Killer, Nathuram Godse's 1930 Studebaker, which he reportedly rode on the day of Gandhi's murder, stands shining at a dingy Delhi garage. Parvez found the car while looking for spares for his austin 37. he has twelve vintage cars and more than 15 bikes from the old era
Killer, Nathuram Godse's 1930 Studebaker,u00a0which he reportedly rode on the day ofu00a0Gandhi's murder, stands shining at a dingy Delhi garage. Parvez found the car while looking for spares for his austin 37. he has twelve vintage cars and more than 15 bikes from the old era
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One of the most startling pieces of Indian history stands shining at a dingy auto workshop in an east Delhi locality, nondescript, unknown to thousands living around it, and even to those working around it. It is the six-cylinder, 40 bhp Studebaker of 1930, aptly named Killer, in which Nathuram Godse rode to Birla Bhawan, New Delhi, on January 30, 1948 to assassinate Mahatma Gandhi.
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Parvez Jamal Siddiqui, the proud owner of the 1930 Studebaker. The vintage beauty was reportedly used by its once owner Nathuram Godse to reach Birla House, New Delhi, where he assassinated Mahatma Gandhi pic /Rajeev Tyagi |
The car was made on order by an Indian king for his prince and the features of the car were mostly unheard of at the time. "It can run on both manual and automatic transmission modes, something which cars of its age did not have," said the present owner of the car, Parvez Jamal Siddiqui. But of course, every Killer must have its edge.
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Killer looks: The car, aptly named Killer, is 6-cylinder 40 bhp and has a top speed of 160 km/hr pic/Rajeev Tyagi |
The car passed on to Nathuram Godse and after he went to jail for murdering the Mahatma, it was bought by an Anglo Indian, Saini Calib. The Varanasi-based businessman put the car to auction in 1978, and it was won by Kamaal from Bareilly and eventually landed in the hands of Parvez in 1999.
The young automobile businessman ran into the real owner of the car by chance. Parvez had inherited some vintage cars from his maternal grandfather. An Austin 37 was one among them. "Since I personally used to maintain my cars, I was looking for some spares for my Austin. My search took me to Bareilly, Uttar Pradesh."
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Studebaker 4-Door Sedan |
While buying spares from one Kamaal Motors, Parvez saw the car in his garage. "The owner was in dire need of money and offered to sell it. "He told me that he bought it at an auction in 1978 from Saini Calib at Varanasi."
"However, the price he quoted was too much and I dropped the plan to buy it, though it caught my eye in the first instance," Parvez added.
"Though I returned then, it kept playing on my mind, and even before I reached Delhi, I had made up my mind to buy it," said Parvez, sitting on a metal stool in his two-wheeler workshop in a dark Laxmi Nagar gully. It took a lot of convincing and pleading to make Kamaal sell the car as he changed his mind, said Parvez.
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Studebaker Speedster |
The young auto enthusiast saw the Studebaker in Kamaal's garage in the eighties and bought the car in 1999.
Once repaired fully, the car was ready to take Parvez on his wanderlust.
"The sheer power of the car fascinated me. I had numerous thrilling moments on its wheel." Parvez did not limit the car to vintage car shows and rallies, but made it his own and went on a number of trips to Shimla and Jaipur.
"I used to take my friends along to Connaught Place and run it locally. Every time it came out on road, it won me numerous admirers and turned heads," said Parvez.
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1953 Studebaker Commander |
Parvez, 28, is fond of everything antique. He has a stable of 12 vintage cars and more than 15 bikes from the old era. "The old world charm works fine for me." His favourite, of course, is Killer, which zooms at a top speed of 160 km/hr.
Parvez did not buy any other car for a long time and the Studebaker was his sole companion. Originally a vintage bike collector, the car proved a landmark in his life. It not just made him buy more vintage cars, it also "initiated" him in the automobile business. Parvez owns a Mahindra auto franchise on Vikas Marg now.
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Studebaker Touring 1916 |
When asked what he thought of the history attached to his prized possession, Parvez candidly confessed that it was not the history but the car itself which had amazed and attracted him.
Godse Trivia
A commonly held theory suggests that Nathuram was given his name because of an unfortunate incident. Before he was born, his parents had three sons and a daughter. All three boys died in their infancy. Fearing a curse that targeted male children, young Ramachandra was brought up as a girl for the first few years of his life, including having his nose pierced and being made to wear a nose-ring (nath in Marathi). It was then that he earned the nickname 'Nathuram' (literally 'Ram with a nose-ring').
Power winner
The Studebaker won several prizes at vintage car rallies in Shimla, Jaipur and the Statesman Vintage Car Rally in New Delhi. It was declared the most powerful car a number of times.
Other cars in Parvez's stable
World War jeeps, 1942
Landrover, 1954 Jaguar,
1956 SS Impala
convertible, Fleetmaster
Studebaker
Studebaker Corporation, or simply Studebaker, was a United States wagon and automobile manufacturer based in South Bend, Indiana. Founded in 1852 and incorporated in 1868 under the name of the Studebaker Brothers Manufacturing Company, the company was originally a producer of wagons for farmers, miners and the military.
Studebaker entered the automotive business in 1902 with electric vehicles and in 1904 with gasoline vehicles, all sold under the name "Studebaker Automobile Company". It partnered with other builders of gasoline-powered vehicles-Garford and E-M-F-until 1911. The first gasoline cars to be fully manufactured by Studebaker were marketed in August Over the next 50 years, the company established an enviable reputation for quality and reliability. The South Bend plant ceased production on December 20, 1963, and the last Studebaker car rolled off the Hamilton, Ontario, Canada, plant on March 16, 1966.
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