Save our tigers!

When the catchline from the Indian cricket captain says "Just 1411 left", it makes one sit up and wonder for a while. Once the ad was done, I rushed to the computer and checked out the website. I even joined the roar and noticed this morning that 31,000 people have since, joined the roar. All the action is at www.saveourtigers.com.

Is this another marketing gimmick to gather a huge database of emails and phone numbers? Is it some innovative branding effort to get into the hearts of people? The motive is beyond judgement, for if you have watched the tiger moving in the wild, you will know that any effort of educating humans about the threat of this mighty beast disappearing deserves an applause. With the forest reserves becoming picnic grounds and places to unwind with alcohol and cigarettes and the animal tracks being used to test the off road capabilities of that newly acquired SUV, I do not see much hope. What we can do? Stay away is what is recommended. Let the reserves heal themselves and flourish again. Let the tigers grow in numbers, in a fearless and unpolluted environment. I have done my days at Sambar Road at Jim Corbett and I miss the place but I am keeping away from planning future visits. I am doing my bit. Are you?

Land Ahoy!

I have been away from home (read Kolkata) for two years now. First, it was Mumbai and then Bengaluru. Time went by like a breeze on the personal front. There was work (after two years of doing my own thing between 2006 and 2008) and a little money too. Life took an all new meaning when there was money to be drawn from an ATM at the end of every month.

However, there were a few things that kept flashing ever so mildly at the back of my mind. Friends, family, the fact that my daughter was growing up with fairy tales of her grandparents and motorcycles haunted me as I churned out power point and excel files on my office desk between 9 to 6. I decided that it was time to head back to the only place that could be called home. By mid February, I hope to get on that plane and see Nitin's smiling face at the airport once I land. I have never been an ambitious person and I am happy going back to a lesser paying job as long as I have people who care around. Then again, the feasibility of Monoshock starting up is higher on the hallowed grounds of Kolkata.

I look forward to churning out those e magazines as much as some of you look forward to reading them. The power point and excel sheets will have priority, but then, so will friends, family and motorcycles!

See you soon people. The view from the east is better!

- Rahul

The VW Jacket Days

Last week, while on a trip to another city and some serious drinking there, I caught a bug. By the next morning, there was a frog in my throat and a few hours later, a fever came along. Once back in Bangalore, I searched through my old trunk, looking for something warm to wear and I found the old VW jacket.

As I was wearing it, reruns of the old days filled my mind's screen. Me, the VW Jacket and the Honda Hornet 250 made the picture complete. Monoshock ran as a website for a full two years and the blog is still online but there never was a story on the Hornet and me. There was a comparo though which featured the Hornet, written for BS Motoring but thats it. I never wanted to be seen as a guy who rode an import around town and had followers because of the 180 section rear and that seductive exhaust note. To me, Monoshock was a website for everyone, created and maintained by people who were like any other biker on the street. Lonely deep inside, sensitive, caring and a bit loony.

The Hornet is long gone and the zeal for the website has lost itself somewhere in the twists of this road called life. The VW Jacket still remains. Its on my shoulder as I write this. It still smells of the days gone by. The wife just came in and asked, "What are you doing wearing shorts and that jacket?"

"Just planning to take the Hornet out", I replied, transported to another day.

Poor Rahul, she would have thought as she walked out, must be going round the bend!

Still Around

Almost a year has gone by since the last post. A year that was full of surprises, laughter, friends, struggle and hardships. The economic slowdown did little to uplift dampened spirits and emotions. I did go around though. Down the little green hills of Coorg and the cobblestone pathways of Pondy. I even drove up to Ooty and spent a whole afternoon gazing at the meadows from the verandah of the Ooty Gymkhana Club. A little bit of writing has happened too, albeit they are all notes. Some of them, have been penned down just to amuse myself. The hard drive has some new images as well, but they do not really fit anywhere on Monoshock!

