Clubbing Their Passion For Bikes

Guwahati, Jul 28 : Royal Enfield owners love to flaunt their bikes and like it even better to do so in droves. So, four years ago seven Bullet enthusiasts formed the Royal Enfield Riders Association of Meghalaya.

Today, the total headcount is just a few short of 100 and is only increasing. Besides raving about their passion for the bike and roaring about the streets in style, they also make efforts to convey social messages and propagate awareness about diseases like AIDS.

"We started the club in 2006 as a tribute to the world's favorite motorcycle. By 2008 the number of members was 23 and now we have about 85 members," said P S Warjri, president of the club. He added that of these members, about 35 are hard-core Bullet enthusiasts while the rest are less obsessed with their bikes, though as much enamored by them.

"I fell in love with the Royal Enfield in 1974 and have been riding the bike since then," said Warjri, who will be turning 50 this December. "I have three bikes now and all of them are Royal Enfield Bullets.

I like this particular motorcycle model so much because it has a powerful engine and looks much more macho than all others bikes available in the market," he said.
The Bullet is almost a state favorite there are about 4000 Royal Enfields in Meghalaya.

The Royal Enfield Riders' Association is one of the most active bikers clubs in the region. Besides biking activities, it has been actively involved with issues of social welfare in Meghalaya the members organize and participate in rallies to create awareness about diseases like HIV and AIDS, educate people about disaster management preparedness and other such things.

"We organize roadshows to create awareness about issues plaguing our society and support other sports events as well," said Warjri, popularly known as Bah Bhang. Recently, he added, the club organized an event in which the members rode down to Guwahati when Meghalaya soccer club Lajong played with the East Bengal Club in the final match of the Federation Cup.

The club members also regularly participate in Riders Mania, an annual meet of Royal Enfield enthusiasts, which is organized in various parts of the country.

"In 2008, the event took place in Ooty. About 15 Royal Enfielders from Meghalaya took part in it. We rode our bikes all the way to Chennai and then further down to Ooty," said Warjri.

B Shabong, a 59-year-old Meghalaya government official and the oldest member of the club, feels that once one gets used to riding a Royal Enfield one would not like any other bike as much. "It is perhaps this edge the machine has over others that is leading to the renewed Royal Enfield craze in the state," Shabong said. While he is the oldest member of the club, the youngest is about 24 years old.

Almost at the same time that the Royal Enfield Riders Association was set up, another group of Meghalaya bikers formed their own club Royal Rhino Club. Saranjit Singh Bedi, the vice president of the club, who is from Guwahati, said, "We formed the Royal Rhino Club in 2006 and have 25 registered members so far. We have travelled through almost all the northeastern states on our bikes," he said.

Bedi is a Bullet lover and started his journey on the Royal Enfield in 1980. "The Bullet was my dream bike since my childhood days. My father, who was also a bike lover and owned a Bullet, bought me my first Royal Enfield when I passed my class X exams," said Bedi, who is just back in city after a trip to Ladakh. Recently, the club organized a Save Tigers' rally on their Royal Enfields.

"We also took the junior members of our club to Thimpu in Bhutan on a leisure trip recently," said Bedi.