Calcutta HC advocate takes 'silicone parents' on Sunday spin around town on faux vintage car
Times of India | 6 January 2025
KOLKATA: A Calcutta High Court advocate, who has got life-sized silicone statues of his parents after their death, hired a faux vintage car and took their likenesses for a ride around the city on Sunday afternoon, attracting curious glances from onlookers.
Their stops included some well-known Kolkata landmarks: Kumartuli Ghat, Victoria Memorial, the Maidan, a football club, an orphanage in Bagbazar, even a stop at the iconic Dacres Lane for a spot of lunch - all the places the family would go together during winters when the advocate, now in his mid-40s, was a boy.
"Every winter, my dad used to take us out for a ride, and it was so much fun," recalled Samit Kumar Dutta, 48. His father, Arun Kumar Dutta, was a govt civil engineer who passed away on July 27, 2022, aged 77. His mother, Hena Dutta, had passed away in 1985, when she was just 44.
Samit was accompanied by his daughter Suryatapa (15) and elder brother Amit Kumar Dutta (54) during the Sunday afternoon ride around the city.
The faux vintage car used for the ride is usually taken on rent for weddings for Rs 25,000 for 10 hours. The life-size statues were placed on the left of the convertible car's rear seat, "tied to the seat to prevent them from damage in case the car jerked," Samit told TOI, even as he kept answering questions from curious passers-by, constantly acceding to groupfie requests.
The hired car was decked up with seasonal flowers for the ride that started from the Duttas' Behala Thakurpukur home around 10am. It was no surprise that their first stop - Kumartuli Ghat, around 18km away - took around two-and-a-half hours. "At every red light and major crossing, we faced gatherings, queries and selfie requests," said Amit, a PWD engineer. "We also visited a football club in north Kolkata, where my father was once a member."
'Trip was to honour parents' memory'
Metiabruz resident Md Aftab, who was at the wheel, said he never saw anything like this. "I have been driving people around for more than 40 years, but I've never seen anything like this," he said.
Around 3pm, the family stopped at Dacres Lane for a lunch break after a visit to the Maidan and Victoria Memorial. "The ride was exciting, and I loved clicking pictures with people along the way," said Suryatapa.
The car then turned north for its final stop: an orphanage in Bagbazar, to distribute winter garments and skincare products. The Duttas returned to Behala around 8.15pm, having covered about 65km.
Dutta had unveiled his father's silicone statue on June 18, 2023, International Father's Day, followed by his mother's likeness. For him, Sunday's trip was just a way for him to honour his mother's memory. "It was my dad who brought me back on track after I suffered a severe cerebral attack in 2012," he said.