The Photograph That Speaks a Thousand Words
Preserved within the fragile, aged pages of a family album — its red leather cover worn by decades of careful keeping — rest black-and-white photographs of remarkable historical significance. One, shown above, captures the Dodge from the front — the chrome grille, the rounded headlamps, and most importantly, the number plate bearing “VASAVAD 1” in bold letters. Another photograph from the same album carries a handwritten caption, penned in careful English:
“Grand Mother with Dodge Car with ‘S.S. Vasavad 1’ Red Board Number Plate in the Background.”
The Talukdar's Automobile
Mu. Va. Shri Prabhashankar Rajaram Desai, Talukdar of Vasavad, was among the few estate holders in Kathiawar to own an imported motor vehicle. The car — a Dodge, manufactured by the Dodge Brothers Motor Vehicle Company of Detroit, Michigan — was prized across the Indian subcontinent for its exceptional durability. Unlike the more delicate European motorcars that struggled with India's unpaved roads and monsoon conditions, the Dodge was celebrated for its hardiness and ease of maintenance — qualities that made it well-suited to the dusty, often-rugged roads of Saurashtra.
Importing a Dodge to Vasavad in the 1930s or 1940s was no small undertaking. The vehicle would have been ordered through a British trading house in Bombay, shipped by steamship from the United States through the Suez Canal into the Arabian Sea, cleared through customs at the Port of Bombay, transported by rail to the nearest major station — likely Junagadh or Rajkot — and driven or transported the remaining distance to Vasavad. Its arrival in the estate would have been a community event, remembered for years across the district.
The Red Number Plate: “S.S. Vasavad 1”
In British India, the colour of a vehicle's number plate carried precise, legally codified meaning. White plates were issued for private vehicles. Yellow plates denoted commercial vehicles. But a red number plate was reserved exclusively for vehicles belonging to or under the authority of the state apparatus or a recognised ruler. It was the automotive equivalent of a royal seal.
For Shri Prabhashankar Desai, a recognised Talukdar under British suzerainty, the red plate was a formal acknowledgement of his governmental standing. His vehicle was not merely a private conveyance — it was an instrument of state. Every official, constable, and citizen who saw that plate knew instantly: this vehicle belongs to the Talukdar.
The “1” designation is perhaps the most telling detail. Number 1 was the premier registration — the first vehicle registered under a given jurisdiction. To hold “Vasavad 1” meant that Shri Prabhashankar Desai was the first person in Vasavad's jurisdiction to register a motor vehicle. The prefix “S.S.” most likely stands for “Saurashtra State” — the administrative designation for vehicles registered within the princely jurisdictions of the Kathiawar peninsula.
In a time before telephones or rapid transport infrastructure, the sight of a red-plated automobile bearing “Vasavad 1” approaching any checkpoint or district headquarters communicated, without a single word, the presence of established authority.
The End of an Era
India's independence in 1947 brought seismic changes. Under Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel's leadership, the princely states of Saurashtra were integrated into the Indian Union. The Saurashtra State was formally constituted in 1948, merged into Bombay State in 1956, and became part of Gujarat in 1960. The privy purses that sustained the Talukdar families were abolished in 1971 by the 26th Constitutional Amendment.
Post-independence India imposed severe restrictions on automobile imports. The foreign exchange crisis of the 1950s and 1960s made imported cars virtually impossible to obtain. The magnificent machines that had graced the driveways of India's aristocracy — Dodges, Packards, Buicks — became stranded artefacts. Spare parts were unavailable. Skilled mechanics aged and retired. One by one, these vehicles fell silent.
The Woman in the Photograph
The lady standing before the Dodge is Mu. Va. Shrimati Kanchanben, known as Chanduba and lovingly called Ba — wife of Mu. Va. Shri Prabhashankar Rajaram Desai, the last formally recognised Talukdar of Vasavad under the princely state system. Photographed in the family compound, she stands with quiet dignity before the machine that represented everything modern and prestigious in her era.
Behind her, the Dodge with its “VASAVAD” plate is more than a car. It is a declaration of precedence — the first, the foremost, the leader. It is a mark of sovereignty, a testament to global reach, and a family legacy preserved across decades in a battered red album, now shared with the generation that inherits both the pride and the responsibility of remembering.
Vasavad 1. First in Vasavad. First in the memory of those who came after.