By Sunil Sonker
Mussoorie, 10 Nov: More than 92 vintage cars participated in the Himalayan Car Rally, here, today. These vintage cars also included Volkswagen’s Beetle and the Italian Fiat. The Rally also provided an opportunity for old friends to meet.
Baljit Bhalla met his friend Forie Lusthan after many years. Lusthan currently lives in Belgium. He has come to India to participate in the Himalayan Car Rally. Bhalla said that he had been participating in the car rally since 1982. The last time he met Lusthan was in 1985. After so many years, the Rally reunited the two friends. He is attending the memorial drive for Nazir Hussain. He said that, as long as his age allows, he would continue to participate in the car rally. Bhalla praised the roads of Uttarakhand.
Another participant said that he was here with his 1967 model of Fiat from Mumbai. There is a lot of difficulty in maintaining old cars, but there are many people who are passionate about it.
Rajan Syal of Mussoorie Team Fire Fox said that they have jointly revived the Himalayan Car Rally along with Subhash Goyal, Anmol Rampal and Inderjit Sarkar. Even in the 1980s, the car rally was organised by Team Fire Fox.
He said that all the friends used to meet in the time of Covid, during which they planned the resumption of the Himalayan Car Rally. When the booking started for this, everyone was surprised, because more than 100 people signed up in a month. This boosted the morale of those associated with the event.
Rajan Sial added that the Uttarakhand Government, Tourism Minister Satpal Maharaj, Forest Minister Harak Singh Rawat and Sainik Welfare Minister Ganesh Joshi had provided special support in making the car rally a success.
Talks have been held with Tourism Minister Satpal Maharaj about organising the Himalayan Car Rally next year. He sincerely hopes that with the cooperation of the government, he will be able to start the Himalayan Car Rally 2.0.
FireFox member Rajeev Rai said that in 1980 he participated in the Himalayan Car Rally with his friends and children. He said that very few people from abroad were participating in the car rally because of Corona, but they would do so next year.
More than 92 vintage cars participated in the Rally, four of which are classic cars. Two Italian Fiat cars from the 1950s and 1960s, along with two Volkswagen Beetles, were also included. Along with this, modern contemporary cars were also included in the rally.