City athlete P.G. Sathyanarayana who ran with Milkha Singh — A flashback

Records, All, Sports
P. G. Sathyanarayana with his medals which he won at various athletic championships during his younger days.
P. G. Sathyanarayana with his medals which he won at various athletic championships during his younger days.

by SOM Sports Correspondent

India’s pride athlete Milkha Singh nicknamed the ‘Flying Sikh,’ has been our country’s flag-bearer by winning international acclaim with his performances in the Olympics, Asian, Commonwealth and International and National meets.

The Flying Sikh held centre stage with his brilliant performances in the International scene. In 1956-57, Milkha had just then started to make an impression in the National scene when he gave some splendid performances in the National meets.

In 1956-57, the Indian National Athletics camp was organised in Bangalore for the preparation of the Asian Championships. At the camp were National champion Makkan Singh, Milkha Singh and six other athletes.

As the camp was held in Bangalore, a trial was held at the Sampangi Stadium (now called Sree Kanteerava Stadium) cinder track. Mysore lad and 16- year-old youngster P.G. Sathyanarayana, a X std. student at Hardwicke High school, Mysore, who was a budding and upcoming athlete in the State, had gone for training to Bangalore under his coach C.M. Muthaiah.

His coach C.M. Muthaiah and then Karnataka State Athletic Association, Secretary, Chikkapapaiah, seeing this boy’s excellent performance asked him also to take the trials along with 7 other athletes.

Sathyanarayana, the 16-year- old lad was surprised with the call, but listened to his coach’s orders and agreed to take part in the trials. He was to run the 400m race as a time trial. The qualifying time for the selection to the Indian team was 49.00s. Sathyanarayana’s career best timing was also 49.00s.

Sathyanarayana’s coach told him that he was pitted against Milkha Singh (who was just making his mark in the National level) and asked him to give his best, to which Sathyanarayana replied, “Even if world champion Otis Davis is running with me, I am not worried, I will go all out and give my best.” Such was his confidence level. When Milkha Singh arrived on to the lane, he asked Sathyanarayana in Hindi ‘Kounsi Lane Chahiye?’ to which the soft spoken Sathyanarayana said “any lane.”

The Race of his life

Milkha was allotted the second lane and Sathyanarayana took the first lane. The race turned out be a historic one in Sathyanarayana’s life which he and the spectators who had assembled at the stadium couldn’t forget.

The race started and both the athletes busted off the blocks and ran at a good pace, matching each other’s strides meter-to-meter. The first curve saw both of them at a very close distance and up to the last 100m both were on equal terms.

Sathyanarayana with his excellent strides matched Milkha Singh stride by stride and kept everyone at awe with his performance, matching the great Sikh and also threatening to beat him. The last 75m, both were running together, with Milkha murmuring “Sala Bhagh Raha Hai.”

The last 25m of the race was nail-biting and it saw the Flying Sikh sprint like a cheetah and he beat the youngster to emerge as the winner, with Sathyanarayana finishing not far behind. Both Milkha Singh and Sathyanarayana qualified with timings of 47:00s and 47:09s respectively.

Sathyanarayana’s coach C. M. Muthaiah, who was the time keeper came and hugged him and informed him about his qualification. After the race was over Milkha Singh kept staring at this youngster who ran a great race and matched him step-by-step.

Sathyanarayana was overjoyed with his performance and was informed by the then Karnataka State Athletic Association Secretary, Chikkapapaiah, that he has been selected for the Indian camp to be held at Patiala, and has to come and confirm his availability by next week.

Sathyanarayana, was encouraged a lot by his school Principal Sanath Kumar. He was to appear for the SSLC exams that year. His mother late. Kamalamma, wanted him to concentrate on studies and asked him to forego the camp. His father late. P Ganapathy supported P.G. Sathyanarayana and told him that it is a rare opportunity and asked him to utilise it.

Ultimately, Sathyanarayana decided to concentrate on studies and did not attend the camp. I A great opportunity lost for this Mysore lad. Who knows? He could also have worn the India colours, but it was not to be, it was destiny. It was a missed opportunity, which Sathyanarayana repents till date.

About P.G.Sathyanarayana P.G. Sathyanarayana, 75, is a resident at Chamaraja Mohalla. Born to P.Ganapathy and Kamalamma, he had three brothers. His inclination towards athletics was encouraged by his elder brother P.G.Govindaraj who was also his first coach.

