Bengaluru :
Hiding from shutterbugs and strangers on mommy’s insistence, Afsan, 7, was still all over Jayamahal Palace, unable to control her curiosity. The little girl was checking out vintage wheels that have stood the test of time.
“This was made before dada (grandpa) was born,” her mother told Afsan pointing at a 1950 Vauxhall. Currently owned by Pradeep Konalkar, the car is older than many Bengalureans’ grandparents, and Pradeep is proud of it.
From the popular Mini 1000 to the Morris Cowley and the Sunbeam Talbot, the Southern India Vintage Automobile Exhibition of Bangalore Vintage Group (BGV) showcased around 150 cars and bikes, including our very own Ambassador. Among the bikes were the popular Lambretas, Javas, RD-350s and many more, but the Vijay Super was able to hold its own.
The show-stealers on this sunny Sunday morning were the noiseless legends that paved the way for the automobile era — the bicycles. K Narayan in his late 50s, who was among the early-bird cyclists at the venue, was quite a head-turner. Videographers ran towards him leaving some of their interviewees standing under the sun and a bunch of children followed him. The way he parked the vintage beauty, in slow motion, was reminiscent of a black-and-white film. As he twisted two knobs of his made-in-England cycle, allowing it to fold, the crowd went berserk.
“How old is this?” a car restorer asked, awestruck by the foldable technology. Modern-day cycles equipped with the feature cost a bomb. “It was made in 1939,” Narayan said in a matter-of-fact manner. Narayan’s brother rode in the Royal Winchester bicycle (1897), one of the oldest you would see in Bengaluru, and possibly India.
The exhibition drew visitors from Mysore, Pune, Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu, among others.
The Gentleman’s Bike
The Sunbeam Special (1914) has many firsts to its name. R D Srinivasan, owner of a Sunbeam bike in Bengaluru, said: “It doesn’t have a belt or a shaft. The chain is operated through a pool of oil. It was among the first bikes to have a bar control and gear system.” Among other attractions, the Sunbeam comes with a stand to hold tennis rackets, but Srinivasan, a former state-level hockey player uses it for his hockey stick. “…You cannot imagine the kind of technology used 100 years ago. It is just mind-blowing,” Srinivasan said, adding that it’s called The Gentleman’s Bike.
Helping ailing kids
Unlike previous editions of vintage exhibitions, Sunday’s event was aimed at helping children who need dialysis. Gautham Kalaburgi of NH4 Motorheads, one of the organizers, told TOI: “NH4 already supports two children. Dialysis for a single child costs Rs 12,000 a month and we thought that others can also contribute to the cause. We aren’t collecting money from public in the form of entry fee. The participating groups will pool in and contribute funds”.
source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / Home> City> Bengaluru / TNN / November 24th, 2014