While we slept on the eve of Independence Day, two dozen vintage beauties silently rolled down the Madurai streets past midnight from Dindigul, Sivakasi, Cumbum, Karaikudi and across the city and stationed themselves at Hotel Fortune Pandiyan for the big event on Wednesday morning. The joint curators of the car and bike show, Dr.G Vasudevan, the hotel’s executive director and his Chennai-based cousin Ramesh Babu, couldn’t stop beaming.
By the time visitors started walking in, there were 28 vehicles and 22 bikes lined up to wow the onlookers and take them back in time. At the first edition of the show last year, there were 10 cars and five bikes. “The massive leap only tells so many car enthusiasts in this region did not have a platform to connect earlier,” says Ramesh. “We are a catalyst harnessing the passion of car owners and motorists and encouraging them to bring out their prized possessions out of garages,” says Dr.Vasudevan.
The family hit upon the idea of a vintage car show last year when they restored their 1914 Benz 8/20 Runabout Tourer car, now recognised as India’s oldest Benz. “Every classic car is tangible history and associated with memories. Unless we share the stories we will never know what treasure we hold,” he adds.
Indeed, there were plenty of stories to be heard at the venue as car owners allowed their beauties some sunshine. Businessman Nambi Karthikeyan, the great grandson of Tamil scholar, Dr.Navalar Somasundara Bharathiar, drove his family’s 1937 Morris 8 Tourer. Mahatma Gandhi travelled in this vehicle in 1942 from Madurai junction to the erstwhile Thangam Theatre and even today the vehicle goes up the ghat section to Kodaikanal! “It gives seven km to a litre,” says Karthikeyan, “but it is a sight to behold.” As a member of the Morris Club he carefully guards original spare parts imported from England and regularly takes the vintage car to rallies in Pollachi, Karaikudi and Chennai.
N C Mohandas who runs repairs and service centre in Dindigul came with seven vehicles belonging to his customers. It took him two years to put back 1945 makes of Vauxhall and Austin 10. While he replaced the front grills, emblems, wheel cups in them, the 1956 Dodge Kingsway Delux, Ambassadors Mark I, II and III and the 1962 Fiat super select all retain their original looks.
By noon, the venue was packed with people appreciating the classic beauties, making enquiries and taking selfies. The Rajdoot GTS model made famous by the Hindi film Bobby was a star among the rare WWII bikes of 1942 by English companies BSA and Triumph, 1945 Matchless and 1952 AJS. A collection of Royal Enfield bikes from 1947 to 1981 makes were brought in by their Madurai owners.
Ramesh dated the show to pre-1980 models and divided them into three sections -- American, European and Indian cars. He also flagged little briefs about each car for people to read and know. The youngest exhibit was 1974 Beetle in a lovely yellow belonging to P.Thyagarajan of Madurai. He exhibited another masterpiece, the 1947 Chevvy Fleetmaster. Last year too he had showcased his 1956 Dodge, along with 1964 Super Select Fiat with suicide doors and black beauty of a fiat from 1956. A rare exhibit was the 1966 model Lambretta auto rickshaw belonging to Karaikudi businessman L M Lakshmanan who also displayed his 1951 Morris Minor Saloon and 1957 Fiat Elegant Sedan.
A devotee of vintage cars, Beboy John is literally Madurai’s car doctor who brings back the worn out and abandoned vehicles to life at his JJ Auto Customz workshop. He participated for the first time and provided a big boost to the show by getting the maximum number of his own and customer’s vehicles. Passionate about the restoration job, Beboy says, nothing else fascinates him than to search for parts, assemble and put back the machine to its original glory. “It is good to preserve heritage,” he says, showing the1948 Wolseley, 1956 make Dodge Suburban custom, 1953 Willy’s Jeep, 1946 Triump Roadster and many more that have let him live his childhood dream.