A ride in retro no longer cool for grooms now

Old timers in city relate there was a time when grooms would arrive at wedding venues in luxurious open-top cars in grand processions and take away the brides with them in same cars. Slowly, they ran out of fame and fell out of favour. Now, these vehicle owners are fighting a losing battle to modernization. Swanky luxury cars have replaced them and the newly-wed almost shun them and prefer to arrive and exit in style, in top-end cards, complete with band, baaza, baarat. Traditional horse-buggies are at least pulling along.

A few decades back, grooms from different communities of the city used to take a ride in a white or a red retro hoodless car which are known for their length. Decorated with flowers, a ride in them would be a cynosure to the eyes as the couple took ride. Modernisation has meant luxury sedans stealing their spotlight.

One can find the retro cars parked for rent near Mahboobia School on Abids Road. There are hardly a dozen of them and comprise Contessa Classic, Nissan, Sonata and Hyundai Elantra. Car owers say most of the vehicles are passed down generations. During the 1960s it was a roaring business as there would be great demand for these cars for weddings or other ceremonies.

Many of them were brought to the city from Maharashtra and Karnataka. "In those days Impala ride was a status symbol and the groom's entry in open-top Impala was classy. Grooms, be it Hindu or Muslim, would crave to ride in them to their marriage ceremonies as strings of decorated flowers hang like fringes from all sides. But this was a situation of yesteryears. We are losing interest as these are not being used and now-a-days people are preferring luxury or vintage cars," deplored Mohammed Rahman, the owner of a convertible Hyundai Elantra car.

"In early 1960s there were around 45 convertible sedans, including Plymouth, Ford, Dodge, Austin that used to be parked near Mahboobia school. And some were sold off or scrapped in early 2000s. Later, to cater to the taste of future generations, we purchased 80's and 90's model second-hand cars and modified them into hoodless," says Syed Saleem, an owner of 4 cars.

The owners are now struggling to survive the onslaught of high-end cars. The maintenance of cars is drilling a big hole in their pockets. "Now, hardly 20-25 orders are received for wedding ceremonies every year. Earnings from renting these cars do not even suffice for their maintenance. We are not sure how long we will survive in this business. We all are doing side-business for livelihoods," said Shaik Shoaib.

"Still some of the peoples like Manwari, Rajasthani and some with a taste of olden times prefer groom's entry in these open-top cars," said Prashant, another owner.

"Open-top is a must in our weddings! Mostly red colour ones and fully decorated. For last several years, at every wedding we rented open-top car from Abids. Earlier, we used to hire Impala car or a Fiat of 1970's and 80's model of open-top type, but now such cars are not available; so, we are hiring a convertible car of 90's Fiat for wedding," said Praneet Rajput, a customer, who was seen bargaining to rent a car.