The morning started with a nine decade drive across the major roads of the city. It was flagged off by Mr. C.V. Anand, Commissioner of Police, Cyberabad, a batch of 1986 alumni of the school at Gate No. 1 of The Hyderabad Public School & led onto the Raj Bhavan Road and finally concluded at the school again amidst fanfare & celebration. The Vintage Car Drive was a visual treat, the grandeur of which reached when the cars pulled back into the school after the drive & stood proud on display against the majestic 90 year old INTACH awarded heritage buildings. With over 45 cars, jeeps and bikes, the event undoubtedly radiated royalty from its very essence.
Each one of these vintage cars, jeeps and bikes have seen and heard history, bringing with them an intriguing set of tales; Mr. K.S. Pestonji’s 1951 Dodge, King Kothi A which was a personal favourite car of HEH The Nizam of Hyderabad, Mr. Raghu Cidambi’s 1946 Chevrolet which was imported for the last resident of Hyderabad state, Mr. Shah Alam Rasool Khan’s 1952 Austin Champ which is equipped with a Rolls Royce Amphibious Engine and can go in water – a jeep owned by HEH The Nizam of Hyderabad Mukarram Jah Bahadur, and last but not the least let us not forget Mr. Rashid Qayum’s 1942 Ford GPW which was used in World War II at the Burma border.
This was probably the second tryst of these cars with the school’s heritage buildings, having seen them earlier being used by the Jagirdars who built it.
It is also a worthy mention that at 10:30am a School and Wildlife Photography exhibition was inaugurated by Mr. Jagdish Reddy, President, The Hyderabad Public School Society. This splendid exhibition is the brainchild of two talented old students, Mr. Masood Hussain and Mr. Ismail Shariff.
