[harit]

Here is a couple with their Ford Consul, the car bears a Delhi registration. Any clue where this place could be?

[harit]

This is Apro Rani when she visited India in 1961, sitting in the Buick which is now in Pune. Encircled is the convertible Pontiac. Both were Government cars.
I have a number of pictures of the Queen sitting in/on this Buick, and taken at several locations. For this I was even given the negative.

Posted 4 pictures as my scnner is working again, and now will be away for Diwali holidays.

Happy Diwali to all!!

Cheers harit

[karlosdeville]

The bike I would think is a Harley, not an Ariel.

Originally Posted by harit

Here is a couple with their Ford Consul, the car bears a Delhi registration. Any clue where this place could be?

I think this is the Parsi Dharamsala in Delhi, Bahadur Zafar Shah marg, neat TOI building and ITO. I stayed there for a couple of days earlier this year.

Originally Posted by harit

This is Apri Rani when she visited India in 1961, sitting in the Buick which is now in Pune. Encircled is the convertible Pontiac. Both were Government cars.

Where is the Pontiac now? And this is by far the neatest shot we have seen of the Queen's visit.

[harit]

Originally Posted by karlosdeville

The bike I would think is a Harley, not an Ariel.

You are right, it is a Harley. Had to write something stupid to get some response. I felt that these threads in general have really slowed down.
But why did I put Ariel, and not any other name?
On the tank we can only see 5 letters, H..........ARLEY the H is hidden. The tank has to be magnified a number of times, then something becomes readable and "ARLEY" can appear as ARIEL.

Cheers harit

[sabinesnubbing]

Harit,
Is the Ariel/Harley another BMV registration?
If so, any chance I can get the unmolested scan?

Would anyone care to guess the date of the Harley since the BMV registrations are still a bit of a mystery and I don't know if they are after BMX, BMW and just before the changes in 1939/40.
I must admit I am presuming they are after BMW since I have seen BMW 9779 so it's is fair, I think, to assume they needed another series.

Cheers & keep up the photo collecting!
Cedric

[karlosdeville]

Originally Posted by sabinesnubbing

Harit,
Is the Ariel/Harley another BMV registration?
If so, any chance I can get the unmolested scan?

Would anyone care to guess the date of the Harley since the BMV registrations are still a bit of a mystery and I don't know if they are after BMX, BMW and just before the changes in 1939/40.
I must admit I am presuming they are after BMW since I have seen BMW 9779 so it's is fair, I think, to assume they needed another series.

Cheers & keep up the photo collecting!
Cedric

The bike is not a BMV registration, I think it is BMY.

Now Harit had posted a pic of the Jawa bike with number BMV 185. When I saw the set of photos, I also noticed a similar bike in another photo with the same gent in it, the registration was also 185, but not BMV, I think it was BML. So the plot thickens - too much of a coincidence, what say?

Here is a neat shot of a Parsi lady named Amy, standing next to an Ambulance of the St Johns division, 1945. She was probably doing war time duty I guess.



Amy in Bombay: 1945 | Shorpy Historic Photo Archive

[chanu]

This is one wonderful thread, pictures take you to those golden era, the feeling is indiscribeable thanks to all who have contributed their part and took us to that golden time. I always regret that I should have born in that era and would have been lucky to witness those marvelous machines. Thanks Karl, Harit and lot others for your pictures.

[karlosdeville]

My mechanic has a couple of bangers sunk into the ground of his garage over the last 30 odd years, one of them being a 1937 Opel. The car is covered under much rubble, and is usually not seen unless you look really hard for it. Today it is much worse than this picture taken around 5-6 years back.



But luckily I was shown these pictures of the car in its prime

[harit]

Originally Posted by harit

This is Apro Rani when she visited India in 1961, sitting in the Buick ....................... Cheers harit

Another picture from the same lot.
One cannot imagine Obama sitting like this in an open car, how times have changed. Now there would be snipers on rooftops instead of cheering and waving public.
In the background are school children wearing ties. There is an election office, the banner says "Election Office M.A.KHANDINANA, end of name not clear. Last line mentions "SUPPORTED", other words again not clear. Have noticed on other photos as well that this drive of the Queen also went through not so posh areas.

Monogram on the side side seems to be "Dynaflow"

Cheers harit

[karlosdeville]

Here is an interesting page I came across in a book titled "Triumph Speed Twin - The development history of the pre unit and unit construction 500cc twins" by H Woolridge.



It shows a WB registered Speed Twin that was ridden to the main Works dept at Coventry (?), and overhauled possibly for the long journey back. Unfortunately the riders are not named, but can anybody recognise them?

A special thanks to the BHPian who sent across the book and other Triumph goodies to me.