He represented Hardwicke High school, Mysore in the Subbakrishna Memorial Middle School City-level Athletic meets and emerged champion in the 100m and Long Jump events. In the High School level, he took part in the Silver Jubilee Inter- School Sports meet in 1954-56 and won medals.

He used to visit Bangalore once in a week and take tips and work out schedules from his coach C.M. Muthaiah. In Mysore, he trained under the supervision of Ambareesh. He was also helped by Lakshman Rao Jagtap ( Railway athlete).

Sathyanarayana joined D. Banumiah’s College for his PU. After PU, during his degree course at Yuvaraja’s College, he got a job at P & T, Mysore on Sports Quota in 1961 and discontinued his studies. He represented Mysore State from 1957 to 1963. He married Nirmala in 1968 and has three children.

Sathyanarayana retired as a Post Master from Devaraja Mohalla Post Office in 1996.

He is happy with his achievement in athletics, but still rues the lost opportunity of representing the country.

He took up to officiating in athletics in 1975-76 and has officiated in State, National and International athletic meets. He competed in the Veteran’s Athletic meet in 1990 in the 45-plus group and won medals. He took up to administration and is presently the Hon. Secretary of the Mysore District Masters Athletic Association.

Memories do not die and many people who watched him in action will not forget the great race he ran at the Sampangi Indoor stadium. We salute this feat of his and wish that youngsters take the cue and upstage such feats in the days to come.

source: http://www.starofmysore.com / Star of Mysore / Home> Sports News / November 08th, 2013

MP H. Vishwanath presents Kannada Ratna awards

Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Records, All

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Mysore :

The government has sanctioned Rs. 5 lakh for the construction of Kannada Bhavana in city.

This was disclosed by MP H. Vishwanath while speaking after presenting Kannada Ratna awards to 35 Kannada activists at a programme organised as part of Kannada Rajyotsava by the Dasara Exhibition Cultural Sub-Committee at P. Kalinga Rao Gana Mantapa at Exhibition Grounds here recently.

Vishwanath said that the government has envisaged several schemes for the promotion of Kannada in the State. He lauded the services of the Kannada activists who vociferously spear- headed Kannada movements unlike the senior litterateurs with a lot of intellectual finesse.

The Kannada Ratna awardees were felicitated on the occasion. MLA M.K. Somashekar presided. Sub-Committee President Biligiri Ranganath, Vice-President Latha Siddaranga Shetty, District KSP President M. Chandrashekar and others were present.

List of awardees: H. Vishwanath, A.T. Ranganath, S.L. Nagaraj, G. Hanumantha Shetty, Chandrashekaraiah, M.B. Doddegowda, Thayur Vitthal Muthy, Mugur Nanjundaswamy, S.S. Shastri, C. Sampath, M.B. Vishwanath, M.P. Anandakumar, N. Vanaraju, H.K. Ananth Palahalli Ramakrishna, Dr. T. Bharadwajan, K. Raghuram, M.N. Gopalkrishna, R. Ranganath, S. Murali, C. Srinivasa Gowda, M. Jayaprakash, G. Balasubramanya, G.S. Bhoganandish, Gubbigoodu Ramesh, B.A. Shivashankar, M.P. Jnanamurthy, K. Satyappa, H. Rajneesh, Abdul Ghani, K. Madesh, Nataraj, Mohankumar Gowda, Balakrishna and Nalabeedi Ravi.

source: http://www.starofmysore.com / Star of Mysore / Home> General News / November 08th, 2013

Tipu Sultan sadbhavana yatra begins from city

Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Historical Links, Pre-Independence, Leaders, Records, All

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Mysore :

Marking the birth anniversary of Tipu Sultan (Nov. 10), a Sadbhavana Yatra from Mysore to Bangalore began here this morning.

The yatra was launched from the Town Hall premises by MP A.H. Vishwanath in the presence of Sir Khazi of Mysore Moulana Mohammed Usman Shariff, Prof. Bhashyam Swamiji of Sri Yoganarasimha Swamy temple, Tipu Sultan Sadbhavana Yatra Committee President Mohammed Ali and others. The yatra will pass through the thoroughfares of city before proceeding to the tomb of Tipu Sultan at Gumbaz in Srirangapatna, where special prayers would be offered to the tomb.

