Old Hercules II

Old Hercules II

The old Hercules had started me thinking of the old time cycles which I was used to. There were few bi-cycles and was owned by the well to do only. The others had the facility of taking a bi-cycle on rent either on an hourly basis or for a whole night.

Time before that was childhood times where any body who had parents thinking of children, got a wooden toy cart on four little wheels. This wooden cart had a plat form on which the child can be seated and asked to hold on to the push stick. The push stick had a handle which the parent held and pushed. At other times the child if able to walk can hold on the push handle and push the empty vehicle with which the child became proficient in walking.

The next step is a little steel wheel run with a long hooked stick. After that came the little rubber wheels, cut out by the cobblers from discarded tyres of motor lorries which is as big as asix year old boy and run with a small stick. Next was the dream of the bi-cycle which was rare to come.

There was a shop in the local market dispensing the bi-cycles on rent and this time the owner had newly purchased a half cycle very cute and white in colour. This was a heart throb of the children who set eyes on them. It cost ten paise per hour and one rupee could get that little heart throb for ten hours. Our school had taught me bi-cycling somewhat....., as people, these days say 'Ya., I now driving and have a licence, but has to get the hands on for a while' . Here I was fond of cycling, knew who to cycle, but was not very sure to get on the bi-cycle in the initial tries which troubled me a lot.

My elder brother explained it to me that I have to hold on to the handle grips and look ahead, put my left leg on the pedal and push with the right leg on the ground. As it moved, I am to stand on the left leg on the left pedal, keep the balance and slowly throw the right leg from behind over the seat to the other side of the bi-cycle. I succeeded at times but not always. This was a sham. Sometimes when I threw the right leg over the seat, the bi-cycle first and me over it went to the ground..!

I found a way out for this by getting my friend and neighbour to hold the bicycle while I got on. This for a few times, and it worked. His being near me itself increased my confidence and slowly I was able to do it myself. The pay out for this was I had to give the bi-cycle to my neighbour friend for a few rounds whenever he pleased, which worked well for me. 

The whole episode was made possible by me elder brother giiving me or rather presenting me with a Rupee, one full Rupee, I mean, (it used to be a lot in those days, just for bi-cycling) and telling me that I can have the bi-cycle for as much time I wanted. In the early morning of next day I went alonng with my neighbour friend to the local cycle shop and got the brand new (You know, brand new) while Atlas 'Half' cycle! You should have heard the wheel turning making a fine 'ting..ting' sound when the free wheel is not turning along with the wheel..! We put the cycle on the stand and turned the pedal for a few times and brought the wheel to a high speed and then turned the pedal in the reverse to hear the sweet noise the combination made! Hilarious, indeed!

We took the bi-cycle from the stand and rode it to the house and to the adjoining the huge cashewnut tree orchard to have the fill of our rides. The orchard is full of dry cashew nut tree leaves and one has to be careful to see if they do not have snakes. Tropical snakes are at times dangerous as at time one may come across a cobra or crate as a matter of routine. Most of then the times, it may be rat snake but of good size which is good enough to frighten small boys. In a matter of a couple of hours the balancing and standing on the left pedal was well practised and my friend and I took turns to do a lot of rounds on the new bi-cycle.

Once we had the fill of riding, as there was still a lot of rented time, we bathed the bi-cycle in fresh water clean, put it in the sun to dry and took more rounds which gave us severe head ache as we were over doinbg the rounds in the hot tropical sun bright on our heads. By the evening we were blind with head ache and returned the bi-cycle, the brand new one to the shop owner and cleared his account. Now that we had our fill of the half bi-cycle we had other thoughts. I slept and slept on for a full night and another full day and got up only to have my meals whiich my mother so lovingly gave me awakening me from my sleep.

The day after, I related it to my friends in school, who said that this was not a big deal, as some of their friends used to ride only the big bi-cycles as a matter of course! I was curious..! How is that? May be..! Those who had a huge bi-cycle at home, perhaps..did..! Not me. My two elder brothers who used to bring rented bi-cycles home used to tell me to keep away from it as it may fall on me or so.

Some how these friends, or so called little friends of mine's dialogue made me uneasy and I could not rest until I mastered a big bi-cycle. I was carrying this thought in my mind for the next few days and one day came across a small child of seven or so really moving around on a big bi-cycle..!I was twelve if not more and heftier than that guy! The little fellow was controlling the bi-cycle like a circus man, clonging to it from a side! His one foot was on the left pedal and the other on the right which he had pushed in through the quadrilateral frame, holding the left handle with his left hand he held his right hand on the central bar of the bicycle...! I could not believe my eyes. He was moving around as if this was nothing and was concentrating on some thing quite far. What a fellow..! Now I can't wait. I was full of an untold desire to immediately ride a big bi-cycle.!

