Page 74 - SAM CLUB DAY 2016 all pages.cdr

SAM CLUB DAY ‘16

Shakur - The Legendary Cycle Keeper

- G.K. Khare '55

When I landed in Jamalpur in mid-1956 as an eager-faced (though somewhat nervous), 18-year old, one of the
first things I was told a er the ini al heckling by seniors (mercifully the ragging was quite moderate in those
days, and even enjoyable at mes) was that the most important accessory which a fresher needs while star ng
life as an SCRA, apart of course from the regula on Khaki shirts and trousers is a bicycle. This piece of machinery
is an unavoidable necessity for commu ng four mes a day between Workshop (or school) and Gymkhana. The
result was that the very next day saw me heading towards Munger (Monghyr in those days) with the faithful
Shakur in tow, and I became the proud owner of an “Eastern Star” bicycle for a princely sum of Rs. 145/- (this
was a lot of money those days).

There used to be a large cycle shed at the North Eastern corner of the front lawn (I presume it is s ll there),
under the sole charge of a guy called Shakur. The remarkable thing about this fellow was that whatever be the
condi on of the bike entrusted to his care at the day's end- whether just a case of a flat tyre or a more serious
ma er of twisted wheel, he would have it ready and available at 6:30 am the following morning. In the rare
event of an unusually bad case, he will at least have a subs tute bike handy. Never was a case when a young
SAM all dressed up for shop was stranded without conveyance.

There was an interes ng case of Vijay Kanwar '55's bike. Whether it was his bulky frame- all of 180 pounds, or
his rather “laid back” style of cycling, the poor machine took a bow shape within two months of use. You can
well imagine how hard it must have been to keep that contrap on in working order. It did stretch Shakur's
ingenuity to the utmost.

Shakur knew his bikes like the back of his palm. Once it so happened that I lost my bicycle from the bylanes of
Jamalpur market, where I had gone shopping for a pair of shoes. I was a bit ra led, Shakur asked me not to
worry. And sure enough, within a ma er of two days Shakur had finished out the bike from somewhere in
Munger. It was rumoured that Shakur could smell a Gymkhana bike from miles away.

Such was our Shakur – cool, unflappable and a master mechanic to boot. It was some me in the 70s that I heard
that the great chap was no more, and that his mantle had passed on to his son. But there can be no real
subs tute for him. He will forever remain a bright star in the annals of Gymkhana.

72