On a pleasant morning in Kolkata, Anirudha Ghose arrives at a vintage car rally with the quiet confidence of someone who knows every nut and bolt beneath the bonnet.
At 32, he works full-time at a television channel, but his real hours begin after office — in a garage where time moves at a slower pace.
“The love was always there,” Ghose says. “I have been coming to the rally since 1995. I was a child then. My father bought our first vintage car in 1993. Everything started from there.”
That first car was a 1949 Morris Minor, once reduced to a tempo. Ghose’s father brought it back to its original form and the car has never stopped being part of the family’s daily life since then. It remains the most driven car in the collection and the one with a high emotional resonance.
“I even gave my driving licence test in the Morris,” Ghose recalls. “They did not want to take the test at first, but I insisted. I used to drive it to college. There was a special parking spot for me. You cannot lock the car, so I would tell the guard to look after it.”
The Morris Minor was the first to enter a garage that now houses a compact but remarkable slice of motoring history. A 1933 Wolseley 9, A 1935 Austin 7, A 1960 Ambassador Mark 1, which is a first-owner car. It also boasts a 1961 Mercedes-Benz W110 Fintail that arrived in Calcutta after a journey worthy of cinema.
“The Wolseley came from a family in Bihar,” Ghose says. “It was lying in a barn for almost 30 years. They wanted the car to remain in the family in spirit, so they called me. We did not even have a picture. The car arrived on a lorry, and we saw it only when it reached Dankuni. It is probably the only Wolseley 9 in India.”
The Wolseley has since been restored, though engine work keeps it off the rally field this season. The Austin 7, tiny and charming, is the second oldest car in the garage. Each machine has its own character, but none carries a story quite like the Mercedes.
“I was searching for a Fintail for a very long time,” Ghose says. “One day I saw a picture in a WhatsApp car-sale group. The post was deleted immediately, but I had already saved the images. I called the seller. He said the car was in Kanpur. I had just joined a new job and could not take leave to see it.”
What followed was a decision driven by obsession rather than caution. “He told me the amount. The love is so much that I trusted him and transferred the full money without seeing the car.”
The Mercedes, originally from West Bengal, had travelled through Ranchi before reaching Kanpur. It was loaded onto a truck for Kolkata. Then the calls stopped.
“I was sure my money was gone,” Ghose says. “After a few days they said the car had broken down in Benaras. On the fifth day the driver said he was in Asansol. That same day, during the World Cup final, my phone was stolen. All the contacts were gone. I thought if the driver finds my house, I get the car. Otherwise, everything is lost.”
A borrowed number and a last phone call brought relief. The next day, the Mercedes rolled into Dankuni.
“It was running, but a lot of work was needed,” Ghose says. “Engine mounts, gear mounts, shock absorbers, suspension. It was sagging. Now it runs beautifully. It is a diesel, heavy engine, very stable. Once it heats up, it gets even better. I have taken it to 100 on the highway.”
In its time, the Fintail was known as a big man’s car. Today, Ghose believes his W110 is likely the only one actively running on Kolkata roads.
Beyond his own collection, he has also taken on a painstaking restoration for another family, rebuilding a car that was untouched for three decades. Spare parts are being cut from a similar model in America and shipped across oceans to revive a father’s memory in metal.
“It is an expensive hobby,” Ghosh says with a grin. “But once you start, there is no going back.”
