Treasured Wheels Museum: A connoisseur's pleasure

Gautam Ganguly

(gautamganguly2012@gmail.com)

The history of human civilization highlights that mankind has never remained contented with whetting physical appetite alone. This eternal human urge to look beyond the bare necessities of food, shelter and clothing had culminated in generating various sources entertainment. Mankind's infinite urge to learn, explore and discover the unknown and unseen, purely for aesthetic pleasure, has resulted in development of tourism.

In keeping with the inextricable human urge, the people of Guwahati and Assam as a whole are seen traveling across India and abroad with a view to exploring the world, to have a look at various historic monuments, experience different cultures and other timeless human achievements and architectural brilliance etc. However, true to the saying that 'nearer the Church, further from God', many of us have not cared to visit the magnificent car museum that has mind-blowing collection of some of priceless, vintage cars, four wheelers and motor bikes at Medhikuchi village near Sonapur, approximately 15 kilometers away from Guwahati on the National Highway-37.

In the backdrop of lush green surroundings and eye-pleasing natural beauty, the first car museum of Assam and the North-east stands with all its splendour. As one enters the grand antique collectible museum, one is simply flabbergasted by the sight of a number of helmets excellently embellishing and adorning the entry gate. It transpires that these helmets were used by soldiers during the Second World War. The endeavour and tenacity to procure such invaluable items showcase the innovative thinking, artistic bent of mind and passion of the man, the architect, behind this magnificent museum.

The connoisseurs get highly euphoric to find huge collection of classic cars that range from a 'Skoda' vehicle manufactured as back in 1899. To put on record, 'Skoda' remains one of the five oldest car-producing companies in the world with an unbroken record till date. Vintage cars like Plymouth (1928), Volkswagen Beetle (1936), Morris Minor (1952) and Vauxhall (1936) delight the vehicle lovers. The sight of an 'Oldsmobile' vehicle of 1897 model and a 'Baby Austin' of 1924 speaks eloquently of the quality of the car museum. Many more antique cars are available, approximately 55. The splendid museum, in a way, provides opportunity to view the evolution of vehicles from its nascent stage.

An abundance of vintage two-wheelers enriches the classic gallery of the museum. An iconic 'Albion' motorcycle named as 'Bell Drive' manufactured in 1901 is there for the watchers. 'Royal Enfield' bikes of different varieties, which were used during the Second World War, add attraction to the adventure-loving connoisseurs. The museum houses nearly 50 iconic motorbikes manufactured in ten decades, starting from 1902. In addition, approximately 20 classic scooters can be seen at the museum.

The collector's passion for vintage, priceless things does not stop with automobiles alone. Exhibition of old watches, gramophones and, last but not the least, telephones in chronological sequence makes the visit remarkable. A replica of the telephone invented by Graham Bell is scintillating and an asset.

No accolade or eulogy is enough for the single-handed effort of Pickloo Deka, the man behind such an awesome collection of vintage cars, two-wheelers and artifacts magnifying his selfless dedication and passion for the timeless, worth-preserving objects. Deka has done everything on his own - from collection of various items to setting up of infrastructure, daily maintenance and upkeep. He has spent his own hard-earned money for the whole project to translate his dream. Awesome dedication!

Many of us have passion. We dream. But to transform the dream into reality calls for unflinching effort, single-mindedness of purpose and the mental resilience to sacrifice personal interest. Piklu Deka's long-cherished dream for a car museum has provided the 'hoi-polloi' with an opportunity to get a respite from humdrum life, an avenue for recreation for automobile lovers, besides giving fresh alternative and choice to tourism lovers to depart from visiting familiar tourist jaunts like the Kaziranga National Park.

Assam is known across the world for its wildlife and religious tourism, attracting thousands of tourists. At a time when unprecedented flurry of benevolent, people-friendly works are being implemented at the grass-root level with remarkable speed ever since the installation of the present Assam government in May, 2021, it is felt that the government may contemplate to include the 'vintage car museum' in its list of glorious, established tourist destinations, thereby adding a new vista to Assam tourism.