Shekhar Viswanath is the third child of the famous jeweller, R. Viswanathan and Indrani of Vysial Street. He did his schooling from the Mani Higher Secondary School those days and his passion for automobiles has been legendary. Shekhar brims like a teenager as he begins to talk about his passion for cars," Our family had some of the best cars in Coimbatore. My dad used to have Mercs,Plymouths, a Ford, a Volkswagon Station Wagon among many others.
My mother hails from an aristocratic family in Madras and my uncle Dr. C. Ranganathan used to drive around a number of wonderful cars all his life. My atmosphere was the defining factor and my first car was a 'Herald' gifted by my father while I pursued a BA in Economics from the Government Arts College in Ooty. However I stayed at Coonoor with my cousin and used to regularly drive up 17 kilometres to Ooty everyday during the 1970s. Later on I purchased a FIAT allotted to my father in law Pathi Chandrashekhar of Bengaluru for a sum of Rs.32500 those days and the car numbered MEA 1666, witnessed some of the best moments in my life. It was in this car that my wife Shyamala and sons Venkatesh, Vivek enjoyed travelling all around between 1975 and 1990. Subsequently I got the car registered in Tamilnadu as TDE 1666."
Coimbatore has been known for cars and motors sports for over half a century. Shekhar was no exception and he powered his car while also adding up some cosmetics to his car which had become a pet for his family. The family carpenter Shanmugha Achary of Rathinapuri manufactured a fine teak wood panel which housed the Smiths Meters brought from the United Kingdom. The car was fitted with a 'downdraft' carburettor. Those were the times when it was next to impossible to import car spares and one had to rely on personal contacts going abroad for the same or get get it personally during the course of overseas travel.
"My tinker was Gopal and he used to work out of a place near the present Aarvee Hotel and I used to spend two days a week in his workshop those days. My car used to have a gadget that used to deliver the cigarette after lighting it and also had the wonderful Alpine Music system which would adjust its volume based on the atmosphere outside. I had also fixed two extra lights (Hair Raiser) and it was the most powerful available then. Besides the fancy sports steering wheel the car had a personalized console which could hold cassettes and other stuff. Of course I had the best goggle and napkin holders while the unique change holder used to be a star attraction for the kids. Bonnet latches were fixed in order to enhance the looks and the side view mirrors had lights too. Exquisite leather bucket seats by Koyas offered ultimate luxury and the glasses were tinted with sunfoil from Singapore, at a time when not many knew about its existence. The car had spoilers and was fitted with an air conditioner purchased from Kasi Chetty Street in Madras. It was fixed by the TVS at Madurai those days for Coimbatore did not have the facility." adds Shekhar with unbound enthusiasm.
Its amazing to learn that some of add ons from his old FIAT are still found in his new Skoda Laura. These include the old 'dummy air scoop' and the Bosch horns that have been with him for a little over forty years. Its exciting to listen further, " My car had stickers in a particular style which was known as the ' Probe ', later on I got it painted in a personalized manner. The car was Sand Brown in colour earlier and I got it switched to black later. My car was very personal and it was me who drove it most of the times. I have travelled to all the nearby cities in my car and our favourite jaunt was Ooty during summers where we used to stay at our home in Fernhill. I still go to Petes at Kerala for additional inputs. I used to interact with veteran racer D.Vidyaprakash those days and both of us used to exchange inputs. It was really challenging and exciting as well those days when the control era came in the way of such interests. Nowadays its a lot easier with the opening up of the economy."
Shekhar Viswanath is a well travelled third generation jeweller who is on the Board of a number of social institutions. He is the Secretary of the Coimbatore Arya Vysya Samajam which has been on the forefront of social service for close to 75 years. Shekhar's passion for cars have evolved with him and his jest for the finer aspects of life is sure to motivate a number of car lovers.