A black 1933 Humber stands forgotten in a glass case at the Uttarayan Complex in Santiniketan, its days of wandering firmly over. It is one of the two Humber sedans that was originally bought by Rathindranath, the bard's elder son and gifted to his father.

In 1938, Rathindranath, who went on to be the first Upacharya or Vice-Chancellor of Visva Bharati returned from the United States after completing his studies in Agricultural Science from Illinois. In the same year, Rathindranath purchased two identical 1933 Humber sedans for 400 pounds each. One of the two cars was kept at Tagore's ancestral home in Jorasanko and the other was taken to Viswa Bharati. Rabindranath Tagore would go around the campus in this very 1933 Humber. In those days, this was the only motorised vehicle in Santiniketan and hence, a centre of much attraction.

The Humber, though not a high end car was preferred because it had more ground clearance than other British cars like Rover, Hilman or Austin and suitable both for the rural roads of Birbhum and also Jorasanko which faced problems of water-logging. Also it had considerable leg space and passengers sitting at the back could stretch their legs. Remember, the bard towered over the rest in the literal sense as well.

But today, the old beauty has remained grounded since the last few decades. The lack of use and maintenance had rendered several parts of the car useless. In its present condition, several components of the car have to be replaced. On several and much publicised occasions, Viswa Bharati authorities expressed their desire to restore the vintage car but not much progress has been made in the direction. One of the reasons might be the paucity of funds.

According to experts who had a look at the car, the carburettor, distributor and the two pistons have gone missing. This car is undoubtedly, a priceless Tagore relic, particularly, after the loss of the Nobel medallion. The Humber has not only carried the Nobel laureate, but its plush upholstered interiors have had passengers like Subhas Chandra Bose, Mahatma Gandhi, Jawaharlal Nehru and CF Andrews among others.

Humber & Co Limited
Humber Limited was a British manufacturer of bicycles, motorcycles and motor vehicles incorporated and listed on the stock exchange in 1887. It took the name Humber & Co Limited because of the high reputation of the products of one of the constituent businesses that had belonged to Thomas Humber. A financial reconstruction in 1899 transferred its business to Humber Limited.

From an interest in motor vehicles beginning in 1896, the motor division became much more important than the cycle division and the cycle trade marks were sold to Raleigh in 1932. The motorcycles were withdrawn from sale during the depression of the 1930s.

Humber is now a dormant marque for automobiles as well as cycles. Following their involvement in Humber through Hillman in 1928 the Rootes brothers acquired 60 per cent of Humber's ordinary capital, sufficient for a controlling interest. The two Rootes brothers joined the Humber board in 1932 and began to make Humber the holding company for vehicle manufacturing members of what became their Rootes Group.

By 1960 annual production was around 200,000 vehicles. Previous insistence on Rootes family control, however, may have led to under-capitalisation of the business. Building a brand new car, the Hillman Imp, proved beyond Humber and Rootes Group resources and their businesses were bought by the Chrysler Corporation in 1967.