Does anybody remember the old Delhi Phatphatiyas (फटफटिया)
They were three wheeled passenger vehicles, a sort of tonga powered by a powerful motorcycle engine. The front half of the motorcycle was bolted to a strong tubular chassis and the engine powered a garishly decorated wagon that would seat upto twelve passengers.
It was like a baby version of the Willys MB and CJ3B Jeep based Manila Jeepney from the Republic of the Philippines.
The Indian Motorcycle Mfg. Co. is USA's oldest motorcycle brand. Back in those days they were the world's largest manufacturer of motorcycles.
Some of these found their way into (the real) India and became phatphatiyas in Delhi, Raipur, etc.
A very popular model was the 1922-1953 Chief.
They had a 1000 cc engine. Some very rare ones had a 1300 cc V-twin.
There was also a model called Indian Scout. The British brought this to India as a pre-independence time military motorcycle. This had a 500 cc engine.
The motorcycle platforms in Delhi of the sixties and seventies were Indian Chief and Indian Scout motorcycles.
I remember some had a floor-shift gear lever like a car or Jeep.
Here is a Kutchhi phatphatiya roofless cargo truck based on the Royal-Enfield Bullet.
Does anybody have old photographs and memories of the Old Delhi phatphatiya to share? I understand you can still see some in Raipur, Chhattisgarh.
Ram