Mumbai revives its colonial charm. Actress Adah Sharma takes a ride on the Victoria carriage, which has now made a comeback as an electric buggy
Ismat Tahseen (BOMBAY TIMES; August 31, 2019)

They’ve been part of innumerable books as well as served as backdrops in yesteryear movies, adding a colonial charm to Bombay of yore. We’re referring to the beautiful horse-drawn Victoria carriages that operated in the city for close to a century. Four years ago, a ban citing animal cruelty forced them to withdraw and fade away into oblivion. Not for long. The carriages are back and how! Animal lovers can take heart from the fact that the revived carriages operate without horses. The new avatar as battery-operated, e-buggies are set to hit Mumbai streets on September 1. BT, however, could not wait and hopped on one before its official launch and got a first-hand experience of what it felt like to ride Victoria 2.0...

‘THE PLAN IS TO ROLL OUT 40 E-BUGGIES IN PHASE 1 IN THE CITY’
Imagine taking a leisurely ride on a comfortable buggy past the city’s iconic structures. As the colonial charm of South Mumbai unfolds before your eyes during the ride, an audio guide narrates the history of each heritage wonder. You can get off, stroll around and hop onto another e-buggy. Says Ketan Kadam, who along with actor Dino Morea, is responsible for the revival of the carriages, “The Victorias were once such a beautiful part of the city. We wanted to bring that charm back albeit in an e-buggy style.”

Ketan Kadam says, “You can just stop them anywhere and hop on and off at will. Unlike horse-drawn carriages, these electric buggies can navigate heavy traffic routes easily. The plan is to roll out 40 of them in Phase 1.”

While the e-buggies look like their predecessors, the feel is something else — they are a 2.0 version of the former. He explains, “The rides are equipped with a GPS-triggered audio tour, so when the carriage stops at a certain place, like Gateway of India, you choose your language and it will auto-narrate the history of the Gateway. There are also bluetooth speakers for riders to enjoy their kind of music.”

BUGGIES TO HIT SOBO FIRST
The e-buggy will initially cover lesser congested routes. Says Ketan, “The buggies will begin ferrying people in South Mumbai, which covers areas like the Gateway of India, Ballard Estate, Nariman Point, CSMT and Fountain. In the second phase, they may ply in Five Gardens, Dadar and Carter Road, Bandra.”

We caught the carriage on a rainy morning at CSMT, as it stood glistening in the early drizzle. Curiosity about the new buggy also got actress Adah Sharma to come across Town to clamber aboard one. “I was a part of the demonstration seeking a ban on horse-drawn carriages, as I was and continue to be against animal abuse. So, I am really excited to know that there will be e-buggies, which will not involve any cruelty against animals,” she said, adding with a glint in her eyes, “The electric buggy is also romantic; I’m going looking for someone to share a ride with me.”

MUMBAI’S ROMANCE WITH THE VICTORIA
Decades ago, the Victoria carriages were an intrinsic part of the cityscape. Says historian Deepak Rao, “The earlier Hack Victorias that operated in 1890s had licensed stands and were an important form of transport. People who came out of railway way stations hopped into them just like with a taxi stand today. They also had powerful big horses, not ponies. They had proper numbers on it. Remember Victoria Number 203, a movie that was made on it in the seventies? The carriage was part of the era of sheer romance in the city. Couples would ride in it and draw the hood over to enjoy some privacy. Over time, when the traffic increased in the city, the government decided to slowly stop their licensing. 1976 was the cut-off year for it and in that year, the Deputy Commissioner of Police, Traffic, under the authority given to him, stopped the licensing totally. This e-buggy is smaller, but it’s also a welcome innovation. And in a way, the new ones hark back to that old era.”