Comes the day...

1990 Kawasaki ZZR250

...when I can finally get on the bike! Note the yellow L-plate on the back. Thanks, Sreeni!

Getting to ride...Step 2

Completed and passed (46 correct answers for 46 questions!) my Driver Knowledge Test today.

Funny thing is one of the guys doing the rider training with me said that he found that the most long-winded and complicated answer was usually the correct one. I found this to be absolutely correct with the exception that for a question for which the answer was 'Never' you had to choose Never, which was the shortest answer.

Usually they will take a photo and issue you a normal card licence right away. The guy at the RTA sheepishly told me that the licence printing machine was not functioning that day and gave me a paper receipt that will serve as a temporary licence.

Armed with my L plates, I will now go to my friend Sreeni whose bike is sitting unused and which I can use for a month or two... This will happen on Friday.

Need to get a helmet and some gear before that....

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Bhuira

I've been a fan of the Bhuira range of marmalades for some years now. Now available around India via stores such as FabIndia, it used to be available only in the small Giant (heh, heh) supermarket at Noida where I stay when in India.

Their marmalades are out of this world, especially the bitter orange marmalade and the 3-fruit marmalade that has the local kinoo fruit too. Very old-fashioned taste and old-fashioned presentation too: I was intrigued by the the thick plug of wax at the top of the jam in each bottle that is used to seal it off.


I find out now that they are made by a small enterprise started by Linnet Mushram. She is British born, married to a Kashmiri and has settled in Bhuira village in Himachal. Starting off by making these jams for herself because that's the way her mum did it, she was coaxed into making the operation more commercial. Now it seems, the business runs mainly as a way to help the women of the area be economically independent. Perhaps the next time I go to Himachal I might drop in on her and express my appreciation.

If any of you are coming to Sydney from India, be sure to pick up a couple of bottles of Bhuira Bitter Orange Marmalade for me.

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Motorbikes, more on

I always wanted a motorbike when I was growing up in India- just like most urban teenagers. It seemed to be the ultimate in coolth and of course, essential if you wanted to attract the chicks....

Never did get one in college but I did end up buying one in Bombay where I was working for a year or so before moving off to Bangkok. What I really wanted then was a Royal Enfield Bullet 350cc but I think a) it was more expensive and b) there was a longish wait to get one.

So I bought a Yezdi (though I'd have preferred a Jawa). It was great! It reduced my commute from Andheri to Chembur by 30 minutes each way and, I believe, did get me the chick (singular, my first real girlfriend). We used to scoot around town having a drink here and a meal there and generally having fun.


When I moved off to Bangkok in 1981, I presented the bike to my brother. He still has it with him in the tea gardens of Assam where he is based and it still has the MMI 801 number plate (how, I do not know).

As I start on the path to get a motorcycle riders licence here in Sydney, I was surprised to find that Royal Enfield bikes are being imported here and sold here to enthusiasts. There even is a Royal Enfield Club for owners and enthusiasts.

I'm signing up. Maybe I will finally get the Bullet that I lusted for all those years ago!

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