On Sunday, February 9, the Alipore Jail Museum had an extra-special exhibition as the Classic Drivers Club brought their fleet of vintage and classic wheels to the museum grounds. Thirty motorcycles and 85 cars painted a bright picture in front of the red walls of the historic jail
My Kolkata photographs
A lady admires the classic looks of the Premier Padminis and Presidents on display, while these gentlemen were hard at work trying to get the best possible angles for their photographs of this two-seater MG TC with a bright blue chassis and white interiors. The analogue odometer of the open-hooded car was a sight worth capturing
Ananda Chowdhury’s 1913 Stoewer C1 was once again the oldest car at the museum and the unique yellow rimmed tires and golden body frame made it to the pictures of several visitors. The Spirit of Ecstasy always shines bright, the irresistible charm of a Rolls Royce is unparalleled when it comes to vintage wheels. The lady looks on at the beautiful 1923 Rolls Royce 20hp belonging to Shrivardhan Kanoria
This was the second time that the CDC had tied up with HIDCO to have the vintage car show at the Alipore Jail Museum. While 2024 saw a total of 70 cars, a welcome edition this time was Subrata Roy’s 1935 Austin 10 Colwyn Cabriolet that was picked up by Roy for the price of scrap seven years ago. Speaking to My Kolkata, the businessman said: ‘This car style is very unique which is why I picked this car up. I had to source parts from England. It took me about 5 years to get this up to running condition and since then I’ve been taking it out in the winters’
Vintage cars present the perfect opportunity for artists, pictured here is an artist applying the finishing touches to his sketch of the blue Dodge Kingsway 1956. Children too enjoyed the wheels on display as they looked on at these thin motorcycles with intrigue wondering how bikes could be as thin as the cycles they ride
Ritabrata Mukherjee, a member of the executive committee of Classic Drivers Club, spoke to us at the event saying: ‘Thanks to the collaboration with Alipore Museum and HIDCO, this is already an annual event and we plan to keep making it bigger and better every year. Last year, we saw the participation of around 70 cars, this year we have 85 cars already along with 30 motorcycles. The space will remain the same but the aim will be to get in more cars and bikes and use the space to its maximum capacity.” Along with the older cars, these army Willy’s Jeeps were also quite the head-turners
The 1951 Matchless G3LS was one of the bikes that drew the attention of onlookers not just for its vintage black and gold bodywork but also a black open-faced helmet with classic riding goggles that is sure to remind people of Che Guevara’s Motorcycle Diaries. Another stunning bike was the 1951 BSA Bantam angle seater with this elegant emerald green body adding another shade of colour to the afternoon
Fiat cars are deep rooted in the history of Indian families as people’s first cars would have been a Fiat Padmini or a Fiat Super Select. This line-up of Fiats also includes Arijeet Doss Mullick’s blue 1964 Fiat Super Select. The White SS Jaguar 1.5l from the collection of the Late Partha Sadhan Bose has a touch of Bollywood to it, having been featured in the 2015 ‘Detective Byomkash Bakshy!’ The film had a scene with Swastika Mukherjee driving the car for a brief period
