[rajeev k]

A small group of automobile buffs at a small village/town (Village/town, because the whole of Kerala is like a town unlike in other states.There are no barren stretches between any Kerala villages) had the wherewithal to conduct an half day Auto Show.
The show was named "Vandikoottam" in local Malayalam it means a Crowd or herd of vehicles

The venue of the show is (Using present tense because the show is still on as I key in these words) at Moorkkattil Padi, a small junction on the Thalayolaparambu Koothattukulam stretch) I used to work at a nearby industry and knows many of the organizers quite well. The leader of the pack is a youngster named Jinish who runs a hardware shop at the nearby town of Peruva. Himself an ardent car buff, he spent quite a lot of time and energy to make this happen. He made a special invitation to me and asked me to bring my SS80 for display. I could not help him in this aspect as the insurance policy had already expired and being X mas holidays, I could not renew the insurance.

The venue was the local Panchayth Ground and the show drew a good number of visitors which is admirable considering the remote location of the place. A VW beetle greets the visitor to the venue.

There were a lot of modified and well maintained jeeps and I was told that these modifications were carried out at a workshop in Kuravilangad, which specializes in similar work. Many Yezdi Road Kings and Vijay Super scooters were part of the display and was the center of attraction.

A Premier Padmini on display was a real beauty.

The show kick started at 1400 hrs today with a prayer and the help desk did a wonderful job of rendering help to the visitors.

There were competitions for children like painting quiz etc.

Altogether the show was noteworthy and could turn out to be regular Xmas feature in the years to come.

Now let the pictures take you through the show.

[rajeev k]

The show is onto the concluding phase and more pictures.
A Kinetic Honda without body panels and a single seat was another attraction at the show.

[rajeev k]

Uploading some more pictures of the event.
This Padmini is in immaculate condition.

[rajeev k]

Now the concluding part of the report.
The same VW Beetle says bye bye see you!

[swiftnfurious]

I hope this guy manages to bring in a lot more vehicles to display next year. A good attempt anyway.

[ankan.m.blr]

This is a good attempt; shows automobile enthusiasm of the organizers. I hope small exhibitions like this find a sponsor next year and showcase more vehicles and attract more crowd.

[CliffHanger]

Looks to be done in a good spirit. I, any day, prefer events like these than the sponsor-organized lifeless huge auto shows. Kudos to the people involved - from the organizers to people who displayed their vehicles.

As bblost said below - A true enthusiasts event!

[bblost]

A true enthusiasts event. Looks like a lot of fun. Thanks for sharing. Made my day.

[rajeev k]

I shall convey the wishes to the organizers for sure and will definitely motivate them for conducting a bigger one next time.
True there were no sponsors for the event.
For their part, a Maruti dealer displayed a Ciaz and a Swift at the venue, which can be seen in one of the pictures.

[Aromal]

Thank you for sharing the reports with us sir. As some one who have conducted similar programs in college, I know the amount of efforts one must take for organizing such events.

I remember our Auto Show as an equally funny or a scary incident. Just before the show is about to start, we discovered the construction of tent is such that, Cars can't enter into it due to the presence iron rods all around. Then we had a tough time re-assembling the tent before the principal of our college & the whole crowd
Learned a thing or two about working in team after that incident(We were just 18 then).

Give my regard to the guys who organized the events, Will definitely go for "Vandikutam" next time when it happens

[rajeev k]

I had called the main event organizer and conveyed the regards of everyone and he was more than elated. Later he called me and conveyed the regards and gratitude of the entire team for Team Bhp.

Originally Posted by Aromal

As some one who have conducted similar programs in college, I know the amount of efforts one must take for organizing such events.

Which is that college?

[a4anurag]

Originally Posted by rajeev k

A small group of automobile buffs at a small village/town (Village/town, because the whole of Kerala is like a town unlike in other states.

Short and sweet! Neither hyped nor dull in presentation for the town in Kerala. These give the real value of an automobile sore add compared to the Auto Expo that we see in Cities which is more of show-off than any good to the regular public.

Hope we get to see a Auto show at a larger scale (read display of vehicles) hereon.

Kudos to the organiser for taking all efforts to get this event a success.

Anurag.

[mallumowgli]

Loved the tag line on the flex board kept at the entrance, in Malayalam. It says ' Are you a vehicle lover? If so, come let's hang out' (rough translation)

Lovely. Kudos to the spirit of the organizers!

[GTO]

Very nice, very cute and seemingly informal. Can easily enjoy for 2 - 3 hours checking out the modified cars & talking to their owners.

[Axe77]

Full marks for sheer enthusiasm. Shows that nothing can hold back a true auto buff/s from anything ... even organising their own show. Great stuff!