GUWAHATI: In Medhikuchi, Sonapur a vintage car museum has on display items of significant events in World History. This unique initiative has been the results of the efforts of one man named Pickloo Deka, who is an official from the state’s electricity department. The museum is named Treasured Wheels.
The museum hosts rare memorabilia of the Indian Independence Movement, World War II and other items of the 19th and 20th century.
The collections range from a 1921 Chevrolet to 1922 Austin-7 and the 1936 Fiat Topolino to 1944 Volkswagen. Jeep, Morris, convertible Sunbeam, 1945 model Buick, Fords from the 1930s and 1940s and Volkswagen Beetle are some of the other cars in his collection.
The bike collection includes seven wonders from the World War II era - Norton 650 of 1932, BSA 500 of 1938, 1940 Royal Enfield, Sunbeam 500 of 1942, Triumph 350 of 1934 and a US made Paradrop Scooter from 1933 which weighs only about 20 kg, among other exhibits.
Among Deka’s most prized possessions are a copy of The Statesman dated 15th August, 1947, the car in which former Prime Minister of India Late Rajiv Gandhi visited Shillong along with wife Sonia Gandhi, a self starting scooter from Royal Enfield from the 1940s and antique clocks from 1800 to 1970.
Apart from automobiles, Deka has a unique fridge which is operated when ignited with heat. A majority of the items have been collected from Assam itself.
How it all started
It was in 2013 that the dream of this junior engineer turned into a reality with the inception of the museum, which has already attracted hundreds of visitors from across northeast India. Besides old cars, bicycles and clocks, Treasured Wheels stores safes from the time of World War II, gas masks and parachutes. The initial place where the museum was located had problems with the wildlife sanctuary in the vicinity. So it was shifted to the current place in Medhikuchi, Sonapur.
The vision for the museum started for Deka as a child. "I had a hobby to collect old antique cars and bikes which are lost from the society to display them to people. My first car was a Renault 4 CV in Dibrugarh and people loved it," said Pickloo Deka.
Following this, he started collecting more and more cars leading to a huge leap of items at his home. However, that was limited just to his friends and family but his vision was to create a platform so that everyone in Assam could see it.
Deka utilises a major chunk of his salary in maintaining the museum. "I have to pay a rent of Rs 30,000 to manage this place. This is not an easy task," said Deka.
His family has been a rock for him in terms of his efforts to promote the place. "My father's line of work is very different but what he is doing here is very important. But, what he has achieved so far in terms of conserving all these rare memorablias needs to be appreciated," said Kavya Deka, daughter of Pickloo Deka.
The course ahead
Pickloo Deka has appealed to the various stakeholders to support his efforts. "The museum is not just mine as it is for our entire generation. It will not die with me. We have to preserve it. There is only one such museum in the entire northeast and this can become a tourist destination," said Deka.
Things might look positive for Deka with the Chief Minister of Assam Sarbananda Sonowal himself visiting the place on the Republic Day celebration.
"Delighted to visit 'Treasured Wheels' at Sonapur, which has a collection of vintage cars from the time of World War- IIA commendable effort by Shri Piklu Deka, the place has the potential to turn into a popular tourist destination," the CM posted on Twitter.