To tell you the truth, I have carried my camera along to pretty destinations this year but, have often come back home without clicking a single picture. The biker in me, loves the "Midship" sticker on the new Yam. I think the new Zma sucks and Dubai was always over rated. But thats just me. Doing a round of the web, I see too much information on motorcycles. Tech Specs and user reviews pop up from the most unsuspecting links and everyone seems to be generally happy. There are also a few around who still email. Asking about a possible restart of the www.monoshock.in website. Thanks so much! Mean it from the bottom of my heart. I really have nothing to tell them right now.

Except that, I am still around!
- Rahul

Quantum of Solace

When I was a kid, a quantum of solace came from watching my mother move around the house on her many chores. Wearing a gown that touched the ground. I sat back in the verandah, glass of milk in my hand and watched her move around the local friendly cows that mowed our lawn naturally every other day. A few more years went by and I stared at coloured posters of big bikes clung to the sides of the Kolkata metro railway station exits, almost never having the money to buy one for the wall in my room where the paint had flaked off. The laminated Kawasaki GPZ was one that stole my imagination and kept me awake many nights. Just its mental image!

Then there were girls. I could almost never take my eyes off a particular shade of skin on the upper arms and necks. I must have ogled shamelessly at millions. I guess I am a visually stimulated person to a large(r) extent. Now, irrespective of what I ride and where I go to, there are times when I find myself parked by the road side. For no no rhyme or reason. Just watching the crows flying home or little children going to school. Or trees, trying to make conversation in the distance. Their language of longing so unmistakable and yet, calm.
There is solace all around. And if it is not, its just a ten minutes ride away. Thats a promise!
-Rahul

Seasons Greetings from Monoshock!

Six years ago, one of my long aimless rides had taken me to Aurangabad. I had met N there. She was beautiful, warm and alive. Her expressions reminded me of those pretty women who feature in classy advertisements. Their faces emotive, their lips quivering. Around her neck, she wore a silver necklace. 'It was given to me by my father', she said. In one of our close encounters that followed, I remember that necklace as the only thing left on her body. I spent countless hours at night, staring at her Goddess like fingers while she slept peacefully.

She was a chirpy and easy pillion when we blasted across the rain swept plateaus beyond the Buddhist caves just above Aurangabad. My P180 classic, wearing that trademark lilac colour pulling the insignificant extra weight like a relentless locomotive. The bass note from the blowtorch exhaust coupled with that 'jet engine' whine from the engine intoxicating me.
Then, one morning, she was gone. Just the way she had appeared. That morning was Dewali. She promised to stay in touch. People can be forgiven when they break some promises in life. Like every biker out there, I forgave her. We people keep forgiving don't we? Its Dewali again. I thought I would let all of you know. N never comes on to the Monoshock site. At least I would like to keep believing that, forever.
Happy dewali bros. Happy Dewali N.

Daman

We mostly travel to get somewhere. For something. Often forgetting the means to the end. What we get at the end of it all is always not what the truth is. A few days back I rode away to Daman. Once I reached there, the image was pretty disturbing. I wondered where all the Portugese architecture and splendour was. Not many locals, busy running their numerous bars had a clue either. Someone wise told me that it was called Moti Daman. I reached, and what I saw was unbelievable. Beautiful. I touched the old church walls and absorbed in my mind's screen as many images as I could of the human passion to build, travel and spread. At the end of the day, all you touch and all you see, is all your life will ever be!

Action Update Folks! Please

We wonder where the action happened? Oh yes, the TVS flame has launched itself grandly on hoardings all over the country. The sky behind the bike is beautiful to look at and that’s what held our attention for a good 30 seconds! The P220 is still quite a rare site on city streets. The Apache RTRs are on the rise. Yamaha and its MT (01) promises still appear to be a far cry from street side reality.

The R One Five (as the Yamaha blokes insisted, it be called) is something our eyes still scan on the horizon. There is nothing from Bajaj KTM or Honda for that matter. The Kinetic SYM thing does not appear to have taken women into any kind of flight. We know for sure that there are lot of informed folks out there who drop by the Monoshock site and blogs. Let us know what we missed guys. Hand hold us for a month and have patience. We will thrash them bikes around again till they beg to be photographed in a display of wild action. Ok! That reminds us, where is the camera?

Our cup of tea!

