The DNA of the quintessential Indian biker has changed, it seems. There's no longer the yuppy, 'look at me', daring dude hurling up his expansive collection of glorious bikes. People from wider sections of the society have managed to bulldoze the stereotype we associate with biking and bikers. You could say a counter culture influence of big burlesque American biking brands such as Harley Davidson are a huge reason for the turn of the tide. But truth be told, India's evergreen Royal Enfield has also risen as a show-stopping companion to the changing prototype of the new Indian biker on road. Let's look at how this culture has chaned and who are making flashlights turn bright.
No longer is the rising juggernaut of the Indian biker full of wannabe teenagers wanting to spike their adrenaline on the road. Today, a modern Indian biker is in his 30 something and is largely identified as a forward-looking individual who wants success and ambition in equal bouts.
When we think bikes, we instantaneously come to think of young college going lot. But that is further from the truth or at best, truth half-baked. In the picture, we see Indian Navy Officer, Arun Verma a long term biker, posing alongside his superbike. It is a love he's treasured for over 3 decades, running parallel to his other love- safeguarding the country.
The times are changing and so is the culture of biking in India. Like new bees hovering across a beehive shelf in search of the great nectar, new enthusiasts from a wider range of the spectrum are taking to biking in India. Here Salamath Sheriff, a food-entrepreneur based in Bangalore posing with his Harley. He once rode the stylish but earnest Yamaha RX100 in college.
There was a time when the idea of sneaking out of the busy humdrum of everyday life was a holiday. Now, that definition has largely become recurring episodes called - road-journeys. The quintessential trend-setting Indian couple today is one who takes to the road as does a king and his queen with not a worry about the world.
Today, the DNA of a biker isn't speed or the motorcyle kind alone. Being a biker comes with an entire paraphernalia of being in the right 'biking gear'. After all, you ought to look the part you're going to play!
Jet-skiing on your bike on a lasting crusade of thrills, speed and picturesque memories? You ought to have a bike according to the whims and fancies of the terrain and your own want to extract the maximum from the journey! So, what do you do- you customize your bike or at best, leave it to the experts like Leroy Trout, seen posing here with his sensational customized hybrid in Goa.
There's something of a class and of chivalrous value that you get when you ride this storm-trooper of a bike. Thank god for the Brits, whose bike-riding influence left behind a permanent strand in India's cultural DNA- the 'Bullet' as it's lovingly called is the quintessential joy-ride to a divine and fulfilling biking experience in India.
Grungy, loud and aggressive- as the world paints the Royal Enfield rider with these remarks, to the rider these are nothing short of sobriquets.
Biking today, isn't just a matter of style! It is a bold statement you make to defy cultural stereotypes in India. May that stay cooler and grungier as ever!
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