Kerala municipal councillor's search brings father’s beloved Bullet back home after decades

Ottapalam: Tears welled up in Chandrika’s eyes when the motorcycle her husband had been forced to sell decades ago was brought back and parked in the courtyard of their ancestral home.

For the elderly woman, the Enfield Bullet bearing the registration number KLG 8153, which rolled into the Pathoor Valappil house at Patham Mile, was far more than just a motorcycle. It was one of the most cherished memories of her late husband, Gangadharan.

Gangadharan, once an industrialist in Andhra Pradesh, sold his 1959 model Bullet in 1985 when financial difficulties forced the family to part with it. The bike, which he had treasured almost like his life, was sold for ₹9,300. According to his son Sai Kiran, who is now a councillor with the Ottapalam municipality, Gangadharan would often reminisce about the bike until his death.

Even after Gangadharan passed away in 1987, the wish to bring the Bullet back home remained alive in the family. Years later, after achieving some financial stability, Sai Kiran began searching for his father’s beloved motorcycle. But the effort initially yielded little hope.

Just when he had almost given up, assuming the old bike might have been dismantled long ago, an unexpected breakthrough came. Ashwin, son of Sai Kiran’s half-brother, searched for the vehicle on the Parivahan website using its registration number and discovered that the bike still existed. The next challenge was to track where it was.

With the help of some contacts in the Motor Vehicles Department, the vehicle was eventually traced to Kannur. Further inquiries revealed that the Bullet was in the possession of Amal, a resident of Alakkat House in Kappad, Peringalaayi, who was known for collecting and preserving vintage vehicles.

When Sai Kiran initially contacted him, Amal made it clear that he had bought the bike not to sell it but to keep it in his collection. However, things changed when Gangadharan’s family sent him an old photograph through WhatsApp, which showed Gangadharan and his family standing beside the same Bullet many decades ago. The image moved Amal.

When Sai Kiran later met him in Kannur, Amal agreed to part with the bike for the same price he had paid for it. As Sai Kiran was then a candidate in the recent local body election, he promised to return with the money after the polls. But two days later, Amal surprised him with a phone call. “A container is heading to Palakkad. Your Bullet has been loaded onto it. You can pay me later,” Amal said.

When the motorcycle reached Ottapalam, Sai Kiran took it straight to a workshop before bringing it home. Spare parts of the original model were sourced from Delhi, and the bike was completely restored. Meanwhile, the promised payment was transferred to Amal.

On the night before collecting the fully restored bike from the workshop, Sai Kiran casually asked his mother Chandrika, “Shall we search once more for our old Bullet?”. His mother replied that it was something they would never get back. Yet the very next evening, Sai Kiran rode into the courtyard with the restored Bullet, leaving Chandrika overcome with emotion.