BAND OF BROTHERS: IN LOVE WITH A BULLET-PROOF IDEA

Is there any bike in the world that evokes the kind of sentiment and pride a Royal Enfield does? It is a metaphor condensed into a motorcycle

- Amrit Raj

EVERYONE has an early memory of Royal Enfield. Some went on a ride sitting on the motorcycle’s petrol tanks with their uncles, and some stole their father’s motorcycle with the help of their friends and took it out for a spin. For Siddhartha Lal, the man behind Royal Enfield’s magical turnaround, it was a hand-me-down version of his father’s Bullet.

For those who grew up with these stories, Bullet added another dimension to their personalities. It made them free; it taught them patience; it brought a different meaning to their lives; it brought them brotherhood and companionship. The ride may or may not be perfect, practical, and the bike may well have been a fuel guzzler, hard to maintain, heavy, a homewrecker, with the vibe of a gangster.

Yet, people still ride it. I must admit as a kid it was the motorcycle’s distinct thump that would make me run out of my house filled with curiosity every time a Bullet went around my colony streets. But I was never a part of this community.

However, I tracked the brand’s journey close to 12 years as a journalist and witnessed its evolution into a motorcycling behemoth from very close quarters. Yet, I could never really understand how it became a worship subject for many till one day when a group of friends from college coerced me into a motorcycle trip in Leh.