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There's
something about vintage cars-sometimes it's the thin wheels with
spokes; other times it is the quaint chassis; and at still other
times it is a peculiar mechanism, like a central headlight that
moves with the steering wheel-that makes everyone want to own one.
Now, imagine owning 36 of these beauties. Bangalore's Ravi Prakash
does-own, that is, not imagine. Surgeon by profession, farmer by
inclination, businessman, amateur politician and secretary of Karnataka
Vintage and Classic Car Club, Prakash is a man of many parts. But
he is best known for his collection of vintage cars.
The good doctor lives in Subramanyapura, a
semi-rural hamlet 30 kilometres from Bangalore. The exotic Japanese-style
house set among lush 13-acre grounds isn't the main attraction at
his Kala Farms. That has to be his collection of automobiles. There's
a 1915 Tin Lizzie (a Ford Model T and it is black), a 1918 Sunbeam,
a 1919 Fiat 501, a 1926 Austin Chummy, a Mercedes Nurburg dating
back to the same year, a 1928 Lanchester originally owned by Motilal
Nehru, a Jaguar E type Roadster, a Morgan Plus, and other beauties.
Each car, as is almost always the case with
such collections has a history. The sky-blue Lanchester-the only
one of its kind in India and among 11 such in the world-is not only
the oldest ever Lanchester in a running condition, but was once
owned Pandit Motilal Nehru, a leader of the Indian independence
movement, co-founder of the Swaraj (Self-rule) Party, and father
of India's first prime minister, Jawaharlal Nehru.
''When I brought it looked desolate,'' says
Prakash. ''It took us nearly five years to restore it to its glory.''
Prakash trawled the net for parts; called his friends in England;
frequented flea markets to pick up old steering wheels and even
name plates; and spared no effort to source precious bronze and
metal badges with the legend Daimler & Lanchester Club. The
cost? Upwards of Rs 20 lakh, though Prakash refuses to put an exact
figure to it. ''It is all about passion,'' he gushes. ''Do you mind
spending money on your children?'' Once a week he takes the Lanchester
for a drive around the farm (it does two kilometres to the litre).
Among Prakash's cars are cars that belonged
to the royal families of Udaipur, Kutch, Rajkot, Mysore and Travancore.
Some of them have starred in movies, appeared in television commercials,
even participated in wedding processions of the rich and famous.
That brings in some revenues, although it is apparent that Prakash's
obsession isn't really a for-profit venture. The man insists that
all his cars be in ''running condition'' and has retained the services
of a dozen mechanics full-time. His farmhouse itself has a full-fledged
welding shop and a paint shop that would do any modern garage proud.
Prakash's obsession started with a simple fascination
with cars. Then, in 1979, when he was a 19-year-old student of medicine,
he acquired his first vintage car, a 1937 Sunbeam Talbot, and he
was hooked. At one time, Kala Farms boasted 65 cars, but Prakash
has pruned his collection to include only the rare and the fit.
The Sunbeam, not surprisingly, is still there.
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