Kerala - Thiruvananthapuram   

An auto buff of a different kind

PROUD POSSESSION: Roshith has a collection of 1,400 Indian and foreign automobile magazines, catalogues and other promotional materials.

Thiruvananthapuram: What started as a passing interest in cars and bikes soon became an obsession for Roshith Chandran.

Today, this youngster employed at a city-based advertising agency boasts of a rich collection of literature on automobiles.

Roshith’s proud possession includes 1,400 Indian and foreign automobile magazines, catalogues and other promotional materials. The list keeps growing, as does the avid automobile buff’s knowledge on the latest developments in the automobile sector.

“I was only 12 when one of my father’s friends brought a copy of the Car & Bike International to our house. He was discussing something with my father on the cost of vehicles that came on the last page and as luck would have it, he forgot to take it back. I flipped through the pages and was immediately hooked. To think there were magazines in India just catering to people like me was like a dream come true,” he recalls.

From then on there was no looking back for Roshith. “I used to beg for money from my mother to buy auto magazines.

“Initially, she used to scold me for wasting money, but when she saw me reading the magazines from cover to cover, she relented. I kept my passion a secret from my strict father.”

Roshith traces the evolution of automobile magazines in India over the years. “In the early days, you just had Car & Bike International and The Indian Auto Jour nal. I used to scour second-hand book sellers for old magazines to add to my collection. Other than the coverage on Formula 1 and motor rallies, I read everything else with great zest and enthusiasm. I even started adding other literature on automobiles like manuals of popular models and handouts published by manufacturers. I constantly pestered relatives in foreign countries to get issues of Top Gear and other magazines. The oldest issue in my collection dates back to 1984.”

Roshith claims to have the entire collection including the first issues of all the auto magazines published from India.

“I also have quite a few issues of foreign magazines, which I get from Bangalore and from friends. The director of the ad agency I work for gave me a copy of the World Encyclopaedia of Cars for my house warming. I was so thrilled but my wife was not,” he says.

Roshith swells with pride when he is consulted on automobiles. “I am the ‘official auto consultant’ in my office and among my friends and am consulted for expert advice every time someone needs to buy a vehicle.”

His wife has grown used to her husband’s hobby though she resents his obsession with the books.

She complains that he is spending too much money on his hobby.

“She also keeps reminding me that the books are taking up a lot of space in our home.”

Roshith finds it quite interesting to note how sometimes magazines go wrong in their judgment.

He recalls how a certain magazine once carried a comparison test between Premier Padmini and the just launched Maruti 800 and declared the former the winner and even predicted doom for the latter.

“It feels nostalgic to read about road tests and reviews of cars and how some reports are so right and some so wrong,” he explains.

Roshith is planning to catalogue his growing collection and store them.

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