There are many reasons why winter is my favourite season. Of course, there is that delightful nip in the air and it’s also party season with hot soup, barbecues and grills to look forward to as the year winds down. Slovenly dressed people suddenly smarten up and the city takes on a cleaner look. However, looking a little beyond all these nice things, to me, winter is the time vintage and classic beauties tend to hit the roads and take one on a journey back to a more peaceful time – when everything was laidback, simple and relaxed, a time that seems to be lost forever in the modern world.

So it was that a few Sundays ago, I was actually happy to be up and about early, as opposed to lazing around in bed under a blanket – the Heritage Motoring Club of India had organised a drive from Gurgaon to the Neemrana Fort in nearby Rajasthan. Assembled in Gurgaon, early on a wintry Sunday morning, were a bunch of freezing but enthusiastic owners of cars and bikes – both vintage and classic. Although the vehicles on view were perhaps not as brilliant or exotic as those seen at the recently concluded Cartier Concours in Bombay, the spirit was certainly alive and kicking as over 100 enthusiasts participated. The assorted cars and motorcycles, all either vintage or classic, included the likes of a Chevrolet Tourer, a Ford Model A, a Dodge Kingsway, an interesting Studebaker Commander Convertible, a Ford Mustang, a Pontiac Silver Streak as well as a Chrysler Valiant, Mercedes 170S, VW Beetle and Willys Jeeps, to name a few. The two-wheelers too presented a blast from the past with British names like Ariel, BSA (Birmingham Small Arms), Triumph and Royal Enfield resurrected, as well as a smattering from Italy thanks to the scooters.

Although the start was delayed, nobody really minded – especially the spectators who had gathered, some pausing their morning walk for a gander as it gave them a little more time to inspect and wonder about the assembled entrants. Shortly after 9am, Sufi and pop singer, Rabbi Shergill, flagged off the bikes and then the cars. Traversing a distance of 100km, the drive would go straight down NH-8 to culminate at the Neemrana Fort Palace, in time for a well deserved breather for the cars, and lunch for the participants and their families. It was competitive too, being based on the well-known TSD or ‘Time-Speed-Distance’ format, where each vehicle was given a specific time to cover the approximately 100km distance at a specified average speed, depending on the engine and age of the vehicle. Almost all the entrants reached Neemrana. The bikes, all riding together in case any biker needed help en-route, reached largely without incident – though it was a bit disappointing to see the Harley Davidson stranded on the roadside about a kilometer from the start, especially after having led the pack magnificently at the start.

At Neemrana, the last bit up to the fort was a strenuous uphill twisting section and the Mercedes 170 huffed and puffed its way up the short hill, steam billowing from the radiator – strenuous also because the condition of the road winding up through a village was in very poor condition. What was a bit of a surprise though was to see a Willys Jeep needing a helping hand. The big Americans went up without any problem, which is expected of their torquey engines. No such problems for the bikes, which made it with ease. And soon one was seated comfortably on the stepped lawns of the hotel – looking out and down on the rolling countryside. Post-lunch, after completing the calculations, category winners were declared. In the Vintage section, Gyan Sharma won the prize in his 1947 Hillman, while the prize for the Classic section went to Inderbir Singh Alag in his 1947 Plymouth Super Deluxe. The Jeep section prize was won by Arjun Bakshi. Maninder Singh and his 1948 BSA 350 won the prize for motorcycles. All in all, it was a good way to spend a winters Sunday.