‘Royal Machines’ swarm the city

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As dusk settled in over Kochi, evening strollers along the new river side near Pachalam Church heard a faint rumble in the distance, which grew louder by the minute until 27 classic Royal Enfield riders in black jackets, glouses, boots and helmets zoomed past them in a cloud of dust and noise while they watched in open mouthed wonder.

They didn’t know it but members of the Royal Machines, a forum of proud owners of the bullets, formed last Sunday were out riding in the city, showing off their cherished bikes.

The forum can already count 40 passionate bikers like Jackson Puthur, 33, a computer hardware engineer and Neeraj, 36, from the media, among its members.

“This was our first official meeting when we named the forum and drew up the criteria for new members. Anyone aspiring to join us must successively attend at least three meetings and go on at least one ride to be eligible," says Mr Jackson, adding that the membership fee has been fixed at `1000 as the idea is to attract only the “serious bullet lovers”.

“Riding a bullet is simply a royal feeling. Since learning to ride this classic machine at the age of 13, I have never felt like riding any other. It’s all about the passion. We want a forum of people who share it with the same intensity,” he explains.

The idea of Royal Machi-nes took shape over chit chat by some of the owners at an exclusive bullet repair centre in Kacheripadi.

The forum, which plans to register as an NGO and rent a building to run the club n NGO, will launch a website as well before the next bullet ride to Munnar.

If you happen to be on the road then, be prepared to feast your eyes on bikes ranging from the vintage 1958 to the classic models as they whizz past in a demonstration of speed and strength.