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ADVENTURE
Fun and adventure in The Rickshaw Run
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A two-week adventure-cum charity event, The Rickshaw Run, from Kochi to Kathmandu, will kick off on New Year Day
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Joyride and more The Rickshaw Run will cover a distance of 4,000 kms from Kochi to Kathmandu
The New Year will wake up to the vroom of 30-odd auto rickshaws as they start on a two-week adventure from Kochi to Kathmandu. The Rickshaw Run, an adventure cum charity event, is in its third edition where 65 teams will participate.
The teams who will reach Fort Kochi by December 30 will play a cricket match with a local team on New Year Day and flag off at noon from the Santa Cruz ground on their unique adventure.
The adventure run, a brain child of 27-year-old Englishman Thomas Morgan has seen an increase in the number of participants since its inception, in the last three years.
Said Niraj Lama, Director, India Branch, of ‘The League of Adventurists International’, “Adventure is so hard to come by these days because you have guided tours even to the Everest. Everybody travels, armed to the teeth, with travel books but at the Rickshaw Run the teams are completely on their own from starting to finishing point.”
“The Rickshaw is quintessentially an Indian vehicle and with its 147 cc engine the rickshaw is the most easy-to-fix vehicle in case of any eventuality. The teams are mostly from England, Germany and Sweden. The entry fee is $ 550 and the teams have to raise a $1,000 to qualify to enter the run. The teams raise funds online and the contributions are distributed through NGO, Mercy Corpus. This time the money is to be given to two charities, Nandi in AP that works towards reaching drinking water to the villages and Maity Nepal that works against trafficking of women and children, besides some other charities.” added Mr. Lama.
Challenge
In its first edition the adventure was a rally called the Mongol rally, from Hyde Park to Ulan Bator. The conditions were not to drive a vehicle with an engine above 1000 cc. In its changed format the challenge is tougher with teams all ready to face the strange and tough unknown. “Teams come back with strange stories. We encourage them to go off the beaten track and they seek help and direction from local people. Almost 30 to 40 per cent of the participants are women.
The common refrain from the teams is that it’s the people who made it possible for them,” said Mr. Lama. So it’s a unique run to raise funds and enjoy a high dose of adventure. It is only traffic rules that the teams are bound by.
So the 100-odd get set to undertake a 4,000 km journey from Kochi to Kathmandu on New Year Day.
PRIYADERSHINI S.
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