‘Delhi’s Fatfatia’! The Jugadi imagination of the Indian people has gone beyond the veil of time

There have been a few vehicles in Indian automobile history, which directly took the form of a culture due to their unique design and necessity. The ‘Fatfatia’ vehicle that ran on the roads of Delhi a few decades ago falls into this category. Although these vehicles have disappeared from the roads today, they were a mainstay of Delhi’s public transport in the 20th century.

Legacy of the Great War and Jugad

The story of Fatfatia begins with the end of World War II. After the World War, the American Army had abandoned its very powerful and heavy motorcycles like ‘Harley Davidson’ and ‘Indian Chief’ in India. The engines of these cars were very powerful. A local mechanic in Delhi decided to use these exotic motorcycles to make a crazy stunt.

‘Ghantagadi’ started from ‘this’ city in Maharashtra! Here is the interesting thing about the hourglass!

He kept the front part of this motorcycle i.e. the handle and the engine and removed the rear wheel and welded a large iron or wooden trolley that could seat 7 to 8 passengers. Thus a 2-wheeler bike was converted into a 3-wheeler public transport vehicle.

‘Ftftia‘ Interesting history of the name

Whatever the original name of this vehicle, Delhiites named it ‘Fatfatiya’ or ‘Fatfati’ after its sound. This car used to have an engine of more than 750 cc. When this train would run down the road carrying passengers, a very loud and distinct sound would come out of its silencer. The sound was so famous that even without seeing the car, people knew where it was coming from. These trains used to run in large numbers on the route from Connaught Place to Old Delhi.

Necessity is the mother of invention! This is the indigenous ‘supervehicle’ of the fishermen of Tamil Nadu! This is the story of the ‘Mean Body Vandy’ three-wheeler

A history behind the curtain of time

Through the 1980s and 1990s, Fatfatia provided cheap and fast services to Delhiites. However, due to the 2-stroke engine, these cars emitted huge amounts of smoke and caused noise pollution. Due to increasing pollution and considering the safety of passengers, the Supreme Court banned these vehicles completely around 1998.

Although the Fatfatia is no longer seen on the roads of Delhi today, it has an indelible place in old movies and automobile history. This rickshaw made for the common man using a world-class luxury bike is considered a wonderful example of Indian ingenuity.