A college teacher with a passion for old two-wheelers

When Gahar Abedin, a resident of Bhubaneswar, developed a fascination for old and vintage two-wheelers nearly 15 years back after he received an old motorcycle as a gift from a close friend, he had never imagined that he would be able to come this far.

The 46-year-old college teacher is now the proud owner of over 60 vintage motorcycles and scooters and about 40 of them are in road-worthy condition. His prized possessions include a motorcycle of the World War II time.

“I had a fascination for everything old. However, I became interested in old
motorbikes when a friend of mine gifted me a 250 CC BSA vintage motorcycle nearly 15 years back. Since then I have not looked back. The interest now has turned into a passion”, he said.

According to Abedin who teaches economics in an autonomous college in Nimapara in Puri district, which is a few km away from Bhubaneswar, majority of the old two-wheelers he currently owns have been gifted by people, some of them outside Odisha, on  seeing his enthusiasm and passion for vintage bikes.

He has also purchased some of the motorcycles from interested sellers. “When I go out of the town, I search for two-wheeler repairing shops and mechanics. I gather information about the owners of the old motorcycles and scooters and approach them if they want to sell their vehicles,” Abedin said.

Usually, people want to get rid off their old two-wheelers as maintaining them had always been a massive problem.

Once he acquires an old two-wheeler-- most of the time they are in bad and precarious condition-- he sits down to bring them to running condition with the help of mechanics whom he trusts.

In the beginning, Mani Ram, a city-based mechanic who he fondly called Mani Bhai, used to help him a lot in repairing these old machines.

However, after his demise he gets the job done with the help of a few other known mechanics. “You have to be a mechanic yourself when you have a
passion like this. You have to acquire the basic knowledge of the trade,” Abedin said.

He gets a lot of help and assistance from motorcycle collectors like him in other cities such as Pune, Kolkata, Hyderabad and Vizianagaram in neighbouring Andhra Pradesh.
Abedin said all the two-wheelers he owns were very close to his heart.

“All of them are very precious to me,” he insisted. However, after a lot of persuasion, he conceded that a British made M-20 BSA 500 CC bike has been his favourite. The vintage motorcycle, interestingly, was used during the World War II. “The bike was never made for civilians. The British government was producing these motorbikes only for their armed forces,” he maintained.

The late Satya Sunder Das, a landlord from Sayadpur area in Odisha’s coastal Jajpur district was owning the vintage bike. He had acquired it through an auction. His widow had donated the two-wheeler to Abedin with a request that he should write her late husband’s name on it.

“And I have kept her request. The motorcycle has his name and address painted on its body,” the college teacher-cum-motorcycle collector said.

His other prized possessions include an erstwhile East Germany made MZ 250 CC two-stroke bike and mini-Rajdoot, the small two-wheeler which was used in Bobby-- Rishi Kapoor and Dimple Kapadia’s debut movie of early 1970s. The bike was launched in the market through the Hindi blockbuster.

The small two-wheeler is now out of market. On his future plan, Abedin said, he had a long-cherished desire to build an automobile museum in his village in Banamalipur in coastal Puri district.

“We have a piece of land in our village and I have a desire to set up an automobile museum where my collections will be on display for general public. My
village is already famous for producing nuts. I want to give it a new identity,” he maintained.

According to Abedin collection of old and vintage two-wheelers is definitely a costly hobby. “I spend nearly 80 per cent of my monthly pay to carry on with my hobby,” he said.

He has been able to keep home fires burning because he belongs to a well-to-do family.
He thanks his wife Pinky Abedin for extending great support. “I have been able to continue with my passion because of her full support and co-operation,” Abedin said with a broad smile.

No wonder, the husband-wife duo along with their minor daughter go for a joy ride almost every night on one of Abedin’s prized collections.

At the end, he had a piece of advice for individuals owning old two-wheelers.
“I always request people having an old scooter or motorcycle in the family not to sell it to “Kabadiwallas” (scrap vendors). If they do that they will be destroying part of history. If they want to get rid of their old vehicles they can always donate them to collectors,” he said.