In response to our feature #Memories: 5 forgotten Indian bikes, Tapas Bose from Kolkata sent us this interesting story about his Rajdoot 175cc.
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I purchased my Rajdoot 175CC on March 10, 1987 from Mathews & Co -- one of the biggest dealers of Escorts India Ltd., whose showroom was situated at the junction of Free School Street (now Mirza Ghalib Street) and Park Street in Kolkata (then Calcutta). I still possess the purchase documents (i.e. tax invoice, guarantee card, owner's manual etc.).
Frankly speaking, I have never been an adventurous person to ride along highways on two-wheelers. I have been taught lessons of safe riding by my employer Hindustan Unilever Limited (HUL), from where I retired in July 2015, after 32 years of service. It was a strict "NO, NO" from my employer to venture out on two-wheelers on highways -- even when you were not "on duty". My company's principle was to ensure safety of their employees even after their work hours.
I had purchased this bike just for office-going and of course for family entertainment. Out of my 32 years of service at HUL, I have ridden this bike for more than 27 years -- which is not a child's play -- that too all along the horrible roads of port area, where the usage of word "road" is a misnomer: rather those can be called "stretches of cultivated lands".
But my bike seldom let me down.
I even rode it while being sick with fever, jaundice and malaria. You won't believe this: once I fell ill at office and without intimating my company's doctor -- lest he send me home in ambulance leaving my bike at office -- I took half-day's leave and just rode it home in a semi-conscious condition. I don't know how I reached home safely crossing that treacherous 15 km "road"!
I used to take my son regularly to his school (St. Thomas's) at Kidderpore, which is more than ten kilometers from my home ever since his Kindergarten years till Class X. Now he is a research scientist at University of Pretoria, South Africa. My bike never let me down to perform this duty also.
Nowadays, it has become very difficult to properly maintain this bike as Escorts India Ltd. has stopped production of Rajdoot 175cc and spare parts too are not easily available. I place orders with one or two dealers, who still deal with spares and then wait for days for their arrival; even tyres are not available very easily. I have to purchase second-hand tyres from scrap-dealers to ride on. Even the mechanics are not properly equipped to repair this bike. Thankfully, I have a dedicated mechanic far away from my home, who has helped me keep my bike fit all these years.
Due to all these reasons, this bike has become my family-member; my wife and my son will never ever imagine to sell it. There are so many stories about this bike, but this space won't be able to accommodate them all.
Photographs: Tapas Bose
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