Metro Plus
Bangalore
Chennai
Hyderabad
Biting the Bullet
|
It was love at first sight for Indira Odreman when she first spotted the Royal Enfield Bullet
|
PHOTO: MURALI KUMAR K.
TUNED IN Indira Odreman: `If you ride in India, you can ride anywhere in the world'
Indira Odreman, a svelte 30, sure does make heads turn and eyeballs pop out of their sockets. A Venezuelan, she definitely has those typical Latin American looks, but her persona has an extra edge by the fact that she rides, a Bullet. Yes, she is one of those few women who say what the heck, and ride the King on one of the most dangerous terrains of the country — our city's roads.
Indira is living in Bangalore with her partner Heinrich Schnorf, who works with a Swiss reinsurance company. She is from the town of Guayana in southern Venezuela, which is close to the Amazon rainforests.
"My Bullet is not for transport; it is a hobby," she laughs.
The beginning
The love affair with the charismatic motorbike began because of her partner Heinrich's fascination for the bike, which has resulted in his owning four of the 500 cc variants. But Indira, who never touched a bike in her life, first took her steps on a puny scooterette.
"My brother in Venezuela has a Yamaha and he offered to teach me but I did not want to die. When I came to Bangalore I first learned to ride a TVS Scooty and then moved on to the Bullet."
Indira, of average height, found it tricky to get her balance on the massive bike and had her fair share of falls but Heinrich made her pick herself up on her own.
"He refused to help. He said if you fall down while riding alone you should be able to pick it up."
The lady, with practice, soon got the required confidence and since then it's been one long ride for her. In fact she has gone on to purchase two 350 cc Bullets and a Thunderbird on her own. Her first Bullet (I know you guys are going to squirm) is called Lollipop and is painted pink. The bike was done up by the mechanic Munir from Shivajinagar and, along with the Thunderbird, is now in Venezuela. Munir will soon be finished with her third bike. And like Indira, Heinrich has also sent two of his bikes to Switzerland. Their plan is to have Bullets available to ride whenever they go to their home countries.
"It was always inside me to ride a bike but I was just scared of accidents. But with the Bullet I started to trust the vehicle and I was fine. I can also drive other motorcycles but the feeling is not the same. I have fallen in love with the Bullet," says Indira in her charming accent.
Her first long trip was to Goa and it was also the debut for her on notorious Indian highways. She took three days to get to Goa but says by the return trip she had got a hang of handling the vehicle at speed. "I was scared of lorries and buses and scared for people crossing the roads. And then the cows. But my confidence was up after trip. Then I did three or four trips with the Rolling Thunder Motorcycle Club (RTMC). It was good for learning because I had to keep pace with a group. But the guys in the club were always babysitting me. It was like one baby and 20 babysitters."
Indira loathes riding a Bullet on Bangalore's choked roads, and many a Bulleteer will agree with her on that. "Traffic in Bangalore makes me tense. Riding a motorcycle in that condition is uncomfortable. But if you ride in India, you can ride anywhere in the world. But my mother is always scared."
Her English is halting and is heavily Spanish accented, but Indira, who has a degree from Venezuela in Human Resources, says it will get better when she finishes her language classes. She has also learned to drive Heinrich's jeep.
A woman riding a bike on Indian roads is a rare sight and an even rarer sight is a woman Bulleteer, and a foreigner at that. She has had her share of rubbernecks on her travels. "It's crazy for me. When I go out people make me uncomfortable by looking at me as if I am from another planet. Sometimes it feels good because people want to take a photo with me. But most of the times they just look at me on the bike, they don't say anything. And if they ask, it is always, how can you ride?"
Gobsmacked cops
She narrates an experience when she was riding with a group and was stopped at a police check-post at one in the morning. The cops were gobsmacked when she took off her helmet.
Another thing that annoys Indira is people asking her: "Are you from America?" Well, that one sure will rankle anyone from Chavez country.
Now finally to her first name, which sounds all-too-familiarly Indian. It seems this yoga practitioner shares a connection with India from the time when she was born in 1976. Her father was fascinated by the then Indian Prime Minister Indira Gandhi (at the peak of her Emergency powers then) and named his daughter after her. "I love India because I have an Indian name. I am happy I have come here and I now appreciate the name. I even got a book on Indira Gandhi to know more about her. People don't believe my name is Indira. And when they do, they think I have an Indian connection. Then I have to tell them the story. But now I feel I have found a meaning in my life after coming to India."
ANAND SANKAR
This column features those who choose to veer off the beaten track.
Printer friendly
page
Send this article to Friends by
E-Mail
Metro Plus
Bangalore
Chennai
Hyderabad
|
