Kalypso Adventures

GREAT ARC VINTAGE CAR RALLY 2009

The Great arc vintage car rally started from kanyakumari in the southern tip of India to Mussorie in the Himalayas to commemorate the ‘great arc’ survey done during the 19th century.
The Great Arc, a mammoth project, began 200 years ago by a visionary called William Lampton.The plan was to map a line 2500 km long from north to south that would reveal the curvature of the earth and begin the task of accurately mapping the entire subcontinent. Nothing similar had been attempted before nor has been since. A half -ton theodolite had to be transported by foot through unchartered territory- but the heat and malaria took a heavy toll. The project took over 50 years to complete, claiming countless lives including that of lampton himself, all in the name of science. indeed such was the nature of the task that it would arguably never have been completed had it not been for the determination and genius of lampton’s successor, sir George Everest, after whom mount Everest was named.
Hailed as ‘one of the most stupendous works in the history of science’, the great trigonometrical survey, set the base for the definition of Indian topography. This is the foundation on which all of India’s infrastructure-roads, the extensive rail network and telecommunications are planned.

This car rally was organized by ROARR (rhythm of the road rally) and kalypso adventures. The rally consisting 27 participants in 12 cars and 3 SUV’s.We recreated the living environment of ancient 19th century camp at each of these locations. Luxurious tents in scenic spots in rural countryside with attached toilet, hot water bath, dining areas with a moving kitchen, were transported across the country to cater to the rally schedule. Needless to say that the mobility and functioning of this mega facility involved phenomenal logistics and supporting vehicles and a specialized crew.
Starting on the 6th of February ’09 at Kochi in the state of Kerala this rally passed through 10 states covering 5000 kilometers to reach Mussorie in a month’s time.

The cars participating were:

1935 Bentley special sport
1937 Lagonda
1952 Chevrolet convertible
1958 Jaguar XK150S
1965 Volvo 122s
1966 Volvo 144s
1968 Mercedes Benz280sl
1969 MGB roadster
1970 Mercedes Benz 280sl
1970 Buick convertible
2007 Land Rover 90 Defender

Camp Dindigul (Tamil Nadu)

Six days of hard work furnished us with a camp fit for kings.15 luxury tents with attached western style toilets,hot water showers and a central dining area.Now all we had to do was wait for the royalty to show up.much to our surprise ,when they did it was much before the scheduled time .over a span of seven hours the rallyist trickled in and we had our hands full settling everyone in.

A good shave and a massage after a long long day

Day 1. This first day we had something special rolled up our sleeves.A wine tasting session(in the middle of no where with the bar being a bullock cart!).



Day 2. For the early birds we started the day with a birding walk,sighting quite a variety . The plan for the day was a drive up the palani hills and back by late afternoon followed by a formal dinner.

Formal dinner



Ten years of age and a veteran of three rallies already

Day 3. An easy day in comparison.Generally around the camp and working on the cars for the next days long drive to ooty.

Tinkering


Camp Hampi(karnataka)

Day 1.yawn, 18hours of straight travelling and the 14hours of overnight sees the camp completed.Quite an achievement considering it took us 5 days to complete the first camp. But then we have only 8 hours to complete the next one.This campsite is on the bank of the river Tungabhadra situated in a river island called the 'hampi island'.



'BEST VIEW BARBER SHOP' Hampi


Day 2. This day is spent lazing around in camp, some go on a historic tour of hampi and ofcourse some use it to tinker around with their cars.A special candle lit dinner is in the cards.

A hampi sunset





We call it the island of light

Camp Kaddam (Andhra Pradesh)

Situated in northern andhra pradesh, it was quite a surprise for even us to find forests over here.In fact on recce we met a couple of officials running DNA tests on tiger skat.Seems like there are about a dozen tigers roaming in these jungles and yes we did spot a leopard that night in the vicinity of the camp.anyway , so like i was saying, only 8 hours to prepare this camp!
Good morning bentley


This day an optional drive and picnic lunch was planned,an loop of 120kms and lunch on a river bank near the dam.

joy ride

Camp Panchmarhi(Madhya Pradesh)
Panchmarhi is a old cantonment town, it is also our last camp for this rally.The campsite being a police firing range. Again we had only 8hours to complete the camp, but by now every one was on top of what they were doing so wasn't much of a problem getting it set up.

Alignment

the catering team

final fare

This is where we part ways, the rallyist drive further north passing through three more states to reach their destination whereas We head south glad that everything went according to plan. till the next time.....

cast and crew