Karnataka   

Jawa-Yezdis take off amid vroom, dust and cheers

— Photo: K. Murali Kumar

ALL ENTHUSIASM: Bikers taking part in the 6th International Jawa-Cz-Yezdi Day celebrations, in Bangalore on Sunday.

Bangalore: More than 90 Jawa-Cz-Yezdi bikes rolled into the entrance of Cubbon Park to celebrate the 6th International Jawa-Cz-Yezdi Day here on Sunday morning.

The response to the commemoration of these 175-, 250- and 350- cc bikes was overwhelming.

These bikes, first rolled out from the former Republic of Czechoslovakia in 1929, were manufactured in India by Ideal Jawa, Mysore, from 1960.

The company, which promoted the logo “Forever Bike, Forever Value,” stopped production in 1996.

The riders met on Sunday for a ride to Café Coffee Day in Channapatna on Mysore Road. Brian Ammanna, who is one of the organisers and has been a rider for the past 13 years, says, “This is the first time in India that we have planned a ride on such a large scale.”

He feels that Jawa-Cz-Yezdi bikes have long been overtaken by Royal Enfields and Yamaha RD 350s, and it was time to celebrate bikes which were known for their endurance.

Brian, along with Jawa-enthusiasts such as Amrut Appaiah and Lokesh, decided a month ago to be part of the International Jawa-Cz-Yezdi celebrations.

It took just a month for the organisers to send out notices to online communities.

“We expected about 30 bikes, but now it is 90,” says Brian. T-shirts were also tailor-made for the occasion.

Heads turned as the Jawa-Cz-Yezdi bikes strolled in, to be part of the exclusive biking fraternity. Brian, Amrut and many others, who started on their fathers’ motorcycles when they were young, continued to ride those vehicles. “My father’s 1976 Jawa model was just lying around and I decided to start riding it. Tradition was passed on,” a biker said.

As the Classic models strutted in, all eyes were on Prabhu S.K.’s 1960 C-zeta and the 1970 racing version of the Jawa, which has been with him for five years.

But one rider who drew attention was 79-year-old Maya Krishnamurthy.

The gathering appreciated the enthusiasm of this grandmother who came dressed in a camouflage shirt and khaki cap.

She was accompanied by her grandson Tej Sapru who also participated in the rally.

Maya, a resident of Wilson Garden, says, “I have been riding since 1964 despite having a back problem.”

The spirited rider says that she rides regularly to Tiruvannamalai in Tamil Nadu, and says she bought the black 1964 model in the same year as she “didn’t like the red one”.

In a cloud of smoke, dust and cheers, and alarming walkers on their peaceful Sunday morning walk, the riders wheeled out to begin their early morning trip to Channapatna and back.

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Jawa-Yezdis take off amid vroom, dust and cheers

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