Gyan Sharma belongs to a family that has been into car repairs for a very long time. His grandfather established a workshop in Connaught Place, Delhi, which is now 85 years old. After his father inherited the workshop, he and his younger brother Prem Sharma took charge of it and still run it. In an interview Gyan Sharma talked about his experience and passion. Excerpts:
Q- Please tell us about your association with vintage cars and how you got associated with them?
A:Honestly speaking, I am from a family which has been into automobile repairs for four generations. I am the third generation. I have seen my grandfather working on these cars. At those times they were the only cars and then my father and then I, my younger brother also joined. My son is also an automobile engineer. So we are inherently into cars. The ladies of our house are also into these cars; in fact, they are well versed with vintage cars.
Q- We all know vintage and classic cars are rare to find and which is why they are so valuable. Do you find the same kind of following and fandom in the current generation?
A: Not really, the initial cars that were made, which now are called vintage cars, were made by individual countries with individual requirements. They had a designated shape and design. They had their own character. The contemporary cars are more ‘program based, scientifically designed and so they are more or less the same. Regarding the current generation, unfortunately, in our capital the movements of these cars were paused due to NGT’s intervention. This created confusion in the minds of young people who were really enthusiastic about such cars. Somehow they lost their interest because they couldn’t drive these cars. They feel if you can’t drive there’s no point in investing in them. There are people who have collected these cars over a period of time and they know the value of these cars and their costs. They know what it takes to maintain them. But the new generation wants to acquire them, to drive them which they can’t due to new laws. There are few, truly passionate people who are into it, and we should pass on this heritage to the young people.
Q- How do you think the vintage car ardour started in our country and how did it manage to maintain that fervour till this date? What do you think is the future of vintage cars?
A: Our country was once called ‘Sone ki Chidiya’, – the golden goose, and no doubt it was. Our royal people and people who could afford the cars at that time were class apart.
The people of that class had a passion for cars, go through history, a good number of cars were specially made for India. Those cars were imported, and that was the unique collection of cars. In the early 70s and 80s, many such cars were exported, then this rule came up of not exporting these cars. We still find people abroad who own cars from Indian royal families, they are also proud winners of many prestigious cars related shows as well.
The royalties should get all the credit for this fandom, which is still present. Regarding the future, I don’t think anybody is contributing to this field. The current governments are not permitting us to drive these cars.
How do we expect the new generation to develop fondness towards them if they are unable to use them? People believe if they own something they must use it, they simply can’t put it inside the closet, they want to show it off, unlike old people who used to have good cars they used to keep it in the garages. Since these cars are not driven it is very difficult to expect new generations to establish a connection with these cars. Maybe the coming generations would not even know about them.
Q- You have a long association with cars and there must be several memories with these cars. Would you like to share a memory that is close to you?
A: You know, for all of us Diwali and Holi and other festivals are auspicious but every year we used to look forward to this rally conducted by The Statesman and we still look forward to it. Ever since we were children we used to go to vintage car rallies.
The Statesman Vintage Car Rally was an annual festival for our family. Although I have a lot of memories, the February 1994 one is my favourite. I participated in this rally. We had an Austin vintage car. That car was restored by me, my father and my brother, we were able to bring it to the road, and it was participating in The Statesman rally for the first time.
Mr Bikram Singh was there, we were hardly interested in the trophy, we always went to enjoy the show of cars, so we didn’t expect to win, my wife along with my father was about to leave and as soon as they left our name was announced for the trophy. My brother and I took the car back to the venue, we yelled out of joy and we were driving it so fast that it came to two wheels, and Mr Singh said, “Your Trophy will be snatched away if you keep driving like that”.
Q- As you mentioned, the new generation is unable to develop a passion for vintage cars due to our policies. How do you think we are going to give these cars the regard they deserve?
A: We are doing what we can on an individual level, but not everyone is into these cars, not everybody has a passion for cars.
If these cars are not being driven they lose their importance, honestly, our authorities should do something for these cars. People should be given permission to drive these cars on some weekdays if not every day. Otherwise, these cars will die a slow death.
And another thing to mention, since I have been into cars and my association with cars has made me close to The Statesman the Vintage & Classic Car Rally. I know people from all walks of life are looking forward to this event. I see people bring their children along to make them feel what they feel for these cars. Events like these create a platform that enables people to convey a legacy that has been forgotten.