Later the yatra would proceed through Mandya, Channapatna, Ramanagar to Bangalore and reach Ravindra Kalakshetra on J.C. Road where Chief Minister Siddharamaiah would receive the Yatra Jyothi.

MLAs Tanveer Sait and M.K. Somashekar, former Corporator M.Shivanna, Showkath Ali Khan and others took part in the yatra function.

source: http://www.starofmysore.com /

First he fought the British, then battled for his pension

Historical Links, Pre-Independence, Records, All
Bengaluru:
He sacrificed his youth fighting for India’s independence against the British rule and went to jail on several occasions, including the ‘Quit India Movement’; The autumn of his life he had to fight brought a different struggle -— a series of legal battles against government authorities to get his discontinued pension restored.
After being a part of historic freedom struggle, H.B. Kolyappa, who is currently in his mid-nineties and resides in Chitradurga, had to literally fight the ‘system’ to prove that he was a genuine freedom fighter, to avail his ‘discontinued’ pension given to freedom fighters.
Kolyappa emerged winner only after his third round of legal battle against the authorities, who had discontinued his freedom fighters pension. The high court directed the authorities to continue the pension within six weeks.
The freedom fighter had approached the court seeking directions to the authorities to continue the payment of freedom fighters pension. He had claimed before the court of having participated in the ‘Quit India Movement’ in the year 1942 and also in ‘Mysore Chalo Movement’ in 1947. After taking all this into consideration Kolyappa was awarded freedom fighters pension.
However, in the year 2009, the authorities concerned intimated the office of the Accountant General (A & E) Karnataka, to cancel and recover the pension granted to the petitioner.
The authorities had stated that the nature of the claim made by Kolyappa was not admissible. He had produced the ‘co-prisoner’s certificate’ of Bellary Siddamma, ex-MLA on the ground of non-availability of records and certificate. Kolyappa then approached the high court, but his petition was dismissed.
In the second round of legal battle, he filed an appeal and after careful consideration, the division bench allowed his appeal while directing the authorities to continue the pension. However, the state government authorities felt that it is was a proper case for re-verification.  A notice was issued to the petitioner in this regard and since the petitioner did not produce any satisfactory document to support his claim, the authorities declined to restore the pension.
However he did not lose heart and approached the court for the third time. This time the court stated, “When a positive direction had been issued by a division bench of this court to restore the pension, the observation made in the communication dated that despite the said order, the claim of the petitioner does not appear to be genuine, cannot be countenanced by this court inasmuch as the same would amount to an attempt by the state authorities as well as the respondent authorities to overreach the decision of this court.”
“Since the division bench has already issued a direction to restore the honorarium — the freedom fighters pension to the petitioner, the order shall be followed by the respondents as expeditiously as possible, but not later than six weeks from the date of receipt of a copy of this order,” the court ordered.
source: http://www.deccanchronicle.com / Deccan Chronicle / Home> News> Current Affairs / DC / by Shashiprasad S.M / November 10th, 2013

CFTRI’s chapati-maker wins ‘Engineering Marvel’ award

Business & Economy, Records, All, Science & Technology
CFTRI Scientist Dr. B. S. Sridhar (right) receiving the Engineering Excellence Award from the guest at a function held in New Delhi recently.
CFTRI Scientist Dr. B. S. Sridhar (right) receiving the Engineering Excellence Award from the guest at a function held in New Delhi recently.

Mysore :

The Continuous Automatic Chapati Machine designed by the Engineers of CSIR-Central Food Technological Research Institute, Mysore was the jury’s choice for the ‘Most Impactful Engineering Marvel’ for the Engineering Excellence Awards (EEA) 2013.

The EEA awards instituted by Engineering Watch Magazine, the prestigious engineering journal, are given in recognition of engineering marvels created by Indian engineers/ scientists/ technologists.

A total of 25 awards were given in different categories at an award function held at New Delh recently.

