Even high-end art took a ride in an auto, when Jitish Kallat made a life-size autorickshaw from simulated bones last year. Kallat, whose Autosaurus Tripous was snapped up by a British collector for 125,000 dollars, says, “The rickshaw works as an iconic playful object. I often think of the autorickshaw as a metaphor for our own crazy, urban life.”

Obviously, a lot of people think so — though some like it on dusty roads rather than in drawing rooms. Thirty-one-year-old Aravind Bremanandam, who shuttles between Budapest and Chennai, runs what can be called the Formula 1 of tut-tut, the Indian Autorickshaw Challenge. The first Indian Autorickshaw Challenge took off from Chennai to Kanyakumari in 2006 but since then the race has been extended to Mumbai. “We have had people from over 20 countries, including the UK, US, France, Germany, Norway, Spain, Italy, Hungary, Russia, South Korea, Australia, Morocco, Switzerland and Japan,” says Bremanandam, the proud owner of 35 rickshaws that are often driven in the race.

The challenge has around 20 teams, most of them on their first visit to India and eager for a whacky ride on three wheels. After taking part in a short training session, anyone with an international driving licence can take part in Bremanandam’s race — and most often the teams don’t want to let go of the rickshaws and ship them home. “They are not professional racers but ordinary people who want to see the country.”

US-based Kon, who took part in the 2007 race, tries a Kerouac on his blog as he reminisces India: “The roads are dominated by a single rule: Momentum. The bus is king: It observes no rules and drives wherever the hell it wants, angrily honking at you and flashing its lights if you dare to take up a small part of your own lane when it commandeers from the opposite direction. Next we have the Ambassador ... sweeping past on diplomatic immunity. The Ambassadors are always in white, and their peer, the Jeep, in silver. It’s like a video game from the 80s where all the aliens were the same shape and color, though here they vary greatly by the number of people, or animals, in/on the vehicle. Motorcycles and autorickshaws buzz past on all sides and at all times. We fight it out with them as equals and I’m happy to say, we do most of the passing.”

... contd.