Honsen Lyngdoh drives his 1904 Ford T during the car rally in Shillong on Friday. A Telegraph picture

Shillong, Oct. 2: A red 1904 Ford T used in Richard Attenborough’s Gandhi was proudly driven around Shillong today to mark the Mahatma’s birth anniversary, as the owner reminisced about his days in Delhi where his beauty was busy shooting for the period drama.

The Shillong Vintage Car Rally was held for the first time on Gandhi Jayanti, as a “mark of respect for the apostle of non-violence”.

Organised by Antique Wheels of the Northeast for the third time, the vintage car rally saw 19 vehicles, including jeeps used in World War II, roll through Shillong’s roads.

“We thought organising the car rally on October 2 was the best way to pay tribute to Mahatma Gandhi on his birth anniversary,” said secretary of Antique Wheels of the Northeast, Ashoke Lyngdoh.

The organisers, of course, made it a point to ensure that the Ford T participated in the rally.

The owner of the 1904 model of vintage car (Ford T model), Honsen Lyngdoh from Shillong, said he had to stay for a month in Delhi when Gandhi was being shot.

Honsen had bought the car from a British national in 1960 for just Rs 250.

Thanks to his care, the century-old beauty still commands stares.

In fact, when Honsen decided to take part in the rally, he ordered coil and spark plugs from the US.

“I ordered them 10 days back and I got them yesterday,” Lyngdoh said, praising the promptness of the supplier.

The purpose of this car rally is also to bring together all the vintage vehicles of the Northeast on to one platform.

Ashoke Lyngdoh took out four cars for the rally, which included the longest — a 17-foot 1955 model of Champion car called Studebaker — and the smallest, a four-foot Vauxhall pedal car of 1929.

Another highlight of the rally was 76-year-old Harish Das from Tezpur, who drove his Morris Minor, a 1953 model, from Tezpur to Shillong.

“To take part in the car rally, I reached Shillong day before yesterday around 7.15pm. I started from Tezpur in this old car at 9am,” Das said.

It was five years back that Das bought the car from Calcutta for Rs 30,000. “I had to hire a truck to carry this piece to Tezpur,” he added.