For a bike enthusiast, the thundering sound of the Royal Enfield Bullet is the most pleasing symphony ever created. They say that once you start riding a Bullet, there is little chance that you would ever give it up.
“Made like a gun, goes like a bullet” was the motto of the Enfield Cycle Company which began manufacturing the Royal Enfield motorcycles in the late Nineteenth century. Though the company became defunct in England in 1971, after shifting several hands, the legacy of the super bike has endured in India where the Bullet is now being manufactured from Chennai by Enfield of India .
In an attempt to bring together all Bullet lovers in Puducherry, Siva Partibane, a collector of vintage Royal Enfield bikes, along with the French Consulate General Pierre Fournier, have started a club named ‘FROG'.
Siva explains the reason behind this peculiar name, “When you go tell a Britisher that you like frogs, the first question he would ask is if you are French. Frogs are a delicacy in the French cuisine and it is very unique to the French culture.”
Whizzing across
Their first rally, with more than 30 bikers from across the town displaying models from the late 1960s to the current versions of the Bullet, was taken out on January 8 from the Puducherry beach to Milam in Villupuram district of Tamil Nadu. At the moment, the club has more than 40 members belonging to different nationalities but connected by their love for the “big daddy” of all bikes.
According to Mr. Fournier, the formation of the club itself was by chance. “I never rode a bike when I was in France. But when I came here and looked at the Bullet, I could not resist. I realised that just like me, there would so many people are in love with these bikes. So this was an attempt to bring them all together.”
He explains that there are only two requirements for joining the club: “You need to have a Royal Enfield Bullet to join our rallies. It could be your own or one you have borrowed. Secondly, you need to know a bit of French and must be able to understand the language.”
The club has no membership fee and is open to people from all backgrounds and nationalities. The club could be contacted at >pondyfrog@gmail.com .
