Day started pretty late when Vikram Travels manager knocked the door asking for teaJ. After pouring in tea, 4 idli’s & 4 vada’s, called up Shashank so that he can take me to the mechanic. As specified by him, met him at around 10:00 AM at Bikanerwala & he took me to Bawa mechanic. Now once at Bawa, Shashank explained what to do to Bawa in simple termsJ
“Gaadi lambi safar karke aayi hain! Abhi lambi safar karni hain…”
While I told Bawa the minor issues I have with front & rear brakes, Bawa took my machine for a round & said he needs to open the engine completely as there is a sound coming from there. It will run for another 2000 Kms but after that no idea & sound will just increase with distance. What???? I was all shocked as opening entire engine would take minimum 4-5 daysL. Bawa continued saying if the pin inside crank & bearings might have worn out, it will be around 2k for the parts & 2k for the labour separately. Boy! Is he servicing the bike or emptying my bank balance???
With no other choice, I had to accept getting it rectified & soon after that Shashank left to his work bidding bye to me. Bawa told me that today he will give me the bike but tomorrow I have to ride for some distance to test it. Once accepted on what to needs to be done, Anu an assistant of Bawa started on my bike & as time ticked by, engine parts rolled out one by one. Meanwhile, I did look at his shop board which said ‘Since 1937’. Also there were some photos at his shop in which Bawa was standing with bullet & foreigners. There was also a certification from Canadian High Commission for his work on bullets. Now what is the relation of his work with bullet & Canada was my question which got answer after while that he does modification & exports the bike in large numbers to various parts of the world. Shashank had also told me that these guys are into bullet for more than 70 years now. While I was watching the work in progress, Bawa’s dad called me aside & there begins the long chit-chat. He told me about his dad who does supervision at present of the shop & his days of working on bullets. Later on, it was Bawa’s dad who worked day & night on bullets.
“Mere zamaane main, lakho gadiya chutke me teek kiya hain maine! Abhi mera beta Bawa kaam samaltha hain! Main bus usse joh cheese chahiye, woh lake deta hoon! Mere papaji, ab sirf supervision karte hain!”
The conversion continued till 1:30 PM in which Bawa’s dad told lot of things about his working days, how he spends his life here in Karol Bagh, his day-to-day activities, his diet every day.
“Aap Bangalore ke ho na??? Maine suna hain Bangalore bahut badiya shehar hain???”
“Ha ji! Bangalore acha shahar hain!!! Waha parks bahut hain…”
“Maine kabhi Bangalore gaya nahin! Phir bi Bangalore dekha hain maine, Discovery Channel pe…”
While on a chat, I did observe Dadaji (Bawa’s grandpa) couple of times & he was busy saying ‘’Jai Mata Pita ki! Jai Mata Pita ki…’ to everyone whom he knows & passes by. When Bawa & Anu took entire crank to get lathed, I told uncle (Bawa’s dad) that I would have lunch & come back in some time.
“Woi ji aapko khana kaani hain na??? Rukko ek minute! Main aapko ek badiya jagah dikata hoon kaane ke liye!” Man! I had already thought of Southern Hotel & what is this new to taste to try on???
Uncle took me to a small restaurant in the next street (galli) where only Roti with different veg curries was available. Boy! Why does food tastes so nice at small restaurants?? Roti & Dal was simply mind blowing. After consuming 3 Roti’s, ordered Lassi & guess what?? He gave it in a glass which was nearly 500 ml for sure! What non sense?? How can I have so much when my stomach is already full??? Had tough time pouring it in but could not waste it since it was very tasty!
Post lunch, came back to Bawa’s shop & uncle asked me,
“Kaisa tha khana??? Badiya???”
Before I could answer him, burped loudly from which uncle got clear answerJ. I told uncle that I would come after some time & walked back room to get some rest & to update blogs. At around 5:00 PM went to Bawa’s shop again & his assistants had already started to work on fitting engine part by part. Meanwhile, Bawa also told me to get some spares from neat by shop.
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| Bawa working with is assistants while his grand pa doing a supervision... |
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| Galli's of Karol Bagh! |
As time ticked by my machine got its shape back & it was already dark by now. While the work was going on at full speed, Bawa’s grandpa showed me some visiting cards & letters he had received from government & other big shots of automobile companies at his times who had come to visit me.
As the bikes horn wiring was pathetic, Bawa called an electrician from adjacent Galli & he fixed up things neatly with new cut out (Relay which I had mentioned in Agra). I dint understand why did he replace new one when I had just put a new cut out in AgraL. When everything was set right, Bawa started my machine & took a round to check if everything is fine. Once back, I realized that bike’s indicator, horn & parking light works even when the key is removed. What the heck is this?? Electrician told,
“Woh sir hum kal dekenge! Aaj aap fuse nikalke rakna raat ko….”
I did try with a round & bike had become pretty smooth & powerful. Bawa told the small things like break & stuffs would be done tomorrow before NOON. Settled the bill for today & it turned out to be 6600 odd buxL. Gone is gone & better that everything is fine before hitting hills I thought, had dinner in Southern Hotel & crashed.
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