The car you see in the pictures here is the very first Maruti 800 to have hit Indian roads. A symbol of the Indian auto industry, is now lying in an abandoned state after it’s owners Harpal Singh and his wife Gulshanbeer Kaur passed away. It is indeed a sad sight for a true car lover but apparently there is no one to take care of it as it stands outside the owner’s Green Park residence in Delhi. It hasnt been used for the past one and a half years.
History was made when Mr. Harpal was handed over the keys to the first Maruti 800 on December 14th 1983 by then Prime Minister of India. Mrs. Indira Gandhi. This car brought in a revolution and changed the face of the Indian car space forever. Mr. Harpal passed away in 2010 and his wife too died two years later. Their house has been locked ever since as the couple’s two daughters live in separate areas in South Delhi.
“Even after mom’s death, the family members used to go to the house to start the car and take a short drive in the inner colony lane, but for the past one-and-half years it has not been used at all,” said Harpal Singh’s elder son-in-law Tejinder Ahluwalia, 65.
Tejinder also mentioned that Maruti had borrowed the car from the family to celebrate 25 years of the company in India but there has been no interest shown in the car ever since by the company, inspite of Tejinder writing to them to do something to save the car.
A Maruti Suzuki spokesperson said, “It is indeed very special, as it was our first customer car. Mr. Harpal Singh had maintained it with great care. If the family now wants us to buy it back, we are open to discuss with them.”
The car gave the family celebrity status as thousands of people would gather to see the car wherever they went. India had not seen anything more than the Premier Padmini and the Hindustan Ambassador in those days.
“It is sad to see the car in this state now as it was very close to my father, secondly it has a history behind it, since we cannot drive this car anymore due to environmental norms in force, Maruti must come forward and keep it in a museum or any other place as a showpiece,” said Harpal Singh’s younger daughter Sunita Walia, 50.
Harpal Singh’s younger son-in-law Amardeep Walia, 55, said, “The car is still not in a very bad condition, it needs some cosmetic repair and it will start running. But if it is kept idle it might become defunct, its makers should save this car as it is not just any other vehicle but a symbol that how the first car made by them stood the test of the time.”
DIA 6479 sits alone today with weed growing all around it. Here’s hoping that someone comes forward to save this little car that put an entire nation on wheels.
