Driving the past forward

GOING MOBILE

The day had an old-world charm to it with all these cars on the roads. People stood outside their homes and watched in awe as the timeless machines were driven around by volunteers. Spotting these antiques on the streets of Bangalore is a rare sight and most of the people made sure they didn’t miss the occasion.

The rally commenced from Nusa Dua in the morning after which all the vehicles travelled around the roads of Whitefield ending at the Whitefield Club, where people got together to click photographs of the old cars.These beauties were enjoying as much attention as any movie star would have with hoards of people doing nothing else but shooting pictures of them from every angle possible.

“Since this area has the older settlers of Bangalore, the rally was also intended for them to see and enjoy the old world charm that these cars bring in,” said Sulaiman Jamal, a member of the club.

Some of the vehicles that especially caught a lot of attention were the Second World War motorcycles. “Three of these belong to my father and one of them is from the Second World War. The Lambretta is from Paris,” said Uzar. Some of the other cars present at the rally were a 1934 Austin 7 Convertible, Mercedes 190, Land Rover, a 1965 Jaguar and a Volkswagon bus — all of them were a delight to look at.

While those who participated in the rally were friends or members of the Club, an  interesting observation was that most people lived in and around Whitefield. “I think for this kind of a hobby, an open space and a lot of time is required, which is provided by this place,” added Sulaiman Jamal.

And it was indeed the passion of these people that made the rally so exciting and full of energy, even though most of the owners were old.

“I don’t take the Austin out on other days because it’s so expensive to maintain. But such kind of rallies are a nice place to display the car,” said Ramachandran, a participant.
At the end of the day, it was the smiles on the faces of the people that said it all. The cars, the music and a fantastic crowd of young and old alike made this vintage car rally quite a classic.