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Rallying India
Motor Rallying India
To
experience that rush of blood and the pump of the adrenalin, get behind a wheel.
For those interested, India is a major venue on the international rally circuit,
with quite a few rallies now established as annual events, attracting not only
national level participation but also from the international level.
The terrain that India provides -from the deserts to the beaches, to the mountains
-tests not only the skills of the rallyists but also their mettle.
One of the more well known rallies, till about a few years back, was the Himalayan
car rally, which has since been discontinued.
Of recent origin are the vintage car rallies in which some very rare, collector
cars are not only displayed but also run in the rally.
If you're lucky, you might just spot a 1935 Jaguar convertible'or even an 1898
Humbrette.
With a terrain that shifts from hill roads to forest tracks, desert trails to
beach routes, India tests the mettle of both man and machine in motor rallies.
Several championship rallies are held in India every year. Picturesque vintage
car rallies are also held in some of the metros like Kolkata's Annual Statesman
Vintage Car Rally. One of the most challenging Motor rallies is the Himalayan
Car rally.
The Beginning
Motor
racing activities first started in the post independence period as many of the
World War II airstrips in different parts of the country were left deserted
and enthusiasts took advantage of this to pursue this sport. One such airstrip
was at Sholavaram, near Chennai. Soon, racing caught on in other parts of the
country too. In time, the Federation of Motor Sports Clubs of India (FMSCI)
became the governing body of this sport. Rallying - the mission to test man
& machine against Indian terrain also rose to become a popular sport. National
Championships were instituted and winners became cult figures.
Moving ahead
Rallies were shortened to 750 kilometeres as long as they were part of the National
championship and that made competition very tight. Team MRF, Team JK, Team JCT
and Team Paarel are the only four teams in India today. Car and bike enthusiasts
yearning for more adventure started setting off to cross country expeditions.
Presently, motor sport includes activities like autocross, motocross, drag racing,
motor gymkhana, treasure hunts and precise family rallies. Thanks to a deal
between the West Bengal State Government and Grand Prix India Private Limited,
a world class Formula One Racetrack with all the attendant features, facilities
and infrastructure has been set up. Indian Narain Kartikeyan has already made
a name for himself in the high-speed world of motor racing. But some applause
must go to the sponsors who have supported him in his endeavor: J.K Tyres, Ford
Motors, UB Group and the rest.
Indian Motor racing is roughly 50 years old and rallying 30 years. Though motor
sport started with circuit racing in India, the fact today remains that racing
has hardly progressed within the country.
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- - -› About
Himalayas - - -› People
& Tribes of Himalayas
People & Tribes of Himalayas
The
population, settlement, and economic patterns within the Himalayas have been
greatly influenced by the variations in topography and climate, which impose
harsh living conditions and tend to restrict movement and communication. People
living in remote, isolated valleys have generally preserved their cultural identities.
However, improvements in transportation and communication, particularly satellite
television programs from Europe and the United States, are bringing access from
the outside world to remote valleys. These outside influences are affecting
traditional social and cultural structure.
Nearly 40 million people inhabit the Himalayas. Generally, Hindus of Indian
heritage are dominant in the Sub-Himalayas and the Middle Himalayan valleys
from eastern Kashmir to Nepal. To the north Tibetan Buddhists inhabit the Great
Himalayas from Ladakh to northeast India.
In central Nepal, in an area between about 1830 and 2440 m (between about 6000
and 8000 ft), the Indian and Tibetan cultures have intermingled, producing a
combination of Indian and Tibetan traits. The eastern Himalayas in India and
nearby areas of eastern Bhutan are inhabited by animistic people whose culture
is similar to those living in northern Myanmar and Yunnan province in China.
People of western Kashmir are Muslims and have a culture similar to the inhabitants
of Afghanistan and Iran.
The economy of the Himalayas as a whole is poor with low per capita income.
Much of the Himalayas area is characterized by a very low economic growth rate
combined with a high rate of population growth, which contributes to stagnation
in the already low level of per capita gross national product. Most of the population
is dependent on agriculture, primarily subsistence agriculture; modern industries
are lacking.
Mineral resources are limited. The Himalayas has major hydroelectric potential,
but the development of hydroelectric resources requires outside capital investment.
The skilled labor needed to organize and manage development of natural resources
is also limited due to low literacy rates. Most of the Himalayan communities
face malnutrition, a shortage of safe drinking water, and poor health services
and education systems.
Agricultural land is concentrated in the Tarai plain and in the valleys of the
Middle Himalayas. Patches of agricultural land have also been carved out in
the mountainous forested areas. Rice is the principal crop in eastern Tarai
and the well-watered valleys. Corn is also an important rain-fed crop on the
hillsides.
Other cereal crops are wheat, millet, barley, and buckwheat. Sugarcane, tea,
oilseeds, and potatoes are other major crops. Food production in the Himalayas
has not kept up with the population growth.
The
major industries include processing food grains, making vegetable oil, refining
sugar, and brewing beer. Fruit processing is also important. A wide variety
of fruits are grown in each of the major zones of the Himalayas, and making
fruit juices is a major industry in Nepal, Bhutan, and in the Indian Himalayas.
Since 1950 tourism has emerged as a major growth industry in the Himalayas.
Nearly 1 million visitors come to the Himalayas each year for mountain trekking,
wildlife viewing, and pilgrimages to major Hindu and Buddhist sacred places.
The number of foreign visitors has increased in recent years, as organized treks
to the icy summits of the Great Himalayas have become popular. While tourism
is important to the local economy, it has had an adverse impact on regions where
tourist numbers exceed the capacity of recreational areas.
Historically, all transport in the Himalayas has been by porters and pack animals.
Porters and pack animals are still important, but the construction of major
roads and the development of air routes have changed the traditional transportation
pattern.
Major urban centers such as Kathmandu, Simla, and Srinagar, as well as important
tourist destinations, are served by airlines. Railways link Simla and Darjiling,
but in most of the Himalayas there are no railroads. The bulk of goods from
the Himalayas, as well as goods destined for places within the Himalayas, generally
come to Indian railheads, located in the Tarai, by road. The pack animals and
porters transport goods from road heads to the interior and back.
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