A lot can happen over tea. You wonder how we mooched that famous one liner and replaced the last word with tea eh? :-D

A lot of bonding, relaxation and work happens over endless cups of tea at Monoshock. Our Ed in Chief, Ben needs loads of it to go through a day. Some great relationships a few of our resident road testers have had, had a lot to do with earthen cups full of the brew. Here is an image that could be called, Days gone by! We love it.

- The Monoshock Team

A letter to Rossi - We got this on mail.

i have tried all these but no one is responding. i am compelled to go to college outside my state due to my family pressure. my parents, they want me achieve in college. they do not understand i want to achieve in other thing where i am best bcoz JESUS has given me this.

HI SIR PLZ SEND THIS MAIL TO V. ROSSI, THE DOCTOR, 46 YAMAHA GOD/ PLZ SIR HELP ME / I AM A VERY POOR BOY PLZ HELP ME

dear THE DOCTOR VALENTINO ROSSI,
i’m sonu and i’m your very biggest fan in the world and you will never find anyone in the world like me. i am a mad lover of your’s. i mean you are my life and my ideal and i respect you too much. i’m asian Indian and I LIKE YOU THIS MUCH. i want to participate with you. i’m a very poor boy i mean i’m not in a position to participate but i’m a very good bike rider, and like you if i got the chance i can progress ahead. i want become your student because you are my master. my age is 20 and nobody is here to help me expect JESUS. i don’t even have any family support and i hope you will help me.
ONLY YOU CAN HELP ME
jacob ratnam,
near gopal general stores
rajatalab RAIPUR 492001
Chhattisgarh, INDIA.

We got this mail today from Jacob and are reproducing it just the way it came in.

Hello Jacob,
It is so warm to see that you have such intense passion for motorcycle racing and Rossi. We are also sure that given the right support, you can become an able biker. However, education is very important for you. It will help you stand up as a man, make money and then empower you to buy the bikes you want and practice on a track. India also has many big races and you can start even 10 years later, when you are ready!

Remember Jacob, Jesus helps those who help themselves and you must keep the fire burning inside you and use it as a force to fuel your passion. But right now, it is time for you to make a career. Our economy, unfortunately does not allow for sponsorships for such causes, dost. Yes, its a cruel world. But you must not give up. And whenever you do make it, we will always be around to cheer you up on the track or on the road.

And we hope Rossi comes by to our blog to take a look at his greatest fan.

But till then, take a bow from all of us dost, for your courage and love for motorcycling.

- The Monoshock Team

So long my friend!

You know how amazing that new bike feeling is? You go to the showroom, one look at her and you know she is your's. You are already weaving a basket full of dreams around her. You close your eyes as they ready the papers and images of you and her on a long twisting highway start flooding your inner eye. Then you run her in. You enjoy every moment absorbing the thrust, braking and handling abilities.

Now what if after all this, you have to return the bike back to base as if it was never your's? Hard eh? We do it all the time. Every bike we run in, road test and fall in love with just goes back. Trust us when we tell you, we have returned bikes, sat in road side tea stalls and talked about how much we miss her. It is difficult. But life is like that. Reminds us of this amazing track by Yanni called "So long my friend". Though its instrumental, you can feel the loss in the melody.

From the album - Dare to Dream, its a must have for every music lover. You can take our word for it.
So long my friend!

Bigdog bike of the month - November!

Hey guys, its that time of the month again. The Bigdog bike of the month is out.

The lesser the said the better! It promises to light up your month. Max, mate, hope it brings you out of your November Rain blues! ;)

- The Monoshock Team

Walking the ramp, er, runway - Ducati Style!

A more appropriate location for the presentation of the new 2008 Ducati Apparel Collection couldn’t be found. The stage for this event will be the “Guglielmo Marconi” International Airport in Bologna where, on Thursday, October 18th at 7:30 p.m., the fashion show for the newest clothing items from the motorcycle company of Borgo Panigale will take place.

In the A3 area on the ground floor, a real fashion show will be organized that will begin the “take off” of the newly proposed Ducati clothing line that is already present at Ducati Stores (one of which can be found on the first floor of the airport), perfect for the many fans that are already excited about the recent MotoGP world title won by Casey Stoner in the seat of a Desmosedici.

