“I love this taxi like I love my wife,” said Abdul Kareem Kalsekar, owner of the last Fiat Premier Padmini taxi on the roads of Mumbai. Sunday marked 20 years since the registration of his vehicle, and transport department rules mandate 20 years as the maximum permissible age limit for cabs in the city.
Mumbai, India - Oct. 29, 2023: A 'Premier Padmini' taxi in Mumbai, After 6 decades, Mumbai’s iconic ‘kaali peeli’ taxis wil go off roads from Monday, Oct. 30, 2023, giving way to newer models and app-based cab services in Mumbai, India, on Sunday, October 29, 2023. (Photo by Satish Bate/ Hindustan Times) (Hindustan Times)
The Premier Padmini was introduced as a cab in Mumbai in 1964, and their numbers kept increasing till October 29, 2003, the last day when these vehicles were registered as cabs.
Kareem too bought his taxi in 2003 for ₹1,70,000. He has a few fixed customers who travel to their workplaces in his cab every day and remains on the lookout for other passengers during the rest of the day. It’s a fuel intensive car, he says, requiring petrol of ₹500 to earn ₹1,000. But he is reluctant to shift to another vehicle.
“I love it when people see the taxi and are delighted. It’s a joy to drive around,” he says.
The Premier Padmini is his main source of income, which sustains his five-member family comprising his wife and three sons. He also has another taxi, which has been leased to another driver for ₹400 per day.
Kareem often receives queries for hiring the Premier Padmini for shoots and is paid ₹2,000 per day as rent. On Sunday too, he had a movie shoot scheduled at 5 pm.
These shoots are great sources of stories for Kareem. He recounts Katrina Kaif dancing on the roof of the car, Anil Kapoor taking a ride, and a Marathi actress whose name he can’t remember driving the car, even though he rarely allows others to drive his prized possession.
What will Kareem do now? His vehicle’s fitness certificate is till April 2024, and he will try to continue driving it around if he’s allowed to by the RTO, he says. If not, he might just switch to another vehicle, but unwillingly.
“It would be best if we could keep the vehicle for people to come and see, as well as take it for shoots. If the RTO gives us some money to maintain it and keep it in a pristine condition, it can continue being a joy for Mumbaikars and me,” he says.
According to Bharat Gothoskar, a historian from the Khaki Tours, the Padmini was one of the two cars manufactured in India in the 1970s; the other one was the Ambassador.
Hindustan Motors got the technology for the Padmini from the Italian automaker Fiat. But when Hindustan Motors’ fortunes plummeted after liberalisation, it stopped the manufacturing of the vehicle.
It’s clear the car delights people. Earlier this month, Kareem was offered a free service at Karfule, an 85-year-old petrol pump in Ballard Estate owned by Daniel Sequeira and his family.
“I’m a fan of all old things. I even have the meter box that used to be placed outside the taxis. So when I came across Kareem’s cab, I offered a free service and he was very happy. His vehicle was in perfectly good condition, if in need of a wash,” said Sequeira.
Referring to the Premier Padminis as “the moving monuments of the city,” he says there is little reason why they shouldn’t be allowed to ply for a few more years.
“The Padminis are simple and sturdy machines, without many electronic bells and whistles. They’re sustainable as well and buying a new vehicle requires a lot of resources,” said the petrol pump owner.
Gothoskar, on the other hand, wants the Padminis to be preserved in a museum. “It is an icon of the city and a design classic,” he notes.
For now, when Kareem’s taxi stays parked in Prabhadevi, on the western side, when he isn’t driving it around or taking it for shoots. If you ask him, he’ll narrate a mournful elegy for the car he considers his life and pride, and he’ll also show the makeshift seat belt he’s plastered on it to meet the new rules. He only wishes he could drive it for longer.
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