The machine designed by CFTRI technologists can bake around 800-1,000 chapatis per hour continuously and is in commercial production. The machine has come handy in large scale catering situations and has been used in producing food for calamity relief operations, according to a press release.

source: http://www.starofmysore.com / Star of Mysore / Home> General News / November 07th, 2013

Rajyotsava awardees from Mysore feted

Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Leaders, Records, All

 

Seen are (from right) Rajyotsava awardees Dr. Vasanthkumar Thimakapura, Bannur Kempamma, Dr. N. Rathna, Dr. V. Lakshminarayan and My.Na. Gopalakrishna with City Congress President C. Dasegowda, MDCC Bank President C. Basavegowda, MP Vishwanath, MLA Tanveer Sait, ZP President Mahadevu, Mysore District Kannada Sahitya Parishat President M. Chandrashekar and others during the felicitation ceremony at the MP’s office at Govt. Guest House in city this morning.
Seen are (from right) Rajyotsava awardees Dr. Vasanthkumar Thimakapura, Bannur Kempamma, Dr. N. Rathna, Dr. V. Lakshminarayan and My.Na. Gopalakrishna with City Congress President C. Dasegowda, MDCC Bank President C. Basavegowda, MP Vishwanath, MLA Tanveer Sait, ZP President Mahadevu, Mysore District Kannada Sahitya Parishat President M. Chandrashekar and others during the felicitation ceremony at the MP’s office at Govt. Guest House in city this morning.

Mysore :

Rajyotsava awardees from the city and district — Dr. V. Lakshminarayan, Dr. N. Ratna, My. Na. Gopalakrishna, Dr. Vasanthkumar Thimakapura and Bannur Kempamma — were felicitated at a function organised at Mysore-Kodagu MP’s office at Government Guest House in Nazarbad here this morning.

MP H. Vishwanath, speaking on the occasion, said it is a matter of delight that the Government has identified and awarded the achievers who have excelled in their own fields.

Pointing out that the State Government had chosen the Rajyotsava awardees purely on merit, without giving way for the interference of political or external forces, Vishwanath said the government’s action had only enhanced the value of Rajyotsava award.

NR constituency MLA Tanveer Sait, who presided, said the Government’s action of selecting the awardees based on merit, was a sign of better prospects for the State.

Tanveer Sait called for more developmental works in the city so as to make it a model one for the entire country.

He also stressed the need for making Mysore a bigger educational hub, with the city already known for providing quality education besides making rapid strides in the educational field .

Mysore District Kannada Sahitya Parishat President M. Chandrasekhar was the chief guest.

source: http://www.starofmysore.com / Star of Mysore / Home> General News / November 07th, 2013

Super speciality Cleft centre inaugrated at St. Joseph’s hospital in city

Amazing Feats, Inspiration/ Positive News and Features, Science & Technology, World Opinion
Hans-Gunter Loffler, Deputy Consul General of the Federal Republic of Germany, is seen cutting the tape to inaugurate the new cleft treatment centre at St. Joseph’s Hospital in city last evening as Bishop of Mysore Rt. Rev. Dr. Thomas Antony Vazhapilly; Alexander Gross, CEO, Deustche Cleft Kinderhilfe, Germany; Dr. Brigitte Winkler, Schweizer Hilfe fur Spaltkinder, Switzerland, Hospital Administrator Fr. Mari Raj and others look on.
Hans-Gunter Loffler, Deputy Consul General of the Federal Republic of Germany, is seen cutting the tape to inaugurate the new cleft treatment centre at St. Joseph’s Hospital in city last evening as Bishop of Mysore Rt. Rev. Dr. Thomas Antony Vazhapilly; Alexander Gross, CEO, Deustche Cleft Kinderhilfe, Germany; Dr. Brigitte Winkler, Schweizer Hilfe fur Spaltkinder, Switzerland, Hospital Administrator Fr. Mari Raj and others look on.

Mysore :

Deutsche Cleft Kinderhilfe e.V., a first-of-its-kind super specialty cleft treatment centre was inaugurated at St. Joseph’s Hospital in city yesterday by Hans-Gunter Loffler, Deputy Consul General of the Federal Republic of Germany.

Bishop of Mysore Rt. Rev. Dr. Thomas A. Vazhapilly presided over the function held at St. Mathias School auditorium.

The guests of honour included prominent dignitaries like Alexander Gross, CEO, Deustche Cleft Kinderhilfe, Germany; Dr. Brigitte Winkler, Schweizer Hilfe fur Spaltkinder, Switzerland and Dr. Margrit Leuthold, Executive Director, Swissnex India.

Speaking at the occasion, Hans-Gunter Loffler said, “It is indeed a proud moment for us, as Germany is a good partner to India not just in the business and cultural domain but also in social and developmental activity.”

Addressing the gathering, Alexander Gross said, “Our aim is to make quality healthcare accessible to the underprivileged.”