The items in the Ducati Apparel 2008 collection can be admired (and eventually purchased) next month (November) at the Ducati website!

Eating out tonight? Try Japanese!

The most powerful naked bike ever...... smokes racer boys.... pumps adrenaline.... and so on!

You need campaigns like these to shake the legends of the rice rockets from the land of the rising sun!

No comments from us here though, by the way, any insights on how Japanese food is? That would be worth the try!

Bike of the month, October!

Ahem! Its time for the Bigdog bike of the month again. This October, the theme is flames. And we are going up in some too!

That mid section is really awesome we say. The lines are timeless and the rear befitting the entire package. Also note the one on one shotgun exhausts and the spikes on the front wheel hub.

She will be quite a ride we reckon.

Could this be your next Suzuki?

"Ya know, Sometimes, the Synner feels that he's the Friggin' Oracle or somethin'...

A while back, he made a post on small capacity sportbikes makin' a comeback (albeit, 400CC) and bada bing! Yamaha launches the R125 soon after... He'd be extremely surprised if at least one more bike isn't unveiled between the R125 and the R6."

The entire post from Monoshock columnist Synn is here. . .

Sunday morning breakfast at Singapore!

For all those who are in Singapore, whether on work or leisure. And then some like our good ol buddy synn; head out to the Bombay Woodlands for the most promising breakfast on offer.

We are not the only ones crying out loud about this. The rice idlis, pani puris, chats and bhelpuri there are tongue numbing!

The details are here:
19, Tanglin Road,#B1-01/02, Tanglin Shopping Centre, Singapore 247909Tel: (65) 6235 2712
So call and make your reservation now!
Enjoy!

One of the legendary motorcycle rides!

"France may have its vineyards, and Rome its ancient ruins, but America is the undisputed wonderland of roads. Here in the Land of the Free, the open road has long been a symbol of independence, and all the more so on a motorcycle." - Stephen Regenold

Great, what we have here is the 11-mile Tail of the Dragon route at Deals Gap, N.C., which is probably the most famous motorcycle road in the country, according to Bill Belei, editor of MotorcycleRoads.com. Indeed, "The Tail" has an amazing 318 curves, many flanked with precipitous drop-offs, creating an exhilarating, unforgettable ride. 318 curves eh? Hehehe. What else can we say?

Bums the word!

9/11 - Just another date

This image symbolizes violence. Like at the World Trade Centre, Munich, The Middle East and many many more such 'civilized' places.

A fond memory of all those who lost their lives and strength to those who suffer in the hands of soldiers, sold in human grocery stores worldwide.

We hope someday there is peace. However, common sense tells us that peace here means total destruction. Like the wise Terminator once said, 'it is in our nature to destroy ourselves!'

How true is true?

It happens mostly when I am skirting on the verge of boredom and sleep. Bored of the way things move and behave. I have imaginations of long winding roads divided by delicately drawn white lines in between. The great design, of what is yours and what is mine. Then there are images, of people gone by. That pretty girl in school who I never had the courage to talk to. The poor boy on the street that went away from my side, empty handed, hungry and sad while I was saving up to buy my third Adidas cap.

A friend of mine needed some money for something, which has now faded off my memory, but it must have been something important. I could not delay the purchase of my bike for a week and told him to go fish somewhere else.

I no longer walk alone and carelessly in the rain. I no longer long to be home, an imaginary place where we all connect to, but it never really exists. I work to get the emag online on time, thinking that delays may look unprofessional and hurt the advertisement value in the long run. Everything just blends into one unrecognizable paste of greed, viability and lust. The need for love, money, peace, speed and fame take the front row seats of the mind’s screen. Is this what it is like to be human? Does my writing go beyond the viabilities of a successful business plan? Is free really free? Or is it just to boost the numbers for the new advertiser?

I do not know friends. But I will try to see things in another light. I will try to be more genuine. For so many of you and Monoshock! It is my greatest dream. And we all know that most dreams are not built around viability.
- Rahul