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From a 1972 Mustang to a 95-year-old watch, Chennai’s vintage passion gets put on display
From a 1972 Mustang to a 95-year-old watch, Chennai’s vintage passion gets put on display
It all began with a Mustang dream.
Years before he could get his hands on the vehicle, Zubin Songadwala, a senior operations manager in hospitality, says that his mentors fuelled his desire to own a vintage car. One that was effortlessly classy.
“Who doesn’t want a lady like this,” says Zubin, standing next to his slick yellow 1972 Ford Mustang Mach 1 that he purchased in 2015.
At a first time collaborative meet up between the Roaring Riders Club and the Madras Watch Collectors Group on March 1, the Mustang effortlessly steals the show. The participants at the meeting line up to take pictures with the car and peer into the windows to take in everything they can see. “Beauty,” they whisper softly to themselves.
Unique heritage showcase celebrating classic automobiles, legendary motorcycles, and collectible timepieces organised by The Roaring Riders Club Chennai in association with the Madras Watch Collectors Group. | Photo Credit: RAGU R
Here, enthusiasts of bikes, cars, and watches, the finer things in life, have gathered to indulge each other’s passion and discuss the specs of their collection. What began as a spontaneous, quick discussion between Srinivasan Kasyap, a founding member of Roaring Riders Club, and Guru Prasad, part of the Madras Watch Collectors Group, has quickly turned into a meeting with over a 100 folks geeking out over their favourite form of machine, nay ‘children’, they say.
There are over 300 vintage watches, the earliest being 95 years old; over 20 Jawa or Yezdi motorcycles; and just as many vintage cars, on display at the lawn of Greenpark hotel in Vadapalani. The event becomes the perfect space to touch, feel, and experience timepieces that have held on.
Unique heritage showcase celebrating classic automobiles, legendary motorcycles, and collectible timepieces organised by The Roaring Riders Club Chennai in association with the Madras Watch Collectors Group. | Photo Credit: RAGU R
Now, roaring to life, despite the strange juxtaposition in a world full of oddities like construction, concrete, and dust, these machines serve as reminders of needing to remember that everything, including inanimate objects, sometimes come with heartbeats. Some collectors who have held onto their pieces for years tell us the secret to ensuring that their cars, bikes, and watches see the light of day.
Zubin says that there are two ways to look at a vintage car. “One could either be a purist and look to maintain the vehicle just as it had come out of the coach factory. But if you want it to run just like it does on the road, modifications become essential,” he says.
Speaking alongside Sudhir Natarajan who owns an orange Mustang, the duo says that rebuilding classics require changes to the battery, wiring, fuel pumps, wheels, and the engine. “This car does not have a coolant and in a city like Chennai, a coolant is of essence. We also changed the size of the wheels which were originally 14 inches to become 15 inches so that they could ride effortlessly,” says Zubin.
Unique heritage showcase celebrating classic automobiles, legendary motorcycles, and collectible timepieces organised by The Roaring Riders Club Chennai in association with the Madras Watch Collectors Group. | Photo Credit: RAGU R
It is of essence to romanticise this relationship because Zubin does it casually. He says that vintage cars must be treated as ‘mature’, not ‘old’ ladies. “You cannot drive these pieces recklessly on the road. Inside it, there is no air conditioner, no bluetooth speaker, no music. It is, in essence, old,” he says. What then brings him back to the Mustang. “On weekdays full of meetings and things, I come back tired. On Sundays, when I take my Mustang out, I am one with the car. Suddenly, the rest of the world disappears,” he says.
Sudhir, who has been in the automotive space for years now, says that at the moment, there are 35 vintage and classic cars at his shed owned by various people, waiting for repairs. They all seem to echo the same emotion. “Customers treat these pieces like family so when the restoration happens, it becomes an emotional experience,” he says.
Unique heritage showcase celebrating classic automobiles, legendary motorcycles, and collectible timepieces organised by The Roaring Riders Club Chennai in association with the Madras Watch Collectors Group. | Photo Credit: RAGU R
Guru from the Madras Watch Collectors Group seems to echo a similar sentiment. Some months ago, an acquaintance on Instagram had posted about a Seiko 5 watch from the 1980s that stopped running. “I offered to reach out to my network, provided a ‘donor’ watch from which parts could be used. My friends helped fix it. When the person got the watch, he had tears in his eyes. His mother cried too. Turns out that the watch belonged to his father who had recently passed. I couldn’t control myself too and shed a little tear of joy with them. That is the kind of impact watches have. They may not be as expensive as the rest of the machines here today but they are important markers in a person’s life,” he says.
Unique heritage showcase celebrating classic automobiles, legendary motorcycles, and collectible timepieces organised by The Roaring Riders Club Chennai in association with the Madras Watch Collectors Group. | Photo Credit: RAGU R
Horologist Dinesh Sachdev whose family has been in horology for four generations now, and three from a post-Partition India, runs Time World in Chennai. He says that literally any watch in the world can be fixed with time and money. “One needs ample patience to ensure that there is enough time to work on broken pieces, and all the money to ensure that we fashion the parts to customise it. A recent Rolex Bubble Back took seven to eight months to fix,” he says. He shows off his own watch, a 95-year-old silver pocket watch with customised straps that once belonged to his grandfather.
Srinivasan, who runs Roaring Riders, is interested in the world of watches too. During the event, you could see him flitting from one booth to the next, striking up a conversation about everyone’s passion. Srini, as he is called, says that he is intent on having more such meetings where people ardently speak about all that they love with joy.
Unique heritage showcase celebrating classic automobiles, legendary motorcycles, and collectible timepieces organised by The Roaring Riders Club Chennai in association with the Madras Watch Collectors Group. | Photo Credit: RAGU R
His active group of riders drive Yezdi motorcycles exclusively and enjoy going on long trips once in two weeks besides meeting on the first Sunday of each month at Ashoka hotel in Egmore. Maintenance of bikes come with customisations too. Zubin and Srini speak about needing the right amount of space, and the right parts. During some rides, Srini says that he carries spares and tools in case the bike stops.
Unique heritage showcase celebrating classic automobiles, legendary motorcycles, and collectible timepieces organised by The Roaring Riders Club Chennai in association with the Madras Watch Collectors Group. | Photo Credit: RAGU R
What then is this nostalgia that hooks him?
“Look at my bike. How cool is it. Rajini has said in an interview that he loves the Yezdi and has one too. I’m sure it’s lying around somewhere,” he says, adding that his father owned one of these bikes too.
Two heroes. What better reason to indulge in a passion?
What better reason to claim nostalgia.
Published - March 04, 2026 04:40 pm IST
The Hindu MetroPlus
Source: TheHindu
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