Deutsche Cleft Kinderhilfe cleft centre at St. Joseph’s Hospital will offer comprehensive therapeutic, diagnostic and surgical facilities under one roof. In addition, the centre will be the first-of-its-kind exclusive facility in the Mysore region to provide free treatment to severe congenital facial deformities like NAM–Nasoalveolar Moulding therapy and orthodontic care under one roof coupled with the many complex and specialised surgeries including orthognathic surgery, rhinoplasty, pharyngoplasty, distraction osteogenesis and many secondary corrections which are quite complex in nature.

Apart from this the Centre will also provide orthodontics, speech and ENT-related treatment for cleft children.

The new cleft care facility is fully equipped with a dedicated high-tech operation theatre and ICU with state-of-the-art high-tech equipments/ technology including laminar air flow, epoxy flooring, high-end anaesthesia work station with ETCO2 and cardiac monitors, sevoflurane compatible anaesthesia machines along with a post operative rehabilitation facility for those who have undergone advanced cleft correction treatment/surgery.

The hospital has an exclusive blood bank having all the 4 components of blood 24/7 and facility of Apheresis which is a one-of-its-kind in Mysore.

Patients requiring cleft correction treatment can contact Dr. S. Manu Prasad, Project Director of the centre, on Mob: 09886701781

About Deutsche Cleft Kinderhilfe: In order to improve the living condition of the affected children and their families, Deutsche Cleft Kinderhilfe was founded in 2002. There are already ten cleft centres in India, in which operations are performed on over 2,000 children and teenagers each year. The comprehensive, free treatment also includes subsequent medical checkups, speech therapy, counselling and accommodation as well as transport costs for the children and their families, who are destitute in some cases.

In India, Deutsche Cleft Kinderhilfe has been actively setting up cleft centres in the past few years and at present successfully runs nine centres at Agra, Ahmedabad, Bhubaneswar, Coorg, Patna, Surat, Srinagar and Visakhapatnam. It also supports a cleft centre in Bangalore and Noida.

With over 10,000 free cleft lip and palate surgeries to its credit in India, the organisation is still midway on its long journey to provide high end comprehensive cleft care. Cleft in most cases, remains a childhood curse, as these otherwise completely normal children are socially ostracised coupled with health issues. If treated well and at a young age they are able to lead a completely normal and productive life.

source: http://www.starofmysore.com / Star of Mysore / Home> General News / November 06th, 2013

Health Care Global, Bangalore launch new cancer surgery options

Science & Technology
The first declipseSPECT in Asia has been introduced to Health Care Global’s (HCG) Bangalore facility to aid cancer treatments. The radio-guided surgical instrument provides 3D imaging and guidance support for minimally invasive tumor surgery.
Dr. Joerg Traub from the German manufacturer, SurgicEye GmbH, announced the launch of the new cancer services on Thursday, Aug. 29, 2013, saying:I am convinced that HCG is the best location for the first declipseSPECT installation in Asia. The declipseSPECT will add one more innovation to HCG’s high quality service, providing 3D imaging and guidance support for least invasive surgery and quality assurance in the operating room to document the complete removal.This cutting-edge technology is principally used for breast cancer, oral cancer, gynaecological cancers and skin cancer. Dr Mahesh Bandemegal, a consultant oncologist at HCG Bangalore, said the declipseSPECT was “the most accurate way of detecting and avoiding false negativity” in the localization of lymph nodes.The declipseSpect is a handheld gamma probe device for radio-guided surgery. Sentinel lymph node biopsy is the minimally invasive procedure used to determine the extent of cancer in the body. The large 3D viewing screen on the declipseSPECT is ideal for optimizing laparascopic procedures and ensure the best possible patient outcome.The oncology surgeons are delighted to have this new equipment in Bangalore as it takes the guesswork out of locating the sentinel lymph node, not only giving a 3D location, but also advising of the depth at which the lymph node is located.

For further information contact HCG at:  #8, P. Kalinga Rao Road, Sampangi Ram Nagar, Bangalore – 560 027 / Ph : 080 40206000

source: http://www.digitaljournal.com / Digital Journal / Home> Must Read Articles> Health> In the Media / by Dawn Denmar / August 31st, 2013

A glimpse into the past

Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Historical Links, Pre-Independence

Some people may think collecting old, rusted and unfashionable gadgets is a waste of time. However, it has been a hobby and a passion for Sohanraj Pipada, a resident of Okalipuram.
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His collection boasts of gadgets, which are as old as seventy, and have been carefully tended and maintained by Sohanraj. “It was my father who started collecting these gadgets when he was young and I started developing an interest in them when I was very young. When I was seven, I made a radio and soon started collecting gadgets and adding to the collection,” he informs.

