It was during my evening walk yesterday, I sighted this friendly scene.
The children were seen together for a long distance in happy conversation. I wondered how the girl managed cycling slowly carrying another girl in the back! They looked cheerful.
I returned to my childhood to recollect my early cycling experiences.
I was given permission to learn cycling during the summer vacation, after I passed the seventh standard. I learned cycling in the foot ball field of the school where I was studying.
I borrowed a bicycle each evening from a cycle shop. There were at least six cycle shops in our village at that time, which was the common mode of transport. There were three cars and five motor bikes in the village if I remember correctly. There were at least one hundred people who owned cycles and another fifty or so available to hire.
After I got familiar to ride a cycle, I used to hire a cycle whenever I wanted to go the post office or the provision shop. I looked forward to it. However buying a bicycle was beyond our reach at that time.
Once, I lost balance while coming down a slope and fell into a ditch. There was a minor damage to the bicycle. There were few other falls, but no major injuries! I looked forward to long rides with friends during holidays. Going ten kilometres on a bicycle was a treat I looked forward to during the holidays.
When I went to study at Nagpur, I used hired bicycles a lot. During the first week at SFS College, Nagpur, I decided to go for an evening ride on hired bicycle. I barely managed to speak a few Hindi words while hiring the cycle. I went into the town and noticed an ice-cream shop. The Dinshaw ice cream was popular at Nagpur at that time. I went in to have an ice cream and happened to meet some friends from the college. After the ice cream we walked back together to the college hostel.
On the next day, I went to hire a bicycle from the same shop. The owner asked me about the bicycle I borrowed the previous day. It was then I remembered about the bicycle and recollected it having been left behind in the street outside the ice cream shop.
When I went back to the shop, I was told that the cycle was deposited in the police station as no one claimed the bicycle till the shop closed at 9 pm.
At the police station, I received a scolding from the police officer. When he realised that I had come to Nagpur only a week ago, he was sympathetic. Seeing how upset and disturbed I looked , he offered me a cup of tea and walked back with me a short distance till I was fully composed to ride back.
By then the news had spread in the hostel about my absent mindedness. The warden of the hotel, Father Laurie Fernandez called me to his office after dinner and talked to me about responsible behaviour. When he knew that I was unsettled and was taking time to adjust to life in a new place, he turned to be extremely kind. He offered me toffees and comforted me. Every time he saw me in the next few weeks, he stopped to enquire about my wellness.
Every time I recall this unfortunate incident, I feel relieved that it ended well with the bicycle restored to me.
The first time I owned a bicycle was when I joined the medical school in 1967. It was a pale green Raleigh bicycle, which was comfortable to ride which I retained for another twenty years. My farther gave it away to one of our farm workers when we no longer needed it.
Th pleasant memories of long bicycle rides while at Nagpur return to me- the week end rides to the orange farms about thirty kilometres away from the city. Some of us regularly went to this farm almost every two weeks during the winter months to get free supply of oranges. At that times oranges were cheap. A basket of fifty oranges were sold for five rupees! So the farmers allowed us to gather oranges lying on the ground at no cost. Each of us would return with couple of dozens of oranges and share with friends in the hostel.
I used to go to other picnic spots beside lakes and mountains in the outskirts of Nagpur for the sake of enjoying long bicycle rides.
One regular happening on Saturday evenings was meeting at the Indian Coffee House, Sadar with late Mr A B Bardhan, who later became the general secretary of the Communist Party of india. He used to expound the theory of 'rights and privileges of citizens' in a democratic society. I looked forward to this seven kilometre cycle ride from the Medical College. But this meeting turned out to be a political advocacy group from which I retreated after a short while.
I remember cycling to Dharampet to meet Mr L T. Jeyachandran, who was from the Indian Engineering Service, a devout follower of Jesus who spoke from his heart on Biblical themes. This accidental meeting became a regular meeting. He too had a bicycle and we used to cycle to meet with other likeminded student friends. The conversations and cycling experiences remain as pleasant memories now. Later meeting with Mr Prabhakar Rao a post-graduate engineering student brought one more contact into our circle of friends. He too was a cyclist, who travelled long distances within the city to meet with student friends.
