A SLICE OF "SHANTARAM"

"Made like a gun, Goes like a Bullet" - This is the iconic tagline of the British Royal Enfield. Even today, in a motorcycle world dominated by Harleys and Ducatis, the heart of every Indian biker I've met still remains with the off-springs of the Royal Enfield stable. Although the British parent company is now defunct, the Indian subsidiary owned by Eicher Motors Limited is going strong and the Bullet 350cc reigns as the motorcycle with the longest production run of all times.   

I am not a biker. I've only ridden bikes a handful of times that too in uncrowded roads for short durations of time. But the below Description of what a Bullet stands for by Gregory David Roberts from his Phenomenal book Shantaram is too good to be not shared with you all.

"The Enfield of India (350cc Bullet with a single cylinder, four stroke engine) is a motorcycle constructed to the plans of the original 1950s model of the British Royal Enfield. Renowned for it's idiosyncratic handling as much as for its reliability and durability, the Bullet was a bike that demanded a relationship with its rider.

The relationship involved tolerance, patience and understanding on the part of the rider. In exchange, the bullet provided the kind of soaring, celestial, wind-weaving pleasure that birds must know, punctuated by not infrequent near death experiences."