Living a dream on stretched wheels

It is a fashion statement at Punjabi weddings

They were automobiles meant for the super rich. Six doors, elite luxury, in-built bars, stretched chaises, chauffer driven and designs that made all envy. The Limousines, nicknamed limos, were a class apart, even way back 113-years ago when the first version of this priced automobile was rolled out.

This sedan may have derived its name from French region “limosin,” perhaps because its covered compartment resembled the raised hood of the cloak worn by the shepherds there, but faraway in Punjab’s hinterland an uncanny connect still lingers on. Here’s how?
When it comes to the big fat Punjabi wedding, there is plenty of room for show-off, and a limousine is just one way to flaunt.

That’s essentially what has kept the popularity of the limos still soaring in this border state. Travel across Punjab hinterland and it’s not hard to spot a sparkling polished limo parked prominently for passersby to turn their head around for a second look. Scroll the internet for advertisements, or even some local vernacular newspapers, to get a glimpse of the “business of limousines”. A taste of supreme luxury and an inherent “elite”

image is the least what is promised. These sedans have once been pride of the bigwigs and used to transport famous big band leaders, the likes of American musicians Glenn Miller and Benny Goodman.

The gentry in Punjab at large has plenty of appetite for ostentation, which is why unlike in many other states in India, the business of limos is big game. Along side dung burrows and buffaloes and other cattle, a milk-white limo is the proud procession of 58-year-old Harpal Singh of Saheed Bhagat Singh Nagar in Punjab.

Singh’s children are settled abroad and apart from his income from agriculture, the limo is a big source of pride and revenue at the same time. Sources in the trade say, hiring a Limo for a wedding could cost anywhere between Rs 20,000 and Rs 80,000 a day, or even more.

But the bargain, many feel, is worth it. “It’s the kick you get out of being chauffered in a limo. The entire audience is spellbound if it is a limo for a wedding,” Raj Guru Singh, a Chandigarh-based automobile expert told Deccan Herald. Imagine a bride and groom in a limo meandering through dusty narrow lanes in villages and towns of Punjab, some as wide as the limo itself, and the whole settlement watching with baited breath.

“It’s an experience of a lifetime, just like the marriage. The novelty also lies in its design that offers a separate compartment for the chauffer and complete privacy for the newlyweds,” Raj Guru said.

Mani Kumar, who handles operations of Jhajjz Car Rentals, said the limos rental is as high as Rs 80,000 during marriage season for a day for the tri-city. “After all import duty and taxes, an original Limo costs between Rs 3 crore and Rs 4 crore,” he said. The company operates one of the biggest car fleet network in Chandigarh.

There are scores of outlets in Punjab, especially around areas of urban settlement, that offer these Limos on rental for marriages. Those who possess the “original” limos not only flaunt their novelty and the original tag, but also charge more than double the “going rate” for hiring these sedans.

Punjab also has plenty of modified stretched-out luxury cars, dubbed as Limos, that are equally in demand during weddings. They are the “look-alike version” of limos and promise the same style and elite tag.

These were cars “done up into limos” by local mechanics in car body-shops that galore in the region. Six-doors, on-board bars and that stretched-chaises look are just as much the same in appearance as the original ones. But there’s a catch. Not all are road worthy to be in business on the motorway.

In a writ petition, the Punjab and Haryana High Court in Chandigarh too had stayed the operation of these modified Limos. But many of these modified Limos are still in use. These inferior clones can be hired at a far less price, at times at Rs 15,000 for a marriage, and promise to leave the bride and the groom with as much fond memories.

Punjab is home to NRIs and the culture of hiring limos in Punjabi weddings stems out of NRIs realising dollar dreams abroad and wanting to show it to people back on home turf. Known for their zest for life, Punjabis pull out all stops to ensure the celebration during weddings is as much fun as it would be a symbolism of their cash-rich status and inherent, perhaps, unfounded showiness that massages their ego. What else would explain hiring choppers, Limousines,

foreign bartenders, “drones” as “helicams” and much more for the big fat Punjabi wedding.

The popular trend of ostentation during weddings continues to be on the rise despite politicians in Punjab and even the Akal Takht--the supreme temporal seat of Sikhism in Amritsar-making a strong case against such show-off.

Punjab Chief Minister Prakash Singh Badal has publicly more than once decried the display of “money power” at the time of weddings. He has even said that he will not attend any such wedding that tends to reflect more on status and showiness beyond everything else. The head priest of the Akal Takht, too, has been advocating people to show “restraint” during marriages. But the limo charm appears hard to completely negate.