The Heritage Transport Museum, nestled in a quiet bylane of Tauru-Gurugram, is a haven for automobile enthusiasts, especially those who love to live in the memory of the good old times.

In an exclusive interview with The Statesman, Tarun Thakral, founder and managing trustee of the museum, spoke his heart out on the laborious efforts behind the visual spectacle.

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“India does not have a museum culture as compared to other countries. So we wanted to gift our audience a different and exciting space. Our museum has so far recorded a footfall of over 2.5 million people, which reflects our success story. We also organize events, exhibitions and research tours throughout the year to get the maximum number of people out here,” he said.

Asked about the standout exhibits in his museum, Thakral said visitors have been especially charmed by the pre-mechanised transportation section, complete with the display of carriage and carbide lamps, palanquin finials, among others.

“Indians are attached to their roots. I feel all of us connect with anything ‘heritage’ instantly. The museum has a toy cart on display which is as old as 1500 BC. Apart from that, we are also exhibiting the only Indian flag to have travelled to the moon and back as part of the Apollo 15 mission. Personally, I struggled a lot to get this beauty here from the auction house in the US,” he noted.

Thakral, executive director of CJI International Hotels – Hotel Le Meridien New Delhi, also shared interesting anecdotes behind acquiring some of his favourite vintage cars.

“Once, I travelled to Bikaner (in Rajasthan) to purchase two vintage classics from a ‘gaushala’ (cowshed). The cowshed owner told me that he used to supply milk to a local ‘zamindar’ (feudal lord) long ago. The landlords, after seeing bad times, could not pay him so they gave him the two cars,” he added.

Talking about the artistic element of the museum, the founder said the museum is all about private and public modes of transportation.

“Apart from transport, we have tried to incorporate contemporary elements of art to break the monotony and cater to a diverse audience. Traditionally, automobile is primarily a man’s domain, but we have tried to bring in art along with it. We have a section on toys and portrayal of vintage cars in Bollywood. Thus, we have a diversified collection,” he said.

Having travelled across the country and the world to acquire rare memorabilia, what is his most prized possession?

“It has to be my first car — 1932 Chevrolet. I bought it from Ramgarh Shekhawati in Rajasthan. I vividly remember how this car was in a terrible shape, with its tyres and seats burnt. But I noticed the car’s emblem which read ‘Narayandas and company’. They were automobile dealers in Karachi and Lahore in undivided India. So we imported parts from the United States. It took us a year to get the car running.

“The car is close to my heart as we literally brought it to life. It is on display in the museum. Basically, this episode triggered my passion for conserving vintage classics,” he said.

So, what keeps him going and inspires him to fuel his passion?

“I believe it is tough to indulge in one’s passion in a country like India, irrespective of the economic strata you belong to. As a conventional society, we are often caught in the life’s cycle of earning and providing. But it is equally important to feed one’s passion and have stress busters in life. My love for everything heritage keeps me going,” Thakral said.

The art enthusiast added that he was also collecting Ravi Verma lithographs, and how these were adapted to calendars and advertisement posters.

“We are mulling a virtual museum ‘kaagazkephool.com’ which will showcase original prints of Ravi Verma paintings. We want to take this exhibition to all corners of the world purely for education and research,” he added.

Finally, how does he keep the museum exciting for his audience after completing 11 years?

“We keep rotating our exhibits as automobile enthusiasts keep contributing or loaning their vintage cars to us. So the idea is not to make it a static space. We have also employed contemporary art which serves as good distractions,” he added.