In every step I grew big and by the time I reached the bicycle shop, I had grown enough to demand a rental bi-cycle. The shop keeper was known and he was a good guy and sweet too, who had an eye for the little money we brought and believed in the fact 'it is a lot of little little moneys which made a big pool' He never disheartened any one who went to him, except that money should be there for the services offered. I demanded if I could have a bi-cycle and what could be the least rent! He looked at me, looked at the twenty or so odd bi-cycles on display and ultimately went in and brought a bi-cycle which was comparatively new in green pain and it was a Hercules..!

He said it would cost me ten paise for half hour which was readily agreed to and I rode home on it. My idea was to show off to my Mom what I have achieved that morning..! My Mom never let me down, as I knew and as soon as she found me on the big bicycle, she exclaimed: Ah...you riding a big bicycle...Good Heavens, be careful! Now that you have achieved the feat, I can have a support whenever I wanted to send some body to the shop..! I replied with great joy and mirth: “Oh you only have to tell me...any time of the day or night, rain on shine, this beauty works all the time” “Great machine”, indeed! Numberless times, I did errands for my mom on the bicycle and then of course did a lot of work or bicycling for my Dad too, who was a very good cyclist, himself..! -But when one attains age, they want to bi-cycle less and less and would always love some body else to do it for them, if that can be helped.

In those days, the local Police Sub Inspector and High School Headmaster had a new bi-cycle each. The Police Sub Inspector, normally called an 'Esseye' (short form for S.I.) uased to come on his brand new bi-cycle! He wore a khaki shorts and shirt with a belt and a leather cross belt. He had a flat officer type hat and befitting reddish brown shoes ..! As soon as he came, a waiting Police constable took charge of the bi-cycle and took it with great reverence to a corner of the courtyard of the Police Station and kept it on the stand and locked..! The inspector, very hefty in size, just got of the bi-cycle by breaking and putting back his right foot! He did not have to balance on the left pedal and that sort of thing which we children did. He just moved away from it with his baton (In those days they used to keep a small stick with them, only the Inspectors, called SI. The Policemen had huge sticks which they conveniently hang on this shoulder brass buttons and kept them to their back side).

But in the case of the Headmaster, that was not the case! He passed the central market area of the village town sharp at 8.30 A.M. and moved in the direction of the school without let or hindrance. People on the way, many a time, saluted him or 'namasthed' him wth great reverence and respect to which the master at times lifted his right hand or smiled with a little shake of his head. In the school, he got down from the by-cycle balancing and bringing the bicycle to the shady corner of the school courtyard and put it on stand and locked, took the key, looked around, took a few books which he always kept on the back carrier and walked up to his office, all the time, looking at the children coming from all directions! He always acted like a great Parent and was well loved by the students of the time and was looked at with awe and respect by all around and in the village! His bi-cycle was always spic and span and the children rumoured that he cleaned and polished it himself in his free time..!

The only motor cycle, a 'Harley Davidson' in the area which roared away once in a blue moon belonged to the Parish Priest in the town Cathedral, who went on to visit a sick parishner or an old person unable to move around, were lying in his sick bed and had asked for his presence for confession and ablusions..! The priest, though, elderly, was in his form, wore a kkhaki hat and had at times a cigar on his lips! His motor cycle had a huge glass in front which we were told were to protect him from the severe pressure of the air passing against him..!

The difference between the Hercules bicycles or other large bicycles and the motor cycle was that the second item used petrol fuel for its running and the father since he had to cover long tracts of road and non road, could not possible do it with the Hercules or Raliegh (which too was seen in those days).

Now that I have become very bold in bicycling and renting out the equipment on my own with the ten paise coins which I got from time to time,  slowly I acquired some expertise on the stuff.  Now I could jump over the seat without losing balance and also get down slowly on the left side of my bicycle.

The Old Hercules...!

The old Hercules..!

The bicycle was the car of the olden times. They came from two three companies. And the Relieh brand was the most sought after. But the others came from Hercules, Avon, Atlas etc.

Little children were not at all concerned with the companies they belonged to but only to the sweet thing as long as it had two wheels. Children are like that any where. Very open minded. They looked for a small bicycle, in those days, called a half bicycle. This gave them the leverage to climb on it and control it rather than from a full bicycle which stood at a full twenty four inches plus the seat.

