Trusted companion, the Tata L1210

some years later, during his travels, finds the youngest of three daughters dancing in a local show. She is part of a local troupe, which does not bode well in terms of values. He finds out from her that her elder sister lost her mental balance and committed suicide after he left. Her mother died of shock. Gerulal rushes to the house to find the elder sister played by Sharmila Tagore. She looks elder than she actually is. He takes her with him. All along the movie, and through out the emotional journey of Gerulal – the truck driver, the Tata L1210 makes a trusted companion.

Introduced in the mid- 60s in collaboration with DaimlerBenz AG of Germany, the L1210 became very popular with truckers. Its unique design of the truck had the round headlights placed in their shells ahead of the wheel mudguard. Between the two mudguards was a long bonnet with the OM 312 engine under it. Located longitudinally, the 4.6- litre fourcylinder diesel engine produced 110 hp of power, and was mated to a five- speed transmission. Brakes were service hydraulic assisted by single chamber air pressure booster. Steering was of the recirculating ball type. Suspension was made up of semi- elliptic silicon- manganese leaf springs with hydraulic telescopic shock absorbers. The front had 12 leaves; rear had wider and thicker 10 main leaves and seven auxiliary leaves.