Maintaining them is not an easy job, Sohanraj makes sure that the gadgets are cleaned and preserved properly. “All these gadgets have been kept in a separate room in my house, I clean everything on my own.

They have to be maintained well or else they might stop working. It is very difficult to find a mechanic who can mend these gadgets as they are quite old. I play and use these gadgets twice a week as they might not function if they are not used. I also clean them once in seven days. It is time consuming but not as difficult as it might appear,” he adds.

The oldest gadget in his possession is a 75-year-old HMV gramophone and though tough to maintain, he feels it steals the show. “Many neighbours and relatives ask me to show them my collection and the first thing I show them is the gramophone.

My father had purchased it from someone and he made sure that it is maintained well. I have tried my best to preserve it. I also have a 40-year-old spool recorder, I bought it from someone who was discarding it,” he notes.

Currently, he has more than 20 such gadgets and all of them have interesting anecdotes attached to them. While some of them have been gifted by friends who know of his passion for antique gadgets, many others have been bought from people.

“A while back, I had booked an old telephone, which was almost 45-years-old. Soon after, I was informed that one of my friends was selling an old telephone. I bought the other one and now, I have two such telephones and it has been a challenge to not only maintain them but also keep them functional,” he adds.

Ask him how he makes time to collect these gadgets and he explains that it is his passion that drives him to get some time off from his day-to-day work. “I am a businessman and hence there is no ten-to-five routine that I adhere to. There have been days when I have been extremely busy, but I have never failed to take sometime out from my schedule,” he adds.

Along with some antique phones, he also has a couple of radios, a forty-year-old record, a seventy-year-old Kenwood gramophone and an old camera.

His penchant for collecting old gadgets has also extended to the car that he drives. His 53-year-old Ambassador is one of his prized possessions and he adds that it can give any new car a run for the money. Some of the gadgets that he owns are quite magnificent to look at and reflect the craftsmanship and designs of the past. The room housing these gadgets makes one quite nostalgic and is like a glimpse into the past.

“There is something in these old gadgets that has attracted me and I feel that the kind of workmanship and technical genius involved in making these gadgets is great. That is one of the reasons why they are functional even after so many years. This has always intrigued me and it was this curiosity to know the technique used in these gadgets that mademe want to collect and own more and more of them. Most gadgets made now become useless after a couple of years,” he says.

“My family has been living in Bangalore for many years now and hence I have a big circle of friends. They have often helped me and given me contacts of people, who own old gadgets, and want to sell these off to someone. My family has been very co-operative and has supported me in pursuing my hobby. Though people often laugh at my hobby and call it madness, it does not deter me from pursuing it. I have stopped collecting now and devote time to maintaining and preserving these gadgets,” he sums up.

source: http://www.deccanherald.com / Deccan Herald / Home> Supplements> Metrolife / by Treena Mukherjee, DHNS / November 11th, 2013

Cruising down memory lane

Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Historical Links, Pre-Independence, Records, All, Sports

For these youngsters, owning a vintage bike is a matter of great pride as they travel the length and breadth of the country to scour these beauties

Yezdi lovers’ says a patch of graffiti on a lamppost outside Vikram Kumar’s house at Dairy Circle. “It’s been there almost 10 years,” he says, laughing. Clearly, like his 10-month-old daughter Lakshita, who sleeps soundly through everything except the hum of her father’s Yezdi, Kumar’s neighbourhood is well aware of his love of vintage bikes.

Parked at the entrance of the 33-year-old software engineer’s house are two shiny Jawas — one green and the other red. Next to them stands a Yezdi Roadking. “The red and green Jawas have shin covers, which protect you from snow. These bikes are originally from Czechoslovakia and are designed to protect riders from extreme weather conditions,” he says, with pride.

