Hyderabad Hues XV: Sudha Car Museum

If someone asked me what is the most innovative and creative place in Hyderabad – I would say go to Sudha Car Museum. It is whacky, it is crazy, it is funny and most importantly it is original. I do not know of any other similar collection, and if Guinness Book Records and Limca Book Records are anything to go by, it is probably one of it’s kind. Again, it is one of those gems of this city that few know about and fewer have seen.

As you enter this non-descript building close to the Nehru Zoo, you would see a giant tri-cycle with a Guinness record certificate stating that it is the largest tri-cycle in the world. You would see some whacky stuff outside the museum too like funky benches, insects made from auto parts and a workshop behind it. Enter the museum and you would be at least smiling if not laughing at the whacky cars. For some like toilet seat car or bat car you may wonder where the driver would sit and where are all the controls. Most cars have neatly hidden controls, so what you see is a model object be a football or a cricket ball, a bed or a dining table, a beinjal, a fountain pen, a helmet, a computer, a cup and even a Shivalinga, but it actually is a running and working car that can be driven at speeds which are perfect for city driving. Read the writings on the wall and they will tell you that all these creations are in working condition. A video film actually shows the models in working condition.

There are some vintage cars lookalikes too that have been created from usual cars and displayed. A small information board tells about the car, it’s year of making, body type and the time taken to create it.  You see the basic Maruti car in an unrecognizable Avatar. There is Rolls Royce on fiat engine. Some cars were made to commemorate an event like a car in the shape of a long cricket bat for Cricket world cup in 2007, some for a social cause like a condom shaped car for World AIDS day. 

The cars made me visualize what if we do not have to move around in mass-produced cars or vehicles and our individual cars could be designed as we liked, how bright and brilliant our roads would be. Imagine choosing your own style, your own color, your own size and shape and proudly displaying it to others. I know in our lifetime it is a fantasy, but you never know when the era of mass-production changes to era of custom made. After all these trends move around in cycles.

Till my fantasy comes true, please visit this amazing museum, where the creativity is at display in every corner and sometimes it can pass the spark to you too. This place deserves a much better placement in the Hyderabad landscape. To this place properly keep about 2-3 hours with you.