Auto lovers vroom with glee as vintage fest displays wheels of yore

PANAJI: Jehangir Farokh, a Mumbai-based businessman owns 12 vintage bikes in his collection. And when he heard about the Goa Vintage Cars and Bikes Festival that was held on Sunday, he decided to ride his 1954 Triumph T110 650CC motorcycle all the way to the venue.

“She was originally shipped to India from UK by waterway by a Parsi gentleman,” Farokh told TOI. He calls his bike ‘darling’ adding that the term of endearment leaves his wife very envious.

He speaks about his bikes as if they were animate. “Two of them that are very close to me are kept in my flat in Pune on the eleventh floor. My daughters are equally passionate about owning and maintaining the bikes,” he said.

His was among the many vintage vehicles that lined the circumference of the Old GMC’s parking lot in Panaji for the annual daylong event. The celebration of automobiles of yore took visitors back in time with its showcase of approximately 70 two and four-wheeler vehicles.

“While cars today are getting redundant and cities choking due to their exhaust fumes, just recognizing the journey from the horse cart to the electric vehicles that we’re seeing today gives one the resilience in looking at the evolution of transportation,” said architect Dean D’cruz.

Among those that caught visitors’ eye were a 1936 Cord of yellow exterior, a turquoise-coloured Ford T-Bird from the 1950s, and a range of scooters like the 1955 LD Lambretta, 1958 LI Lambretta 150 and the 1959 LI Lambretta 150 Series One.

“Some of these are unique models with different gears and unusual mode of operating. The Cord’s colour is originally yellow and in the 30s seeing a car in this shade in India was a rare sight,” said a participant.