Another significant aspect of this cycling experience was developing a net work of friendships while at Nagpur. Some of us who got to know each other used to meet for a time of prayer fellowship on Saturday evenings and for a study of the Scripture on Sunday mornings at the Christa Mahila Sadan. I wonder whether travelling long distances would have been possible in a short time as public transport was infrequent. The cycle rickshaws would2 have taken at least two hours to cover ten kilometres.
The other refreshing memory of my cycling experience is the time at Pune during my post graduate training. My father in law gave me his cycle for use during the two years at Pune. The daily bicycling from N M Wadia Hospital to B.J.Medical College and back, a distance of six kilometres each way was my rhythm. I took time on some days to go to different parts of the city on my way back home. At the end of two years, I had accessed most of the city, at least the inner city on the bicycle.
By this time, I found cycling a time for seeing and reflecting. The beggars in the street, the opulence of fashion, congested and not so well kept streets, etc left some impressions on my mind. It was during the time in Pune, I felt drawn towards capturing sights and scenes of the street for a record. But I had to wait for another seven years to possess a camera.
I had my old bicycle when Anna and returned to Nagpur for my post graduate training in Paediatrics. Th cycle was useful to go up and down as we lived about a kilometre away from the Nagpur Medical College.
One regular happening on Saturday evenings was meeting at the Indian Coffee House, Sadar with late Mr A B Bardhan, who later became the general secretary of the Communist Party of india. He used to expound the theory of 'rights and privileges of citizens' in a democratic society. I looked forward to this seven kilometre cycle ride from the Medical College. But this meeting turned out to be a political advocacy group from which I retreated after a short while.
I remember cycling to Dharampet to meet Mr L T. Jeyachandran, who was from the Indian Engineering Service, a devout follower of Jesus who spoke from his heart on Biblical themes. This accidental meeting became a regular meeting. He too had a bicycle and we used to cycle to meet with other likeminded student friends. The conversations and cycling experiences remain as pleasant memories now. Later meeting with Mr Prabhakar Rao a post-graduate engineering student brought one more contact into our circle of friends. He too was a cyclist, who travelled long distances within the city to meet with student friends.
Another significant aspect of this cycling experience was developing a net work of friendships while at Nagpur. Some of us who got to know each other used to meet for a time of prayer fellowship on Saturday evenings and for a study of the Scripture on Sunday mornings at the Christa Mahila Sadan. I wonder whether travelling long distances would have been possible in a short time as public transport was infrequent. The cycle rickshaws would2 have taken at least two hours to cover ten kilometres.
The other refreshing memory of my cycling experience is the time at Pune during my post graduate training. My father in law gave me his cycle for use during the two years at Pune. The daily bicycling from N M Wadia Hospital to B.J.Medical College and back, a distance of six kilometres each way was my rhythm. I took time on some days to go to different parts of the city on my way back home. At the end of two years, I had accessed most of the city, at least the inner city on the bicycle.
By this time, I found cycling a time for seeing and reflecting. The beggars in the street, the opulence of fashion, congested and not so well kept streets, etc left some impressions on my mind. It was during the time in Pune, I felt drawn towards capturing sights and scenes of the street for a record. But I had to wait for another seven years to possess a camera.
I had my old bicycle when Anna and returned to Nagpur for my post graduate training in Paediatrics. Th cycle was useful to go up and down as we lived about a kilometre away from the Nagpur Medical College.
Almost all the children I know now in our part of the village own a bicycle. It is common to see girls also use bicycles now, which was exceptional during my childhood.
Of course bicycling is being made popular to reduce congestion in the streets in cities. Many cycle to work in cities which have separate cycling paths. There are bicycle parks in some cities where one can pick up a bicycle and leave it anywhere else in the city after use, if already registered with the hiring company.
Bicycling is a strongly recommended exercise for healthy living.
What a delight to watch bicycles come back !
Thank you children for inspiring me to travel back to my memory lane! It was a delightful evening of happy memories!
Happy cycling!
Happy cycling!
M.C.Mathew(text and photo)
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