, driving their tricky tuk-tuk – as they refer to it, participants are looking forward to the trip. Of seven teams competing, winners will get a free entry into the Caucasian Challenge Motor Rally in Europe besides a refurbished vintage Rickshaw Meter trophy.

‘Along the way, they will have to complete certain challenges while experiencing the real India,’ states organizers Chennai Event Management Services.

“There is a bit of risk, surprise and the active participation of everyone. Through a rickshaw one can feel every smell and every bump on the way, as well as touch the culture. We don’t organize sanitized tourism. Ours is adventure tourism with a reality feel to it,” said Aravind Bremanandam, managing director.

Via: Times Of India

Motorsport race lands you in Kanyakumari in a rickshaw

admin — Fri, 11 Dec 2009 07:31:25 +0000

In a rally car on a tricky road in Marrakesh, Morocco, navigating heavy traffic is not exactly the kind of situation where you’d be struck by life-altering inspiration. As it turns out though, that was exactly when Aravind Bremanandam decided to organise the Rickshaw Challenge in India in 2006.
“I was in a 400-dollar car, moving along merrily, while others in their SUVs were having a hard time. When everyone asked me how I was doing so well, I told them that this was a cakewalk compared to the roads and traffic in India!”
Aravind’s brainchild, the Classic Run 2010 is the race to be part of if you call yourself an adventure junkie.
Full article here

Mumbai Xpress – 2009 Charity Objective

admin — Wed, 10 Jun 2009 12:13:59 +0000

The Mumbai Xpress – 2009 , an autorickshaw rally from Chennai to Mumbai, is expected to raise Rs.25lakhs for providing basic amenities in rural schools.
“The funds raised will be used towards 10 projects along the rally route and will benefit over 20,000 students,” said Aravind Bremanandam, managing director of Chennai Event Management Services, the lead organiser of the event. This year’s autorickshaw rally would incorporate a new route covering Mysore, Pune and Mahabaleshwar, Bremanandam said.

Charity function held in chennai:

Actor and Industrialist Arvind Swamy along with’ Mumbai Express’ Chief Coordinator Arvind Bremanandam donated a checque for Rs, 10,57152 to Madras Mid Town Round Table 42 in a function held at Koturpuram Adventetious School, Chennai today. This money will be utilized for the schools without any infrastructure facilities.

Watch a clip from the event here

Auto rickshaw the most stylish vehicle in town!

admin — Tue, 07 Oct 2008 11:03:00 +0000

The humble auto rickshaw is hailed as kitschy and cool, as it springs up in ads and art as the ultimate metaphor for a crazy, urban life.
A wobbly three-wheeler that trundles through the traffic, its two-stroke engine lugging four people at a Prozac pace of 40km/hr, the autorickshaw hasn’t been the most stylish vehicle in town. Roger Moore might have dodged a chase in it and Rajinikant might have serenaded it in a Tamil blockbuster, but the “auto” — our diminutive pet name for autorickshaw — had not been hailed as either cool or kitschy. Not until now. Probably for the first time since a plucky little version rolled out of a shed in suburban Bombay in 1957, the autorickshaw is springing up in ads and art as the metaphor for Indian urban life. Auto has become the motif.
Continue reading Full article here
Download article in .pdf format : Page 1, Page 2