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| New video explains how Indian craftsman preserved the Bullet. |
Colorblind calls its film "a tribute" to India's maestro mechanics, who create beautiful Royal Enfield Bullets with oil blackened hands.
They're selling themselves short. Less than 20 minutes long, "Old Delhi Motorcycles" is nothing less than an attempt to explain the universal appeal of motorcycles — and especially old British motorcycles.
The Royal Enfield Bullet is an icon in India and a rare survivor of a vanished species. Production continues but, as the film explains, the Bullet is much bigger in India than the Royal Enfield company itself.
The Bullet owes its survival in India to special factors, including war and isolation, but also to a special breed of craftsmen. Working crouched in dark alleyway shops, they devote their lives to this motorcycle.
"We have to keep their legacy alive," the film concludes. "We must not let this die."
Reader Michael O'Reirdan pointed out the video to me and vouched for its veracity.
"I visited the market where that was filmed, it is amazing. Alleys with old and young blokes all crouched over motorbikes tapping away making things. It was spectacular."
There's more about the real Old Delhi Motorcycles on Facebook.
"I only paint Bullets." Love it.
ReplyDeleteBeautiful post Mr. Blasco. Bulletwala for life.
ReplyDeleteTurns out that a bloke I met through Facebook, an Indian Bullet rider knows some of the folks in the film. He says the guys in the film are the real deal, swearing and all. They prepared his Bullet for a ride up to over 16000 feet up in the mountains on the way to Kashmir.
ReplyDeleteA great film as it captures the heart of these mechanics who work not for the the money, but for the heart.
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