Cliches apart, the theme of the only-for-women car rally that tees off today is making driving a woman’s sport, reports Maithili Chakravarthy
The WIAA Rally to the Valley, a car rally, which will have only women participants, will mark the centenary year of WIAA’s existence as one of India’s leading automobile organisations. All set to take place on April 7 this year, the rally’s theme will be women’s empowerment and road safety. Having organised all-women car rallies for almost a decade, the WIAA rally this year is looking for participants ready to drive up all the way to Aamby Valley, where the winner will win Rs. 1,00,000 in prize money, the second runner-up Rs. 75,000 and the third runner-up Rs. 50,000.
So ladies, get ready because this is a chance to stand up to those who for years have tried to make a woman feel inadequate and inferior.
It is recommended during the rally that participants take the opportunity to deck up their cars, and decorate them in accoutrements that can represent the theme. Road safety will also dominate the mood today and the rally will likely act as training for drivers on how to drive safe and keep their cars within necessary speed limits while driving. Fluctuations will result in points being deducted and participants must pass all tests set within their course, their race to the finish line.
Says Nitin Dossa, Executive Chairman of the WIAA, “It will truly be a women’s-only rally. The police bandobast team will also be a ladies team. Even the marshals for the rally will be women.” Adds Smita Dandekar, Chairperson for the rally, “Talking about women’s empowerment is the need of the hour. Nature has not discriminated between the two sexes, so why should we? As women, we have to establish our power, and the confidence we project has a ripple effect. I don’t believe in making constant comparisons between men and women.”
The WIAA car rallies are eagerly looked forward to by participants year after year, who wish it were held more frequently, not just once a year. Charmi Maru, who has taken part in the rallies for three consecutive years now, feels more confident driving on highways today. Others like her have learnt how to be part of an all-women team and avoid those very common faux pas. A show of feminine strength and power, the WIAA rallies also bring together women from different walks of life, teaching them how to stand together when the going gets tough, and help each other out during the journey – and this one promises to be more than a 100 km, any given day.
Participants openly express their enthusiasm for this year’s rally saying that previous experiences for them participating in the unique annual event have been extremely rewarding. “It’s like meditation for me. I can’t express in words how I feel when I’m part of the racing event,” says one.
Slated to begin from Worli’s Omkar 1973 buildings, the route will cover important city landmarks such as Century Bazaar, Siddhi Vinayak, Shivaji Park, Shiv Sena Bhavan, Dadar Plaza, Dadar T.T., Five Gardens, Sion, the Eastern Express Highway, Vashi, and Belapur, finally ending at Aamby Valley City, where participants will unwind through a luncheon and entertainment planned for them beforehand.
The road safety statistics for India are not flattering. As pointed out by Dossa, almost 1,47,000 people die in the country on Indian roads each year, more than at war. The Executive Chairman brings up a village in Kutch which was home to nearly 400 widows – all of whose driver husbands died in road accidents. The numbers are surely disheartening and WIAA as an organisation believes that creating awareness through events like fun car rallies can shore up preparedness and the right attitude while one is behind the wheel of a four or two-wheeler.
“Many times drivers speed up to get somewhere a little earlier, at the cost of their lives. That’s stupid. The other problem is heroics and trying to show off by doing stunts with your bike, or speeding too much on empty roads. Accidents have been a result of such foolhardiness. What’s good is that today the traffic police have become very strict. There are CCTV cameras everywhere and someone who is over-speeding can easily be caught and fined,” elaborates Dossa.
The TDS (Time Distance Speed) rally will, through the laying down of several rules along the route, ensure that the message of safety and empowerment are driven home. Pun intended.