As the ubiquitous Ambassador Car a.k.a Amby fades off into the history books after a monumental life cycle of about 59 years on the Indian roads, I cannot but feel a pang of sadness and nostalgia as the grand old lady of the Indian roads has been an inseparable part of our life, be it childhood, the growing up years or professional lives.
From the green Amby that my uncle had in Calcutta of the late 70s to my Dad's 'office car' to all the immaculately polished black 'staff cars' during my years in the Army, the bulbous, boxy and unmistakably ugly car with an undersized rear glass, tail fins from a different era and notoriously poor quality control was well nothing short of family- something which was always around.
I still remember a childhood trip to Darjeeling with Mom and Dad in the early -80s. You had only WW II vintage Landrovers and Ambassadors operating there since the Premier Padmini (the only other car available) was unable to climb the steep roads of the hill town. Also the cavernous boot made it an ideal choice for being India's favourite taxi for a long time.
For years, the car symbolised all that was India- big, noisy, hot (no AC!), inefficient -but still running! It was (and still is) the favourite barge for many a top bureaucrat and politician and a white Amby with a lal batti has long been perceived as a symbol of power especially in Delhi.
As its maker HM announced indefinite closure of its Uttarpara plant citing low sales and losses on 25 May 2014 it surely brings down the curtains on a glorious chapter in the history of automobiles of the country. When Bajaj Auto had quietly ceased production of the equally iconic 'hamara Bajaj' Chetak range of scooters (which powered entire generations of post independence middle class India), the same sense of nostalgia was never evoked as the scooters had undergone several changes over the years both in looks and technology, but the Old Lady of Uttarpara has largely remained unchanged since she first rolled out in the 50s barring a change in the power-plant from the original BMC derived Push-Rod engine (early models used to have a logo proudly proclaiming OHV!) to an Isuzu sourced engine sometime in the early 90s..
Just to cut the long story short....Old Lady - We will miss you!
From the green Amby that my uncle had in Calcutta of the late 70s to my Dad's 'office car' to all the immaculately polished black 'staff cars' during my years in the Army, the bulbous, boxy and unmistakably ugly car with an undersized rear glass, tail fins from a different era and notoriously poor quality control was well nothing short of family- something which was always around.
I still remember a childhood trip to Darjeeling with Mom and Dad in the early -80s. You had only WW II vintage Landrovers and Ambassadors operating there since the Premier Padmini (the only other car available) was unable to climb the steep roads of the hill town. Also the cavernous boot made it an ideal choice for being India's favourite taxi for a long time.
For years, the car symbolised all that was India- big, noisy, hot (no AC!), inefficient -but still running! It was (and still is) the favourite barge for many a top bureaucrat and politician and a white Amby with a lal batti has long been perceived as a symbol of power especially in Delhi.
As its maker HM announced indefinite closure of its Uttarpara plant citing low sales and losses on 25 May 2014 it surely brings down the curtains on a glorious chapter in the history of automobiles of the country. When Bajaj Auto had quietly ceased production of the equally iconic 'hamara Bajaj' Chetak range of scooters (which powered entire generations of post independence middle class India), the same sense of nostalgia was never evoked as the scooters had undergone several changes over the years both in looks and technology, but the Old Lady of Uttarpara has largely remained unchanged since she first rolled out in the 50s barring a change in the power-plant from the original BMC derived Push-Rod engine (early models used to have a logo proudly proclaiming OHV!) to an Isuzu sourced engine sometime in the early 90s..
Just to cut the long story short....Old Lady - We will miss you!
