My (not so) new ride -Jawa

The reincarnation of the iconic Jawa brand in 2018 thanks to Mahindra’s licensing agreement with Jawa Moto created a buzz amongst vintage bike fans in India. The new Jawa bikes have a good mix of new technology with classic good looks. Though slow to get off the blocks, sales and deliveries picked up pace towards the end of 2019.

After researching a bit, I decide to go in for the Jawa 42 a couple of months ahead of the Covid pandemic. Thanks to the lockdown, I have not been able to go on any long rides yet but am enjoying short rides when I can.

A couple of weekends back I rode around for an hour in the outskirts of Trivandrum. As I was taking a break near the beach, some early morning joggers stopped to admire the good looks of the galactic green ’42. One person in particular, started reviewing the bike up close. He started chatting me up and asked a lot of questions – price, mileage, comfort etc. Then he revealed the reason – he owned a Jawa way back in the 80s – it was the first bike he ever owned. His point was that the looks of the new Jawa was very similar to the old. After spending a few minutes reminiscing about the good times he had with Jawa, he reluctantly brought himself to walk away.

Pictured here is my impression of the Jawa. These days I am taking lessons from my artistically talented children Nandu and Niya. Nandu in particular is no longer an amateur and is well versed with advanced art techniques she has learnt on her own. Niya is following in her footsteps and her art is way ahead of her age as well.

Farewell Diego!

Last week Diego Maradona, one of the greatest to have ever played the ‘beautiful game’ passed away.

Maradona was the quintessential tragic hero. Rising from a very humble background, he reached the heights of football super stardom in the mid-eighties. The peak was of course the 1986 world cup which Argentina won mainly due to the genius of the short stocky superstar.

Who can forget the quarterfinal vs England? That match saw the best and the worst of Diego within a span of five minutes. He opened the scoresheet with the infamous ‘Hand of God’ goal but a few minutes later we also saw the ‘Goal of the century’.  

With his drug issues and multiple bans, his career as a player ended on a sad note in the 90s. He was to make a comeback as a coach in later years whilst struggling with his health issues.

But none of that will take away the joy he has given to millions across the world with his football magic.

At a personal level, I was fortunate to watch the 1986 World cup with my cousins. We were teenagers then and we spent the sleepless summer nights of ’86 watching the matches on Doordarshan.

Here is a post from 10 years back that I penned ahead of the 2010 World cup

http://chellakilli.blogspot.com/2010/06/gooooooaaaal.html

Fond memories!

Thank you and farewell Diego. You will live on in the hearts of the millions who enjoyed your magical performances.