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Tale of two expos and a capital

Neena Haridas in New Delhi

In ordinary times, shows of racy, pacy cars may be all about the boom-zoom-vroom. This is the new millennium; for other things, there is still room.

Day II at the week-long Auto Expo 2000 in New Delhi threw up what seemed a perfect foil to the mean machines: French ballet, Russian tap dance, Odissi, Bharatanatyam... in fine, a transnational cultural jamboree. And yet, the 'two expos' seemed to blend seamlessly.

The luxury sedan Tata Magna, slated for 2001 launch, was the major attraction today.

The Mahindra & Mahindra stall attracted the crowd through its innovative exhibition. Striking the right chord with the masses, M&M used the magic of Bollywood to make its products on display look more dramatic.

In fact, the company has built a story board of sorts at its stall. The story is that of two loving brothers separated at the hands of the village villain. After much suffering and hardships, the two brothers find not only themselves but also their love. And the Mahindra products -- the Armada Grand, Marshal, Bijlee and Quadros play a significant role in the entire melodrama. For instance, the Quadro jeep is placed in the foreign locales and the armoured bullet-proof Rakshak is the choice of the heroes to fights the villain Jagga. Modern dance exponent Astaad Deboo even presents this story in a ballet form at the M&M hall.

Even as auto majors displayed their four-wheeled beauties (flanked by two-legged ones), there were various cultural events to bring in the extra crowd. At the Maruti expo, there are cutural events such as concerts and quiz shows for each of their brands on display. Daewooo Motors added glam to its Matiz and Cielo by organising a dance show.

The events at the Maruti stall were tailor-made to suit the attitude and image they wished to communicate about each vehicle. Bajaj Auto, which created a whole new experience inside the hall -- called Planet Bajaj -- entertained the audience with a laser show and quiz show on the vehicles on display. Planet Bajaj was given an out-of-the-world look through interesting light arrangements, and the new stylish mobikes and scooters added to the glamour.

It is never a problem to attract a crowd is Delhi. Delhites braved the very cold 4 degrees Celsius temperatures and high velocity wind and rain to take a peek at the beauties, wheeled and otherwise.

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