Once bitten by a bug, you are bitten for life, says Pradeep Sekar, a 22-year-old business man in Bangalore. The bug doesn’t refer to an insect but to the Beetle car, fondly known as bug. Pradeep’s statement sounds true because around 20 people in Bangalore are hooked on to it for life. They refer to the Beetle as their family member and say “the car talks to you”.
The association with car, for some, is 20 years old. “I have known Beetle from 1960, when I bought it,” says Air CMDE (Rtd) M K Chandrashekhar. The association doesn’t end here. “Both my children grew up with Beetle,” he adds. Being a vintage car, Beetle often has a left hand drive. But Chandrashekhar has found a way out, “You just have to train your wife to tell you when to overtake.”
His son, Rajiv Chandrashekhar, owns many cars. But Chandrashekhar prefers his “ good old Beetle.” Further expressing his love, “The unbeatable Beetle is a lovely car and you can’t help loving it.”
Chandrashekhar is not the only one to fall madly in love with the car. Pradeep Sekar owns four of them. He has 1962, 1968, 1969 and 1975 models. “You can’t stop at one,” he says. “It is more than a car... it is so full of life,” Pradeep says. He goes on to add, “The car communicates to you. If something is going to go wrong, the car gives you a signal.” According to him, on a highway if one comes across a Beetle, there is a tradition to flash a light at the other. Two Beetlites have something in common even if they are complete strangers.
It won’t be difficult to maintain a Beetle, he says. “It is a car you could fix at home,” Sekar says.
However, Dr M V Shamsundar had different reasons to buy the car. “My wife loved it. Now I love it too,” he says. He bought it 18 years back and since then has been “pampering it”. The cars will be displayed at the October Fest being held at Palace Grounds from October 5 to 8.
“I am sure people who come to see the cars will first find the bugs smiling at them. Later, they will talk to people present there,” says Shamsundar. Talking about the current trend of changing cars, “I don’t believe in changing my wife or cars,” he chuckled.
However, Narendra Raj, a techie, had a different adjective for the car, “The cars are eye candy. It gives us a high when people smile and wave during rallies.”
The Club members treat the Beetle as more than a car. It is not only a mode of conveyance for them, they are in love with it. They certainly have been bitten by the Beetle bug.
