Forty years ago, in April 1992, our city acquired a new name: it became known worldwide as the City of Joy. Notwithstanding the 16th century label Kolikata, to the British Calcutta, and today’s Kolkata, it’s the ‘City of Joy’ tag that has stood the test of time.

And we have to thank French author Dominique Lapierre for this moniker, which he felt described best the spirit of our citizens to be joyous and find enjoyment in all things despite a billion adversities. A great humanist and brilliant writer, plus a global traveler, he was till recently a regular visitor to our city. His work with and for Mother Teresa and the great Swiss caregiver Gaston Grandjean are unparalleled.
In this tribute to Lapierre, I want to tell you about his mad love for cars and all things automotive, from his childhood. Me and my friends, and many of my generation, grew up on his books. His efforts for our city’s under-privileged are astonishing. His book is also the famous 1992 film.

Childhood Bug
Lapierre was six years old when on his birthday, he received a Torpedo pedal car. He was ecstatic. He describes his gift as his first experience of that magical feeling of wrapping his hands around a steering wheel. It was a magic that stayed with him for life, though all the torpedo could do was be driven furiously along tracks and embankments, and not the road.
At the same time, his visits to his grandfather exposed him to the cars owned by uncle which he adored and dreamt about. Both were American two seater convertibles. One was a dual tone blue Hupmobile. The other was a pale green Chevrolet. Shining chrome headlights, gleaming radiator grilles, long trumpet horns, running boards, painted fender mounted spare wheels – the cars mesmerised the young Lapierre. But what mesmerised him the most was that the two cars had a ‘box’ at the back that opened up to produce two seats with backrest. Called a ‘rumble seat’ in USA, a ‘dicky’ in UK and a ‘spider’ in his birthplace of France, his childhood rides in the ‘spider’ ensured his addiction to all things automotive.

As a child, when he learnt that two young men had driven a car from Paris to Saigon in Vietnam, in an ancient Ford convertible and on a shoestring budget, all to write a book on it - he decided this was the life he wished to lead. Childhood stays with families with cars that didn’t move became his best memories - at least he could sit in a car and grip a steering wheel for imaginary trips!

First adventures
His life really changed at 14, when his mother bought him a 1923 Nash convertible that (you guessed it) didn’t run. It was a graceful American giant, suitable for their home in the USA where his father then worked. Lapierre, secretly, mined junkyards for missing parts for the Nash, and over a period of two years collected enough components, and the support of a genius of a mechanic, to restore and bring that car back to life.
This earned him a sound beating from his mother, but his parents finally relented. His first adventure was a trip on American highways with his friends, during which they painted letter boxes to earn enough money to keep them going. In fact, thanks to newspaper reports on them, communities and families came out into the street and invited them to paint their letter boxes. Lapierre and friends were heroes, thanks to their car!

More car craziness
This he followed up with a 5,000 mile drive from Paris to Ankara in a 5CV Amilcar, a miniscule French motor that often had to be driven in reverse to go up hills. He and his friend D. Fremy became celebrities.
On his wedding, he purchased a 1938 Chrysler convertible (much like his childhood Hupmobile and Chevrolet) in the USA; after the ceremony the young couple went on a 4,500 mile honeymoon drive across USA and Mexico. It was the stuff of legend.

Indian saga
His Indian adventure is especially memorable. He went to buy a Rolls-Royce but the company refused to sell him one. He then, under advice from Lord Mountbatten, purchased an old Silver Cloud model, landed it in Mumbai, and proceeded to drive it to Delhi. At the capital, the engine started making noises. A venerable Sikh technician at British Garage in New Delhi overhauled the engine to such perfection that even Lapierre couldn’t hear it when it was restarted. The magnificent car then proceeded to travel 6300-plus miles across Afghanistan, rest of Asia and Europe to France. Lapierre calls it the greatest of his highway adventures.
In the meantime, he had also managed to drive thousands of miles in a Simca across the former USSR, a Communist dictatorship that very rarely allowed foreigners to travel by road. Here too, he was saved by miraculously talented technicians.

Adventurer with a heart
Lapierre is truly a great in many dimensions: as a writer; as an automobile loving adventurer; and as a care giver to the under-privileged. His work and contribution across continents makes him an unforgettable character.