A few days ago vintage motor vehicles which were in use in the fifties, sixties and seventies paraded through the streets around the Jaffna Public Library displaying their immaculate running condition and the manner those  vehicles maintained by their owners.

It is important to note that those vehicles were not only well kept for the past seventy to sixty years, but they were also well protected during the turbulent period in the North and East which had lasted for nearly four decades.

The vintage motor vehicles were very much the European models and several of them not even run on the streets of the countries where they were manufactured.

Jaffna men are always very particular about the maintenance of whatever they have in their possession, including the bicycles. The Jaffna men had pedaled even bicycles made in London and the famous among them was `Raleigh’ a popular brand in England in the good old days.

Not only the bicycles, even the motor cars and lorries. They also used European model scooters and motor cycles such as Vespa, Triumph, BSA and Lambretta.

In the good old days Jaffna men always went for the best when they purchased anything.

So the parade of the vintage vehicles in Jaffna a few days ago had highlighted how the present day generation Jaffna men maintained the vintage vehicles which were in use by their fathers as well as their grandfathers and great fathers.

The original owners of those vintage models would have been no more living in Jaffna, but it is praiseworthy to see their kith and kin of present generation preserve those vehicles and keep them in mint condition as a tribute to their forefathers.

The motor cars which were on parade on the streets of Jaffna were mainly the English models which were imported to then Ceylon during the British period. The motor vehicles which were in display were Somerset, Morris Minor, A-40, Morris Oxford, Volkswagen, Peugeot, Mercedes Benz , Mini Moke  and the fiat models of various series belonged to the by gone era.

The vintage cars were not only in perfect shape without a single scratch, but their engines were also in sound condition along with their interior seats. Some of the seats were also found to be made of good leather and well kept.

The display of the vintage model vehicles in Jaffna had also created a mind blowing impression to realise how they were protected and kept safely during the turbulent days in Jaffna.

According to several owners of those vintage models, their protection during the civil strife period remained a challenging task as the gun totting Tamil militants were forcibly taking those vehicles from the some owners and using them for their various types of activities such as to transport their men and materials to the spots they intended to engage in battles and to go for robberies in Banks and to kidnap the affluent of those days to extract money.

Some of the car owners had even shifted their vehicles out of Northern Province and kept them in the safe custody of their friends and relatives who lived in other provinces in the Island. 

Those who didn’t have the opportunity of taking their vehicles out of Jaffna had even removed the vital parts of the vehicles such as the tires and made their vehicles temporarily not in running condition.

On the other hand with the escalation of the civil strife in Jaffna, the motor spare parts shops were also compelled to be closed down due to the difficulties in bringing down the spare parts from Colombo.

In the meantime severe shortages also prevailed in the supply of fuel items such as petrol, diesel and other lubricants.

However with the end of the civil strife in 2009, the vintage vehicles were `re-born’ in Jaffna with their owners making them roadworthy with the relevant repairs carried out.  

The vintage models which were in negligence were refurbished with spare parts available for them and they were also repainted to their original colors.

So the parade of the vintage motor vehicles a few days ago in Jaffna not only had highlighted their marvelous running condition but also outlined the success story of their owners who had strived hard to safeguard those vehicles as their family members and made them road worthy in mint condition.