Story of my HERO IMPACT

I was one of those kids whose parents would get them stuff even before they got a notion about those. I got my first tricycle when I was 2 and half years old, if my mom’s claim has to be believed. When I was 6 years old, I got a small bicycle, which had side wheels fixed on the rear-wheel. This cycle had the name “Daasan” written on its seat (it was a local brand). I was in high spirits when I got that. I was engrossed on gaining balance as soon as possible and so I made my mom take those side wheels away within a week. And in a week and a half of getting that bicycle, I could ride it without any support. I was elated, proud of myself.

Every evening, I would yearn to reach home so that I could take out my bicycle and ride it; so that I could show off my riding skills in front of my friends. But, Daasan was just a small bicycle. My importance among my friends vanished, when my best friend started riding a full size bicycle (his uncle’s), even though he wasn’t even as tall as the bicycle and had to ride it in a standing position.

So, at the age of 8 years, I lost interest in my Daasan. That was when I started bugging my parents for a bigger cycle, full sized one. My parents could never understand me. Indeed, why would any parent approve of an 8 year old child’s request for a huge bicycle? But I never gave up. My parents must have had a tough time on deciding whether they should buy one for me, but finally one day they decided to surrender and mom took me with her to the bicycle shop. I think she thought that I would withdraw when I come close to my object of demand, due to its size, but it never happened. And so I became the proud owner of my Hero Impact. Hero had just launched that model a week before my purchase of it.

I couldn’t wait to ride it, so as soon as we reached home, even before getting inside the house, I got on the bike. Obviously I was scared, but my desire to master balance on it overpowered the fear. I couldn’t ride it that day. But next day my mom asked me to go and get milk from the shop nearby, and I took my Impact with me. I was walking with it, but it was very enjoyable. And soon enough I gained balance on it, and rode it pretty efficiently. I would ride for sometime while pedaling in a standing pose, and when I gained enough speed would sit on the seat, feet released from the pedals.

Life was exciting with Impact and friends, and it went on like that for one year. My life changed when my parents got transferred, and we shifted to our grandparents’ house, the next year. This house is in a village, and the terrain is hilly and the population scanty. That was it. I never got permission to ride the cycle alone, outside the courtyard of my house, and that was unbearable. This effected in gradually fading my interest in the cycle. Soon it came to a state that I never touched the cycle at all. Over the years, it rested in our garage and finally I decided to give it to a small boy who stays in our neighborhood.

The man who has influenced me the most

When I say that there is a man who has had the greatest influence on me, it is none other than my grandfather.  He is a great man, though he never will acknowledge that. I don’t exactly remember when I came to consider him my role model. But I can confidently say that there is no other person in this world who has gained more respect from me.

When I was a child, I remember, I used to be very scared of my grandfather. He is a retired school head master. He is tall, lean and healthy. He was never very good at dealing with children, and hence generally kept away from me. He has a very booming voice, which I guess, had contributed to my fear factor.

During those days, my parents and I used to stay at a different place from my grandparents house and came home only once in two weeks. My grandfather used to coach girls from the village, to play volleyball. He has coached hundreds of students so far, from whom he never asked anything in return as kind or cash. Those were mostly children from poor or lower middle class families, the parents of who found it extremely difficult find enough resources to send them to school. This is one aspect about him that has had an influence on me.

My grandfather was never at ease with kids. He considered that it would be better to keep them at bay. My grandfather’s approach to kids changed, I can say, drastically after spending one whole year with my brother, aged 2, when my parents had no one to look after him back where we stayed. I reckon only after that did he start appreciating the fun one could have with kids around.

The next turning point was when my parents got transferred to branches (they work in bank) nearby my grandparents’ house and we shifted our residence to that house. I was about 10 years old then. The friendship that formed between my grandfather and me was gradual. But the bonding has turned out to be very strong.

I have told you he was a school headmaster when he retired. In fact he is much more than that. I call him a walking encyclopedia. He has the knowledge gained through extensive reading. He was my story narrator, studying partner, teacher, and many more. He is the best story teller I have ever come across. Though it was my brother who changed my grandfather’s approach to children, it was I who gained maximum out of him. My interest in science interested him, I suppose. His knowledge about different subjects always amazed me. He could talk about any subject so extensively and informatively that I could actually visualize what he was explaining.  When he narrates a story, you experience being in the scene of the story.

After my tenth standard in school, I left home to do my higher school and college education. But the bonding between my grandfather and me has stayed intact or rather grown stronger over the years. It is delighting to realize that both of us enjoy each others’ company a great deal.