Dressed in a casual pair of jeans, a T-shirt with a bike print and a Jawa cap, Kumar’s passion took root when he saw his father ride a Jawa at the age of 10. “I fell in love with the sound of the engine,” he recalls. He began collecting bikes in 1999 and today boasts Lambrettas, a Vespa, Enfield Mofa and a couple of mopeds in his 35-strong collection. He even has a 1957 Fiat 1100 —”as old as my father”. They are stored in his garage in Kalasipalayam.

Kumar isn’t the only one. Owning a vintage bike (least over 30 years old) is a matter of pride for young Bangaloreans who are splurging on restoring and maintaining them.

Twenty-four-year-old gym owner Bhuvan Narayan first bought a Yezdi Classic for Rs 4,500 three years ago and decided to restore it. “Ever since, I began collecting bikes. Today, I own a 1979 Classic Yezdi, a 1976 Standard Bullet which is a 350 cc twin engine, a 1964 Bullet, a 1962 Jawa, and 1990 Yezdi Deluxe. I just purchased four Yezdi Roadkings in bulk,” he says. Narayan even owns rare bikes like the France-made Suvega- a moped that he picked up in Tirupati; a Czech imported 1952 Jawa Parack and a Lambretta scooter.

Tracing the classics Sourcing the bikes is a task. Mudasir Ahmed, (33) who works for a construction company, owns three vintage bikes and says, “Networking is the best way. Social media has made it easier to find bike owners, who may want to sell since they fetch a good price.”

A host of Facebook pages such as Royal Knights Motorcycle Club, Bangalore Jawa Yezdi Motorcycle Club and Bangalore Vintage Group provide useful information about where to find these vehicles, cost, availability of spare parts and more. “I have made friends through these clubs, and we network online to service our bikes and find spare parts too, which is otherwise very tough,” says Kumar.

Some good leads are also found when they set off on weekly rides to nearby districts such as Kolar, Mysore, Ramanagaram, Shimoga and Ooty. They track down old mechanics who supply them with information about bikes and the whereabouts. Twenty-eight-year-old Alwin Lawrence found his 1955 AJ Stevens just like that. “My uncle is a vintage motorcycle mechanic in Coimbatore and when I enquired about a British bike, he tracked one down in Kanyakumari for me. I went to Kanyakumari to pick up the bike and brought it back in a bus to Bangalore,” he says.
Maintenance Looking after these beauties is a tall order too. “I used to own around 12 bikes but sold most of them because finding a good mechanic and getting spare parts is a challenge. Since most of them are not of Indian origin, it’s not easy to understand the mechanism,” admits Ahmed.

Trial and error Kumar and his father say they are fairly aware of how these bikes function, as they have spent years tinkering away on these classic beauties; their learning has been largely trial-and-error. “My father can put together a bike with ease, and I’m slowly getting there. I have all the spares in my factory for most of my bikes,” he says. Narayan and Lawrence are learning too. “I get manuals online or from showrooms. Unless they need serious repair, it’s not impossible to fix the bikes. Jawas and Yezdis usually don’t need much maintenance, but the older ones need to be taken care of,” explains Kumar.

Money matters At Rs 50,000 for a Jawa and almost 2 lakh for older bikes like Paracks, it’s an expensive hobby. Lawrence has spent close to Rs 5 lakhs on his bikes, some of which were given to him by parents and the rest were paid for from his savings. Vikram approximated his collection to be priced at about Rs 20 lakh.

Passion play While these biker boys are the object of envy for many collectors, their hobby is perceived differently by their family. Nitu, Kumar’s wife says, “The entrance to our house looks incomplete without these bikes. My son has to take a ride on his father’s bike every weekend or he won’t eat, and my daughter gets excited when she hears the sound of a Yezdi. These bikes are a part of my life now.” Alwin Lawrence’s mother Julie says, “At first, the sight of the bikes would annoy me and I always find my son cleaning the bikes in his spare time. But I also think its these bikes that have given my husband and son a chance to bond. It’s great to see that, and I cannot put a price on it.”

The envious glances, curious questions and approving stares from the onlookers make all the trouble worthwhile. Kumar cannots even dream of selling any of his prized possessions, and says, “The joy of taking a bike out and riding it around town is unparallelled. My grandfather rode a 1941 Triumph which is one of the most special bikes we own. It’s a way of honouring the style and poise of the men of that age,” concludes Kumar.

source: http://www.bangaloremirror.com / Bangalore Mirror / Home> Columns> Sunday Read / by Sindhuja Balaji, Bangalore Mirror Bureau / November 10th, 2013