JOIN USUnravelling memories on the road
A true blue Bengalurean, 75-year-old S Jayaram Reddy remembers driving around Bengaluru in the 60s and 70s in his 1960 Fiat 1100.
He says that he didn’t have to worry about getting stuck in traffic jams or having to wait endlessly at signal lights. He recalls that he could almost count the number of cars on the roads those days.
But now driving in the city has become an arduous task and venturing out with the grand old lady is a big ‘no’ for Jayaram.
“I cannot think of driving in the Fiat on a weekday, given the ever-increasing volume of traffic in the city. Weekends are reserved for taking the Fiat out for a spin,” he says.
The Fiat was bought by his father Siddappa Reddy in 1960 for a princely sum of Rs 11,150. It was the second car after the Morris Minor.
“My father had a passion for collecting old cars and he didn’t just add to the fleet but also maintained each one of them very well. Looks like my father’s passion has rubbed off on me because, like him, I too have an inclination towards vintage and classic vehicles,” explains Jayaram.
Jayaram completed his schooling from St Joseph’s Indian High School and later went to St Joseph’s College.
“I would get dropped to school in these cars. The Fiat always grabbed the maximum attention because of its rare colour. The gold and beige colour combination Fiat was launched in 1960. We have retained the original colour. Only the roof of the car has been painted in maroon,” he informs.
Jayaram has never had trouble maintaining the car because his father took good care of it. “My father wouldn’t let anybody drive the car. I started driving the Fiat much later but I was always interested in learning driving and understanding the mechanics of the car when I was in school. I tried my hand at driving the Fiat when I was barely 12 years old,” he says.
The car continues to be kept in perfect condition and there is someone who comes to wash it at least once a week. Jayaram tries to ensure that the vehicle is started and run, even if for a short distance, to top up petrol and air every Sunday. “That way not only does the car remain in good condition but this also makes it easy to identify any issues and rectify the same without wasting too much time,” he explains.
He points out that it takes patience to understand the working of these old vehicles and one must be really passionate to want to buy them and later maintain them.
“Age has caught on and I don’t drive as much as I used to but there was a time when I loved driving. All classic and vintage cars have a different brake system and can’t be driven through traffic-ridden roads,” he says. Jayaram has not only travelled across a few places in the Fiat but he has also toured a few prominent cities across the country in a 1948 Citroen which he bought for Rs 1,450 during his
college days.
“The only condition that I had before I got married was that I wanted to travel across the country which I did and I bought the Citroen for the purpose. My friends and I drove to Mumbai, Chandigarh, Kolkata, Andhra Pradesh and back to Bengaluru. It took one month and 23 days to be precise to complete the tour,” he recalls with a smile.
(Jayaram can be reached on 9845754819)