Ananda Chowdhury, the proud owner of an elegant century-old vintage car, opens a file to reveal a thin and yellowed piece of paper. At first glance, you might dismiss it as an old cash memo; but on a closer look, you realise that you are holding a piece of India’s automobile history in your hand.
Sitting in the drawing room of his family mansion at the crossing of Vivekananda Road and APC Road, Ananda points out that the paper is tangible evidence that more than a hundred years ago, one of his ancestors spent Rs 3,250 to assemble a German car in Kolkata and took it to his native place in Midnapore.
The original cash memo, showing the assembly cost
The car is a 1,500cc Stoewer C1, manufactured in Stettin, Germany, by the Emil & Bernhard Stoewer Company. The upholstery of the car is made of cuff leather, and the custom-built 15-horsepower, four-cylinder open tourer is the only one of its kind in running condition in India. This vintage beauty has been with the Chowdhury family since 1913. — inherited from one generation of the family to the next.
A detailed history
It’s the early 1900s and a rich zamindar from Bengal is looking for a strong motor car that can negotiate the rough, muddy, uneven roads of his native village, Malihati, in Midnapore. The zamindar, Ishwar Chandra Chowdhury, after visiting all major automobile stores in Germany, finally opted for a company called Stoewer in the city of Stettin (now in Poland). It was a company famous for making bicycles, earth-moving machines, road-rollers and other heavy machines. Chowdhury placed an order for a custom-made luxury car, keeping in mind that only a car with a strong body and chassis will be good enough to use in rural Bengal of the 1910s.
The car was shipped to Calcutta from Europe in a disassembled state packed in wooden crates, along with two engineers and loads of manuals. It arrived in Kolkata in 1913 and was taken to a workshop named The Coventry Engineering & Motor Works on Wellington Street, where it was finally assembled and delivered to the Chowdhury family on October 31, 1913.
The custom-built 15-horsepower, four-cylinder open tourer is the only one of its kind in running condition in India
With this long journey, the bond between the Chowdhurys of Malihati and their automobile began. After the death of Ishwar Chandra, his son Shantilal Chowdhury used the car for many years. However, the car became defunct in 1945 due to non-availability of parts. This was because the Stoewer workshop in Germany was bombed during World War II and no service support was available after that.
The defunct car took its place in one corner of the house and gathered rust over the years. But fortune smiled on the car. Pratap, son of Shantilal, started playing around with it and gradually fell in love with the rusty and old skeleton of a car that his grandfather had once imported from Germany.
The Stoewer remained stationary and gathered dust for years as parts weren't available
In 1999, Pratap Chowdhury put his savings and efforts into restoring the car, and with the help of many local garage mechanics, created a small miracle. The ‘dead’ car was reborn, and rocked the streets of Calcutta. In 1999, it was the oldest car to participate in the Statesman Vintage Car Rally and soon it was seen in various vintage car rallies. The elegant car had been restored with extraordinary efficiency, and soon became a head-turner at every auto show.
In the process of restoration
“My father’s love for automobiles prompted him to collect many rare pieces and we, for many years, have taken them to all major rallies of the country,” said Ananda. The family’s collection includes a Jeep Willys station wagon from 1966, a Jeep Wagoneer from 1958 and another Jeep from 1942.
Over the years, Pratap Chowdhury added two more vintage beauties to his stable. One was a 1937 Austin, and the other a Chevrolet Bel Air from 1967. “After my mother’s death in 2002, my father took a break from his banking job at the State Bank of India, and vintage cars became his biggest passion. He used to buy books on automobile history and read them from cover to cover. Such was his love for cars that he never gifted me any toys other than miniature cars in my entire life,” Ananda said.
A Chevrolet Bel Air and a Chevrolet Styleline, belonging to the same family
Apart from vintage car rallies in West Bengal, Pratap Chowdhury took his cars to a grand rally in New Delhi in 2015, where his cars won “Best of Show” and “Best American Beauty” awards. He was the only participant from West Bengal.
Ananda, the present owner of the car, is proud of this family heritage. Though he often receives offers from various car museums to donate it for permanent display, he would hate to part with this car.
An amazing fact is that there has been no major mechanical modifications made to the car and it still runs on the same technology that was used in 1913. Its headlights glow with acetylene gas and the side lamps on kerosene. The car has a special chamber where water mixed with calcium carbide produces acetylene gas. None of the lights are powered by any battery. The car has a swan attached to the radiator, which is filled with wax. The wooden-floored car has a magnetic ignition with a crank-start in the front. The accelerator is between the clutch and brake.
There has been no major mechanical modifications made to the car and it still runs on the same technology that was used in 1913
“I will maintain this car for as long as I can. And, thankfully, the car is still in use and has no major problems. The car still gives a mileage of 13kmpl and as impossible as it may sound, it goes into ‘cruise control mode’ even with the technology of 1913. It still manages a speed of 30km per hour easily, and we still have the original toolbox of the car,” Ananda said.
The car has been used in many Bengali films, including Meghe Dhaka Tara directed by Kamaleswar Mukherjee and Obhishopto Nighty directed by Birsa Dasgupta. But the Chowdhurys no longer rent out the car for films. “The car is a part of the family and its dignity must be maintained,” Ananda said.
Though the car does not hit the road every day, winter is a busy time for her, thanks to the vintage car rallies and shows.
The Stoewer will take part in The Statesman Vintage & Classic Car Rally on January 29. On February 5, it will be on display at Calcutta Club while on February 12, it will be displayed at an event of Eastern India Motoring Group at Lake Club. On February 19, it will join a rally in Howrah.
Ananda and his ‘Grand Old Lady’ will remain busy in the next few weeks. The Stoewer took part in the Calcutta Rowing Club’s rally on January 19 and will take part in The Statesman Vintage & Classic Car Rally on January 29. On February 5, it will be on display at Calcutta Club while on February 12, it will be displayed at an event of Eastern India Motoring Group at Lake Club. On February 19, it will join a rally in Howrah.
The Chowdhury family’s collection also includes cars like the Chevrolet Styleline of 1957 and 1942 make, and a Ford GPW, a special war supply vehicle made by Ford during World War II.
“I spend hardly a few thousand rupees a year for its [the Stoewer’s] upkeep, and still take it on long drives from Calcutta. Thanks to the good engineering and care taken over the years, the car is still in a working condition — even after 110 years. It is the only car of its kind in running condition in India and probably in all of Asia,” Ananda said, adding, “When a machine stays with your family for more than a hundred years, the bond is unmatched,” Ananda said.
Jeeps from Chowdhury's family stable
But Ananda remains apprehensive about the future of his family’s prized possession. “My daughter is too young to understand the value of this family heritage, but I am trying my best to inculcate an interest in automobiles in her. Rest, destiny will decide,” he signed off.