By Yashovardhan Sinha
An old man went past me during my evening walk yesterday. He was riding a shining black bicycle, and I was pleasantly surprised to see that the cycle was a Hercules! Didn’t know Hercules was still in the market. When we were in school, Hercules, Eastern Star, Atlas, Norton, Champion and of course, Raleigh were some of the most popular brands. It was good to learn that at least one of them survives.
Till as late as the 1980s bicycles were to be found in most households. And places like schools, colleges, government offices, courts, banks and cinema halls had cycle sheds or cycle stands (if there was no roof). Gone are those days.
Today the middle class considers the bicycle infra dig. Unless it’s one of those obscenely expensive sports bicyle. But as a means of transport it has fallen from grace in India. Unfortunate.
As a kid I remember my Nana, who owned a car (a Prefect if memory serves me right), often returning home from site visits (he was an engineer) on his green Raleigh waering his Sola hat, and his trouser bottoms neatly folded round his ankles and held by bicycle-clips.
Talking of bicycles, I recall my father telling me about an English Chief Justice of Patna High Court, one Mr. Justice Meredith. He used to go to court on a bicycle! He would pedal into the judges portico where his Jamadar would be waiting, not to open his car door, but to grab his bicycle once he had dismounted.
There is another story about Justice Meredith. The setting: New Patna Club, where Meredith had gone on a Saturday afternoon for tennis- on his bicycle. And he had taken his small son with him. A District Judge had also gone to the Club in his brand new car. When the DJ returned to his car after his game he found the CJ’s son walking around the shiny car and kicking it every few steps. The DJ rushed to the boy, grabbed his hand, and pulled him away from his car. And the boy started crying. Just then the Chief Justice, having finished his game, saw his son crying and walked towards them, calling out to the DJ, “What’s the matter, Kali? Why is the brat howling?” Poor DJ. He called back to his Chief, “It’s nothing, sir” and kept entreating the young brat, “Master Meredith, please…Master Meredith, please.” By then a bearer had brought Meredith’s bicycle around. He put his son on the handle bar, mounted it and pedalled off. Unfortunately for the DJ, some of his friends had heard his desperate “Master Meredith, please” and he never heard the end of it!
Getting back to bicycles, in various parts of the world people are returning to bicycles out of concern for the environment. Cycling is good work-out and a convenient way of avoiding traffic blues. I wish there could be a way to popularise it once again.