All this came to mind today, when I was at he medical dispensary where my close friend was a bicycle neatly locked up on a side of the wall and carrying a lot of cobwebs. The old bicycle was a Hercules with its old seat bottom filled with white cloth which was surely being used by its user to clean it from time to time. Now he may have discarded it. As most of the youth these days want to use a petrol two wheeler instead of the pedalling bicycle.

Olden days, guys did it with gusto and pedalled their heart out and travelled less to the dispensary. Now people travelled more to the dispensary, travelled on many others modes of transport, but less on bicycles. Here the bi-cycle was taking rest away in a corner. The tyres were both old, the back tyre in good shape, but the front one some what deflatede and flat either due to time and air loss or by a punctured tube. The lock seemed to be in tact and the frame and mud guard was good. There was a little board on the white area of the back mud guard which took my attention. It said : “I am engaged”. May be, it may have an ambition. We do not know. In the Indian parlance when an engagement is proposed and decided, it is normally followed by marriage. But that does not work good for bicycles. This sign only meant that this bicycle is not available to any body but to the real owner or the dispensary in whose premises it is stationed.

It would have been owned or had been issued to a Class IV staff or a Clerk to commute to nearby places to save time instead of walking up. Some of them were also given an allowance in lieu of this kind of bicycling and fetching work. That allowance was called 'Cycle allowance'. Only the lower paid employees got that allowance. The better placed officials even though were allowed to use the bicycle, were not paid any cycle allowance. But it was the lower staff who loved and lived with the heart-throbs of old as a new issue of a brand bicycle thrilled any body in those days.

Now this bicycle in front of me would have done the length and breadth of Adyar where the dispensary is situated. It would have seen better times and good people as it would have remained in a family whose sole bread winner would have had this little beauty, that too, a Hercules, which is called a bi-cycle with a muscle, in this part of the country. Regardless of the long use, the cycle still stood its ground and had some sleeping life in it which can come alive any time, but for the sign on it, “I am engaged” Many a medicine would have been carried on it which would have saved the life of many a sick patient. But now the cycle itself is sick of non use and non exercise. The Doctors who advised us to walk and do exercise never looked at the bicycle.

Such things are looked after by the administrative officials and they did not think of health but of administration. Now that there are no takers for the bicycle in the new comers, it will have to wait in the corridor for some more time, beffore salvation came to it.

My medicines came by this time and it was time for me to leave the dispensary and I said good bye to the old friend, the Hercules.!

While on my return home, I was deeply troubled by the Adyar mud on the wheels.  The mud may be years old as it seemed the bicycle had been resting in its present place for quite some time as like in any Government office when things go into disuse.  If the bicycle had been in recent use the mud would belong to the time of the floods in which it would be general mud of Chennai as all the water came together to give a kind of togetherness to the people and animals.

The sufferers for the most part were the animals as they perished and without number.  Humans also faced a lot of trouble and certain death in the catastrophy of great magnitude.  But the Hercules has outlived to tell its story and was standing majestically on its stand.  The handle bars were in tact but the grips were worn out.  The bell was the old single bell type and the chain and pulleys had a lot of oil and grease on them again showing it had been lovingly used thoroughly by some youngster.

Yesteryears found the youth here applying themselves on bicycles when cars, motor cycles, mopeds and scooters were few.  The only well off guys could afford a Lambretta or Vespa scooter.  After a lot of time, the market competitors brought out a long scooter near to the Lambretta called 'Vijai Super' .  That too ran for a while.  On the motor cycle front there were three of them which we usually found on the films and movies of the time, viz. the Bullet for sure as it was a British legacy, followed by the Jawa another roaring long motor cycle and followed by the more suave 'Rajdoot' from the Yamaha company.


Now all those sounds have died down and the new market charmers aponce peared on the scene.  The Hero Honda's put the axe on the less averaging vehicles and once the Hero Hondas picked up other competitors who were making other things started making their kind of motor cycles and the market became very competitive.  This now made the usual bicycle lover go for the 'fast forward' mode of the motor cycles and our loved and dear Hercules is now assigned to a corner of the Dispensary without any treatment or use.   Let us hope that since it is in the Dispensary it will get the attention due to it and get treated, revive its old glory and be used once again to ultimate good health of its user and the on lookers alike...!

Bathroom Musings on a Sunday Morning....!

