Ravi Speaks:-
ARTICLE UPDATED ON 09.07..2022
“My Bajaj Super was purchased in September 1982.”
The topic today may look very light, but it has a real sentimental attachment to my journey starting from March-1982 at Ludhiana. The day I landed in Ludhiana and started working in the field-I had this desire to go in for the two-wheelers immediately. Working on foot was very difficult since the doctors were in different places and in a day, I used to spend quite a lot of money only on hiring man-driven rickshaws. Only that way I used to reach all my doctors whom I was supposed to meet every day. Not that big a problem on the days when I was working in the interiors or even in the Hospitals of Ludhiana, but it was a real tough job, especially in the scorching heat of the summers in the city working especially.
MY BAJAJ SUPER-PJI-3420 AT LUDHIANA.
All my other colleagues in the profession had the two-wheelers, and some had even motorcycles. Those days-“YEZDI” & “RAJDOOT” Motorcycles were very famous and popular too-whereas in Scooters the Bajaj Chetek and Bajaj-Super were mainly there with my other colleagues. Many times I used to take the lift from my other company colleagues and even for the interiors I used to plan to go to some particular Interior along with my colleague on his motorcycle. I am reminded of one very dreaded scene-which happened in June when I had gone with my friend Mr. Malhotra of “Cadila” on his Motorcycle to “Rajewal”-one interior which was around 70 km from Ludhiana and otherwise also I had to change two buses to reach that place. On our way back, Mr. Malhotra was driving, and I was sitting behind him with my working bag in my hand Mr. Malhotra’s working bag was fixed on the right side of the motorcycle. Suddenly there was a Tyre burst of the motorcycle on the National Highway in the afternoon around 2.30 PM and it was scorching heat and the road was having the melted Tar Coal floating in the liquid form on the road top. With the blast like the noise, I fell on the side of the road with a big bang and didn’t know about Mr. Malhotra-which side he fell. After some time when I realized I was in my senses, I found myself on the Jute knitted bed (Wooden-Charpai) with a few people around me asking me how I was. I found my shirt torn and there was a bit of bleeding on the knee of my right hand. Rest I was OK. When I asked about Mr. Malhotra, they had taken him to a nearby private doctor’s clinic for bandaging and immediate treatment, since he had more external injuries. Those guys took full care and after taking water, say in the evening around 6.00 PM, I took a local bus and reached back Ludhiana. I had already met Mr. Malhotra, and he too was fine, but his motorcycle was damaged badly. He told me to go and said that he would take the Mo-bike also with him and it would take some more time for him. That day I realized that with all the advantages of the vehicle, this big disadvantage could even be fatal-but then it was all up to the circumstances and the condition of the vehicle, which matters a lot.
MOTORCYCLE DRIVE IS NOT THAT SAFE.
Even after this almost narrow mishap on the National Highway-still, I was eagerly waiting for when I would go in for the Scooter and not at all for the Motorcycle. Look at the irony. Despite having no money in my pocket, I had thought of purchasing my Scooter right from the day I started work. I remembered that on the first day also when my RM Mr. Chhabra took me to Union Bank of India-“Kesarganj-Mandi”-Ludhiana to open my savings account. He asked me whether I had Rs. Twenty since, with just twenty bucks saving, a bank account could have been opened. With such a financial situation, I still had a great desire to go in for the two-wheelers. The reason for that was only the comfort level and efficiency of working getting enhanced.
LUDHIANA-MAIN CLOCK TOWER
Slowly and steadily I started saving some amount for the same and in those days there was a premium to be paid besides the actual cost of the Scooter of Bajaj Super. I still remember I had to pay Rs. 1800/- more than the premium. Finally, in September I could purchase the same and Bajaj Super was not available in Ludhiana. So, I had to go all the way to Chandigarh and get it. I was not that confident about driving the Scooter then. So, I requested my other colleague at Ludhiana, Mr. Sawhney, to come to Chandigarh along with me and help me in getting the scooter to Ludhiana. Mr. Sawhney was a very nice guy and helped too. He decided with me on the weekend date and came down to Chandigarh. I had my uncle there with whom I went to purchase the scooter and Mr. Sawhney came to my uncle’s place and from there we started for Ludhiana. The distance was around 94Kms and he drove all the way till Ludhiana and dropped me and my scooter at my residence. Finally, I got the one that I was desiring to have for quite some time. Those days the scooter craze was very high, and the cars were only with just a few people.
LUDHIANA-JAGRAON BRIDGE-ACCIDENT SPOT.
I started learning to drive and even started working in the city on the same. Slowly and steadily, I became very confident in driving and started taking the scooter to the interiors for interior coverage as well. This vehicle made my working very easy and I could realize that my efficiency levels too improved drastically.
My dependence on it became so much that a stage came when I could not feel comfortable working in the interiors without it where I used to go on foot earlier. Thus, this Scooter-PJI-3420 went with me to almost all the interiors and city areas of Ludhiana during my stay at Ludhiana. The beauty is that the same Scooter I had taken to my Hometown-Jammu for quite a few days there too was very handy during my marriage functions.
Finally, in 1990, I brought the same vehicle to Delhi -when I got transferred to Delhi. Here in Delhi, the driving was altogether a different proposition, and every day I used to drive around 40-50 Km and this vehicle gave me great help here as well. Finally, with time, things started changing and the vehicle too became around eight years old and started posing technical problems. I had to go in for the new one-“LML-Piaggio” and sold it in 1993 for a very paltry sum.
I was emotionally attached to this vehicle and was very comfortable with the same even while driving the longer routes as well. I remember I had two major accidents also with this vehicle. But on both occasions, I was saved narrowly. One was at “Jagraon -Bridge” in Ludhiana-where I was hit from the back by a car and luckily I did not get any major injury the second one was at the Delhi-Punjabi Bagh flyover-where I had a lot of external injuries and I remember I was put in one Rikshaw and the scrambled Scooter in another and taken directly to a doctor in the evening at around 8.30 PM. I was badly bandaged and some honorable gentleman dropped me at my pace in “Pushpanjali-Enclave”-which was around 2 km from the accident spot. The next day I had to travel out of Delhi and I went on long-distance- travel since I had no major injuries.
DEL-PUNJABI BAGH-FLYOVER-ACCIDENT SPOT
The Scooter was collected after four-five days from the mechanic who had made it again ready for the ride. You must be surprised why I whisked this lighter topic amid my discussion other than the marketing and sales points. I thought let us go slightly lighter and also realized that this small vehicle too played a very good inning with me while I was picking the tricks of the trade. It was my proper partner in the journey of Sales and Marketing-teachings. It would remain as a sweet memory with me as and when my thought goes to “PJI-3420”.