Sholavaram days: The thing that could not be…

But things weren’t always this way, yes, even in India.

Just past the newfound independence, the 60s and the 70s were a roaring time for Indian motorcycling as it went the all-fun mode of motorcycle racing. We did not have purpose built racetracks in the country, but ingeniously devised circuits with corners marked with hay bales had cropped up all over the country at sparingly used air-strips. Be it at Sholavaram near Madras, Barrackpore near Calcutta or the track at our very own Lohegaon, Indian racers on imported small and medium displacement racebikes competed to their hearts’ content.

And it wasn’t just some rich kids with old money going at it by themselves. Guys on stripped down mopeds (as seen in the pic), scooters, practically anything that had two wheels and a motor were there, weekend after weekend. The machines were borrowed – Nortons and Triumphs from Britain initially and then two-stroke Japanese race bikes in the 80s, but the spirit was native.

Motorsport was a sub-culture in itself, and the races frequently gathered crowds in tens of thousands. This was the golden age of Indian motorsport, but lack of foresight and unification amongst the various motorsport clubs around the country meant that the era ended much before competitive and quick home-grown motorcycles could enter the scene. Had that been the case, maybe our industry would have looked at bikes in a very different way, and so would have the entire nation.