In the early 1970s, a college student in Jalandhar commuted daily on an old, battered lady's bicycle that had once belonged to his sister. Most students and teachers rode similar inherited, rusted bicycles. A few owned scooters, typically the unreliable Lambretta, which coughed and rattled like a retired brass band. The Vespa, sleek and stylish, was nearly unattainable. Owning one signified arrival.
From Bicycle to Bank Job
The student later joined a nationalised bank, continuing to ride the same bicycle and wear the same old trousers. His lifestyle remained unchanged. However, a colleague who had joined years earlier and held an exalted opinion of himself managed to buy a brand-new Vespa. He was the first in their colony to achieve this milestone. Instead of merely riding it to work, he turned it into a vehicle for wooing girls.
Every morning, freshly oiled and perfumed, he parked near the local bus stand around 8 am, just in time to catch sight of college girls. He would ask gently, 'Going to college?' When a girl replied yes, he would smile and motion to the back seat of his shining steed. He became a one-man pick-and-drop service, dropping off one girl and picking up another on the way back. Some days, he claimed to make three to four 'rounds.'
Teasing and Confessions
Colleagues often teased him, asking if he planned to open a public transport service or was doing social work. He would just grin and once told them, 'I get great pleasure when I apply the brakes suddenly and the girl sitting behind… well, she leans forward, and…' For him, friction was not just physics but fantasy. He continued his adventures, ferrying unsuspecting college girls and narrating tales in the bank canteen, even claiming to have taken some to the cinema.
The Fatal Crash
One morning, shocking news arrived. The colleague had dropped off a girl at her college and, moments later, collided head-on with a tractor-trailer. The crash was fatal. According to the writer, a retired Principal of Staff Training College in Chandigarh, the incident remains a stark reminder of the dangers of vanity and desire. To this day, whenever he sees a Vespa, he remembers that last ride — not just on two wheels, but on the winding road of vanity, desire, and irony.
