Two-Wheeler chronicles

Whats that one amazing possession at an age of 19-20 yrs? For kids of these days it those flashy gizmo's, your apple iPhone, iTouch, you touch and what not !!! I know I'm sounding old, just making it sound so ;). Not very long ago for us it used to be graduation from a bicycle to a two wheeler. Looking back at the first time I ever rode on a two wheeler which was a TVS 50 brought by a painter while on work at our house. That day i remember riding like a prince with the air gently caressing my face, with all daughters of my neighborhood aunties overlooking. I must have been 4th or 5th, but that was when I felt the essence of growing up.

Sis started early on the 'Enfield-Explorer'

My dad was a proud owner of a suave looking Enfield explorer since 1985 which he had until 2003, and apart from sitting on it when dad used to ferry all the four of us around and fantasy riding it, naming it 'Sanjuna' hadn't done much with it. This was until 7th standard, when i had this fetish to sit on it sans the key and push the bike around. Thanks to Bangalore's roads, burnt a lot of calories pushing it back up to balance it on the road downwards. Then one day dad forgot the key and that day it happened. I pushed it around like always and then suddenly saw the ignition key. And the rest like you can imagine, i kick started and set the explorer in motion on the first gear, and it remained in first gear that day to be honest. That was the moment which turned the schoolboy into a dreamy youth.


Next three years of our stay in Dandeli gave me some of the amazing memories that I could only dream of in Bangalore. An accessibility to the jungles anytime i wished, a town with no traffic police and fewer main roads, could i ask for anything else?? It was time to zoom. 49.5 cc seemed awesome in those days. Soon, it was time for us to shift back to Bangalore and the city that is made us realize we'd suddenly grown up now to be too big for the explorer that once ferried four of us. What a bike it was! I think for the India then, which was more into Bajaj Chetak, this bike was an affordable option. And then one fine day as i grew older, so did it and just like that, it was gone.


Talking about Bajaj Chetak, during 12th my uncle's scooter came to me because he moved out of the country. Cant recollect the no. of times I've made it lie down on the road when there was no fuel and then that one quick kick start to get it going. "Welcome to college days"", I'd said to myself and before i could realize, the passion of possessing a bike again, proved too much pressure for my dad to withstand. That was when he got me a TVS Victor. Nothing beats the freedom you have with a bike at your disposal. Freedom and all by the way is secondary. More important then were the reasons like the daily trips to the dhaba, national park or the coffee shop around the corner. OK, alright! I agree the most important of all was to impress the girls. Can't remember how many firsts it was with my Victor.


While I am usually not very emotional, somehow the feeling was a little confusing. No feeling of loss though, while signing the handover forms, I was blank. All i could muster asking the new buyer was, "Can i take her for a last ride"?


Thinking about it, isn't it actually like breaking up with somebody for no reason? Only, make sure you have a reason as good as mine.

Royal Enfield!!!

Make way for the Emergency vehicle: But how?

How many times have we all suddenly heard the hooting of an ambulance/emergency vehicle out of nowhere? And as if this incident has the influence of Murphian laws, it happens mostly during the peak hour traffic. I have noticed this consistently for the last four days in Bangalore and my first reaction has always been to make way. But then, we are in Bangalore, where footpaths are considered as an alternative option to roads anytime they are all full. 

So while I want to make way, I'm helpless and so are thousands of others. At this point of time, I always end up thinking about what should be done:

• What would be the options?
• Whether these options are something which is commonly known to everyone on the road with or without a vehicle? 
• Can technology be used in traffic signals like in few western countries. I don't think this will be a viable option considering our traffic sense and maturity.

While I can think of many more questions, I might just miss the point. How do we MAKE WAY ???

From having personally been in the traffic of Bangalore from the past 10 or so years, I can think of these must-do's.

1. Try to move towards left or right corner depending on where the emergency vehicle is.
2. Try passing on the message to the drivers who are ahead in line and ask them to cascade. This is specific in cases of long traffic jams like we have in bangalore.
3. Most often the emergency vehicles take the one-way's. So always be vigilant in such times.
4. Finally Do whatever possible in your capacity to make way for these vehicles.

Just before i post this I also wanted to check out what people think about this on the internet. On Yahoo Answers this was the best answer to the question asked by the asker. 

The law in the US is that all drivers must yield to emergency vehicles by getting out of the way and slowing or stopping in order to allow others in front or behind to follow suit.

On a regular road a driver shouldn't be an obstruction whether moving or not if they are out of the vehicle's path of travel. Oftentimes in heavy traffic, everyone can be limited by space to move to. This leaves the driver having to negotiate around vehicles in order to get through. Presumably, in heavily congested areas, if everyone moves a little over where they can and pays attention to where the path of travel is forming, they can get out of the way, but everyone following the law is required. Dolts who pay no attention to their surroundings and don't hear the siren are in my mind, the worst. They refuse to move out of the way and will block up a vehicle's only means of travel.

At an intersection or stop lights, its the same rule; get out of the way as much as possible, even if its just a few feet, or if you can, move to an area where you can, but be mindful that moving into an intersection could spell confusion once the emergency vehicle has passed and everyone begins to move again. Small moves over to the left or right are the best solution, if that's all you can do. 

When everyone is paying attention and cooperates, emergency vehicles should be able to have safe egress through traffic.

Make Way Please ! And NOW !!!