[Edsel Rulez!]

Originally Posted by harit

There is an election office, the banner says "Election Office M.A.KHANDINANA, end of name not clear.

The name is (Mohammed Amin) Khandwani. Six-time corporator from Mahim and MLA, he headed the Haj committee in the 80s and was responsible for the construction of the 20-storeyed Haj House near VT. He was later Chairman of the Maharashtra State Minorities Commission. Unfortunately, last year, at the age of 80, he was indicted by a special court for his alleged role in the 1992-93 Bombay riots.

Since Mahim was MAK's home turf (a recent press report described him as still living in his sea-facing ancestral bungalow there) it's very likely that the car in the photo is on Cadell Road, with the queen in transit between Juhu Aerodrome and the Taj Hotel.

Interestingly, MAK's grandfather and grand-uncles pioneered a shipping service between India and Saudi Arabia in the early 20th century, and later diversified into commercial shipping. The family also set up the first bus service between Mecca and Medina in 1918, and introduced cars to the Arabian peninsula. The latter did not meet with universal approval, because...

...in 1918 the Khandwanis carried a car and a generator to be gifted to the Sheriff of Makkah. A large Sedan, it had a collapsible canvas hood. Wonderstruck Bedouins chased it wherever it went. Dubbed 'Satan', it was burnt down when the opportunity presented itself. Guided by superstition, they could not stand the sight of something that moved but did not consume fodder. As Amin recalls the accounts from his elders, the car could not survive beyond 40 days.

[Source: From Rags to Riches]

Intriguing how unusual stories often lie hidden in old photographs - and how delving into the depths of the Internet can bring up automobile-related trivia!

[harit]

A family picture, my guess that this photo has been taken in Mahableshwar. Maybe Rehan, THE MOD can tell us who these people are.

Cheers harit

[Rehaan]

Harit! You've done it again Amazing!

To clue in the others reading this - here's a picture of the same car i had posted on pg 10 (in 2008 nonetheless!), and somehow Harit being Harit has remembered and made the connection!

Originally Posted by Rehaan

...

...

I emailed my grandmother, as the above photo was scanned from one of her photo albums. That's her mother in the photo above, (referred to as nana in her reply below) :

Originally Posted by via email

hi ray, the car is a pontiac which belonged to jimmy uncle around 1947, i had learned driving on it. naozer never fails to tell a story at parties of how once i drove in poona and parked this car on a slope and forgot to pull the hand brakes, while i was in a shop the car started rolling down on a busy street, i came out of the shop when i heard loud shouting, to see the pontiac moving on its own! i was at my wits end, till some gallant guy jumped in and took over...the rest is a blank. yes the young boy is vispy with shireen aunty, nana's youngest sister. is that enough information?

In other words; the people in the picture are my great-grand-aunt and my grand-uncle.
Might have some more info in a bit.

Cheers,
R

PS - Where did you manage to get the photo from? Another one of your chor bazaar finds?

[harit]

Originally Posted by Rehaan

Harit! You've done it again Amazing! ............and somehow Harit being Harit has remembered and made the connection!...........
In other words; the people in the picture are my great-grand-aunt and my grand-uncle.
Might have some more info in a bit.
Cheers, R
PS - Where did you manage to get the photo from? Another one of your chor bazaar finds?

This hobby of old car photos is indeed amazing. I was away for long as you have seen by the absence of posting. During this trip I managed to see a substancial part of two other old picture collections. Now the crazy part, with both I saw pictures of which I have the same, and pictures taken at the same event. I still have to digest what I saw.
I got this picture in a lot, which is basically of parsis, and again in this lot there were pictures of people whose photos I have come across before. So I will mail some of these pictures to you, perhaps you can send to your granny for identification. During my trip I was back in Mumbai for half a day, and that is when I got these pics delivered home. As I was passing via Pune, I carried them with me and it was Karl who linked these pics. Credit goes to him, he is as nutty as me as far as this hobby is concerned. Hopefully your granduncle is still around. Their Pontiac Silver Streak was a lovely car. I strongly feel that the location is in Mahableshwar.

One more quick one. I also saw a picture taken of Flora Fountain around 1952. The picture looked funny, I could not place the location properly till I realised that the print was in reverse. Then I focused on the street scene, and lo behold I see a magnificient Rolls. This we enlarged, sent the picture to friends and experts for an identification, and it turns out to be an excellent Gurney Nutting bodied car just like the one presently under restoration. Now have to wait till she is ready and then compare.
The photos are like dots, waiting to be linked and tell a story.

Cheers harit

[tuchha]

HI,

found this picture of OLD BEAUTIES gathered together AT THE RACES IN
OOTEY ....
wanted to share with you ALL...

Uday (Tuchha)