Double-decker-obsessed hobbyist seeks to buy vehicle

Yatin S Angare and his double-decker collection at his residence in Dahisar East on Friday. Pics/Anurag Ahire

Yatin S Angare's face lights up like a child's at the mention of double-decker buses and, to some extent, trains. The 46-year-old's two-storey mansion opposite Dahisar railway station is a veritable depot for model double-decker buses of almost every class in the world as well as literature and loads of old cuttings on the vehicles. The man himself is into crafting precise-looking models of every double-decker that ever plied in Mumbai. But the hobbyist feels his collection is doomed to remain incomplete unless it includes an authentic one.

Ever since he heard that the city's iconic double-deckers were on their last legs two years ago, Angare has been distraught. The transport undertaking usually auctions off buses in bulk to scrap dealers, as per established procedures, and Angare did everything in his capacity to buy a vehicle from a scrap dealer in 2021 but in vain. This time, he is determined to get his hands on a double-decker.

"Who can help me? I have been making rounds at bus depots and meeting various managers to get more information. Will politicians help? Can I get one directly from the BEST? I do not want to miss an opportunity to get at least one double-decker bus and I am willing to pay for it," Angare told mid-day. "I have made parking arrangements and will not put it to commercial use. It will be my family vehicle and I will use it with my friends. It will be my pride," he added.

Angare's younger brother Jitendra said the entire family supported Yatin and every member had become fans of double-deckers thanks to his obsession. "Double-deckers are the spark of his life and he cannot stop talking about them. We are now creating precise models of double-deckers of every class that has operated in Mumbai using a 3D printer and even the smallest deviation from their original design leads to the rejection of the piece," Jitendra said.

Rekha Suresh Angare, the siblings' mother, said, "We have always been a double-decker family. Yatin was born in Cooper hospital, which was on the double-decker bus route and his obsession has existed ever since he gained his senses. The old bhopu horns of those buses used to make him stop crying and as he grew up, his obsession only grew stronger. Now his passion is ours, too. Every small toy, image or piece of stationery related to double-deckers he found, he used to get home. Due to his hobby, I also started bus-watching and used to tell him about the different kinds of buses that I used to spot on my way home. As he grew, he learnt to drive, procured a bus badge and drove a double-decker bus himself. Such is his passion."

Angare recalled, "When I was a child, I spotted a small double-decker candy box when the family went to the beach. I started crying as I wanted it, but I received a sound trashing from my parents. Subsequently, my mother got it for me and I was happy. But I have to say that my hobby has been nourished by the support of my parents and family."

His 16-year-old son Parth, a keen observer of the collection, has learnt all his father's rules. "While Yatin is away, even if there is a small tilt or turn in the double-decker bus showcase, Yatin spots it on returning and asks who had touched the collection," said Jitendra. Most double-deckers and vintage BEST vehicles are lined up for scrap at BEST's Anik depot, signalling the end of an era.

Introduced in Bombay in 1937 to cope with the growing number of passengers, the vehicles - built on the lines of the red double-decker buses in London - were a smash hit from day one. Double-deckers had been quietly vanishing from the cityscape with the fleet diminishing from 227 in April 2006 to 60 by December 2020. As of June 2023, only 25 are still in service.

25
No of double-deckers on city roads