PALAKKAD: “Some childhood memories rarely ever leave,” said 52-year-old Sai Kiran, standing next to his visibly emotional 75-year-old mother, Chandrika, in the courtyard of their home in Palappuram, near Ottapalam.
Kiran was just 12 when he witnessed a moment that would stay with him for life: his father, Puthur Valappil Gangadharan, breaking down after selling the possession he cherished the most: his 1958 Royal Enfield Bullet, that had once been the pride of the family.
More than four decades later, that memory has come full circle.
Kiran, an LDF councillor of Ottapalam municipality, managed to trace and get back the very motorcycle his father had reluctantly sold during a financial crisis in 1985. The Bullet 350 had an England-made engine fitted with a Lucas magneto/alternator and an Amal carburettor.
“My father had purchased the motorcycle in 1972 from another person. At a time when such machines were rare in the region — there were only two Bullets in Ottapalam then — the bike quickly became an integral part of our family. For 13 years, we used it for daily travel and family outings, and my father treated the motorbike with exceptional care.”
However, a financial setback forced Gangadharan to sell the motorcycle for Rs 9,300 to a buyer from Lakkidi. Though the decision was unavoidable, the loss weighed heavily on him. Family members recalled how he would often speak of the vehicle with deep regret. Two years later, Gangadharan died following a heart attack.
“The memory of my father’s attachment to the bike stayed with my family, particularly my mother. We always thought of buying it back, but we couldn’t trace it,” Kiran says.
Years later, after overcoming financial struggles of his own from running a hotel in Puttaparthi in Andhra Pradesh, Kiran began searching for the motorcycle. The effort stretched several years, with enquiries extending to different parts of Kerala and neighbouring Tamil Nadu. Many suggested the bike might have long been dismantled for parts.
The search yielded result last December when Kiran’s nephew, Ashwin Sai, traced details of the vehicle through the Parivahan portal. The trail led them to Kannur, where the motorcycle was in the possession of Amal of Peringalai Kappad.
Amal was initially reluctant to sell the vintage machine. But Kiran’s account of the bike’s emotional significance — supported by an old photograph of him as a child seated on it — eventually persuaded him. After compensating Amal for the expenses incurred on the vehicle, Kiran was able to reclaim it. “I owe a special thanks to Amal and Ashwin, who understood my attachment to the vehicle.”
‘Fulfilling a promise’
Over the years, the bike had undergone alterations. Kiran sourced original parts of the model from Delhi and carefully restored the vehicle to its old glory. “After the refit, we brought it home this week and surprised our mother.”
The effort to trace the motorcycle and restore it became a shared journey for the entire family. “The search itself was long and uncertain, but when the motorcycle finally returned home, it created a festive mood among our relatives who knew how emotionally attached our family was to it.”