The morning bathroom is a always a dreaming place. All those who use it in the morning for the usual charities and other purposes know it. The east wind of Chennai from the Bay of Bengal comes soothingly through the side window and the little exhaust fan runs on its own due to the blow of the wind. The white ambience of the room is always inviting and to read the news paper goes hand in hand with making the morning contributions. Not necessarily one has to read the papers, but with me with the passage a of time it has become a habit. Difficulty to cut out a habit is really tough.

Once the major news are over attention shifts to the near by shower and the shaving materials kept on the side of the wash basin. Surprisingly, the items kept there the day before are not found. The new little bathroom cupboard stood majestically over the wash basin. There is a chance these little items of morning use may have found their way into the new cupboard. Yes, they are there. One by one they all travelled back to the edge of the wash basin where they used to rest for the last three or so years.

The little tube holding the shaving lather cream is pressed and the face brush takes over the rubbing up on the face with a creamy layer and then comes the three edged razor called Lazor which makes a smooth shave. Since the tripple edged shave is smooth, my mind ran over the various matters of governance like all other people who buy the morning newspaper called 'The Hindu'. It is always agog with the latest news and gets one thinking if not acting. There was a time going to the far edge of the compound was the norm in the moring which has now changed. Then no body could think of having a loo or toilet inside the house. Ayurvedic tennets did not allow anything not so clean inside or near the house, but far far from the house only. But new studies, new knowledge and information changed all that.

Shaving was with a 7 o' clock blade in a safety set which is pulled over a face well creamed. That old shaving set is still kept as a memorablia and at times used. After the shave if I have to remove some extra disobdient hairs I still use it, after removing the safety holder off the stick and it still works well. When I though of the early shaves, I always loved to use the old custom made leather belt with the shaving knife which my father used to use. The knife is sharpened on the belt from time to time. My father used to talk to all of us on general matters of home while sharpening the shaving knife and as the talk conluded he slowly slipped into silence and shaving with rapt attention to the purpose. He only use to wet his face with cold water and after the shave he had a ksharam stone crystal which dipped in water was applied on the face before he washed his face clean. Once he wiped his face clean, he always looked younger and I liked it..!

Now the times have changed! No body ever uses the ksharam stone or the shaving knife. Very rare..if at all..! I my self is in the throe of changing over to the tripple edged as using my heart throb shaving set with the 7 o' Clock blade is becoming cumbersome compared with my son's tripple edged 'Lazor' set. Of course the next (this is a Philip's electrical set) set I have reserved for future urgent use only.

All through, none of these are the things making me think. Those are the matters of governance. What will happen in the country. The kind of Governments we have, an on coming draught, an expected more than enough monsoon which make us all very happy, the recent movies in the movie halls, the pros and cons of spending an afternoon in the near by movie hall called 'Mayajaal'..! Don't know how it all will turn out.

Now I have to stop thinking as my wife has started calling out for me to vacate the bath room. So, bye for now.

Driving in Chennai

Driving in Chennai is a precarious thing as is anywhere in India.  But road are good.  The main problem is the increase in the number of vehicles.  All are there on the road, motor cycles, scooters, scooties, cars, cabs, buses and many axled vehicles and so on.  The trucks, buses and the taxi buses rule the road and the motor cycle group can be expected anywhere.


The scorching heat at times, humid heat at times, all together you get steamed up.  Some old trees at places still serve as a oasis. Until more progress comes, these grand daddys will look after the travellers!  OMR road is a lovely strip with partitioned roads. One has to be patient.  The motor cyclists will apear any where.  One should not swerve too much to the left or to the right as small vehicles will be on all sides and may appear in front of you as well. But they too are very considerate.  While suffering the humid heat, they do not swerve and keep you informed from time to time with their little horns.

The red lights are the real relaxation points.  One gets at least three minutes at each major red light where one can relax but cannot put out the engine as it will heat up the car too much too suddenly.  As all vehicles these days are emitting broken up air and other pollutants on all sides one can't open the window glass and put off the air conditioner.  The buses on the sides always keep to their lanes and do not swerve.

We drove to the Chettinadu Medical City one day.  A Hospital of international standards in the cool panorama of the OMR where we can always get great treatment.   The thing attracted us much was the the way the parking lot was arranged with trees on either of each slot giving the cool shade to the car and a sense of peace to those inside if any one chose to sit in and relax while the sick went in to get treatment.  Once treatment is over we always made it a point to visit the Hospital canteen where food is subsidized and clean in a cool atmosphere.  By the  time we returned the temperatures have touched forty degrees and the dust had started flying.  Even though the air was cool from the sea breeze, we had to roll up the glasses and put on the ac. to protect us from the dust and heat.!