[tonrag]

We then stopped at a small picturesque temple next to the road, with a small lake, for our breakfast picnic.

[tonrag]

The Austin was not a problem at all, till finally, less than a hundred kilometers from Bangalore, on hitting a pothole, a bracket holding the radiator to the chrome surround broke. A strip of cloth to tie the radiator core down to the starting handle was adequate repairs as we cruised into Bangalore.

[tonrag]

Perhaps the most stressful part of the journey was the forty kilometres through Bangalore’s traffic as we returned home from Hosur. We were back in the city and slowed down to a crawl to tackle the bustling traffic and the darting autos, something that we were spared for six days of wonderful vintage motoring.

Looking back on the journey, we toted up the stats. We had done 1690 kilometres of driving in a sixty eight year old car, returning a mileage of over 12 kms a litre, maintaining an average speed of about 35 kms per hour. But like cricket, statistics alone cannot capture the magic of the experience. Apart from the clattering fan, a couple of sagging rear springs, weak brakes and a door that squeaked throughout the journey, our car looked like it could go on for ever. Even what I thought was a partly blown gasket, didn’t seem to slow down the car. In fact, the problem has never recurred again and I haven’t bothered to attend to it. The best part of traveling in an old car is the close experience with the road, its sights, smells, challenges and surprises. Now, with four laning, one tends not to look to the left or right and as we whiz around in our airconditioned boxes, carrying our canned urban music, smells and potato chips along with us, we could as well be hurtling through space. Impromptu stops are not on the menu. We were happy to bring incredulous smiles to the faces of people, whether of the villager in Thoppur or of a wedding guest.

As I reversed Swami back into his garage, I kept on the engine for a split second, before I cut off Swami’s little sewing machine of an engine. In the silence of the garage, I was filled with a deep sense of achievement, and affection and respect for incredible little Swami. A minnow on the road, he had plodded on manfully without any major complaint. Austins had been described as dinghies of the road, back in 1922. We had now performed the equivalent of a transatlantic crossing in ours. Herbert Austin would surely have been proud of our sixty eight year old wonder.

[premCV]

I haven't had the opportunity to post any travelogue, since I've not traveled much except for my travels from Mysore to Nanjangud and close by areas. I am planning on something soon, but until then, I just had to respond to this travelogue. This has been by far one of the best travelogue I've read on TBHP, and I've been on here for a while, reading, scanning and making a mental note of all the travelogues. But this one is truly inspiring with amazing pictures and narration. Wonderful, tonrag! Thank you for such a lovely wonderful travelogue! Hope we at TBHP, will get to see more.

[pypkmsrikanth]

Originally Posted by tonrag

Now, with four laning, one tends not to look to the left or right and as we whiz around in our airconditioned boxes, carrying our canned urban music, smells and potato chips along with us, we could as well be hurtling through space. Impromptu stops are not on the menu.

Lovely travelogue..very apty put, am getting sick and tired of these 4 laned roads that am now longing for those winding country roads. Thanks for sharing those lovely memories of the old Bangalore - Dharmapuri roads where on one of those bad days you might end up getting stuck hours together at Thoppur.

[tonrag]

Prologue:
Following the Trivandum Trip, Swami went for a few more and regularly featured in the annual event of the KVCCC at the Mysore Dussehra. In October 2005, He moved to Delhi with me, where he was used, often at the dead of the night, when the roads were deserted. I can vouch that there can be nothing more exhilarating than driving with the top down on a moonlit fogless December night on Rajpath! Its a delicious way to die of hypothermia. But there were a few mishaps. A Suzuki Vitara put a nasty dent in Swami's right rear fender while reversing. Moreover, he had to be parked under a car cover, even during the rain, which was not good for the body or the paint. I'm at fault, for not realising that I wouldn't have the time to fettle him when I moved to Delhi. In Jan 2009, I relocated to Bangalore and having driven my '64 Amby down to Bangalore, was ready to bring down Swami by road, with a few friends and relatives to join me on the return trip in stages. (This time around, Benazir was busy!). But then, disaster struck. Having tuned Swami and given him the once over, on his test drive he took a speed bump a little too fast and his petrol tank fell off. A bracket holding it to the floor had rotted through. Fixing this meant a delay of two days and the window of opportunity passed. I'm afraid, I didn't have the guts to drive 2000 kms solo, so Swami was trucked back. He is now on jacks, undergoing a thorough mechanical and cosmetic restoration. I'm doing a full brake overhaul, eliminating play at all points one by one. Hopefully, in a couple of months Swami should be ready for more adventures.

[tonrag]

Since that magic trip to Thiruvananthapuram, everybody has grown a little older, but hopefully, not wiser. Swami is still the same though and will chug along with the next generation.

[akshay4587]

Wow I am out of words here
thanks for sharing such a magnificent log

hope to see swamy back on roads soon

[vinay kamath]

http://jabalpur.quikr.com/vintage-ba...AdIdZ167681407

[raghu.t.k]

Amazing write-up. Loved reading the entire 5 pages in one go.

In this fast paced world we tend to miss the niceties around us. Especially the rural areas in India has its own charm.

It reminded me of my trip from Chn - Trivandrum with a stop-overs at Palakkad and Trichur(meeting relatives and taking a break). We did try local food and enjoy the surroundings, other than that it was more of zipping on the highways to reach the destinations before midnight!!

[arun1100]

A beautifully written thread by Raghu Sir. I am happy that Swamy is now restored beautifully by Sai. Hope you get to do many such trips in future with Swamy.