No, I'm not talking about Pakistan. I'm talking about motorcycles.
Surprisingly, there are a lot of ties between the two topics. There are A LOT of motorcycles in Pakistan - and in much of the developing world. I think it's mostly because its the cheapest, most efficient means of transportation available. So in Pakistan, all of the families I know have at least one motorcycle. And you'd be surprised, sometimes an entire family will have only a single 50cc motorcycle as its only means of transportation. It is not uncommon to see and entire family of five sitting on one motorcycle. Women hold onto babies and ride on the back of a motorcycle with the baby in their arms. In fact, M remembers his that his entire family - Ammi, Abbu and their FOUR CHILDREN - would ride on Abbu's Honda 5o together until they got a car when he was older.
Transportation for the whole family!
So M has a long history with motorcycles, and he says he's always wanted a motorcycle of his own. In fact, he was so crazy about getting a motorcycle that he saved up every spare dollar of his tiny graduate student's stipend and was able to buy a motorcycle within two years. Unfortunately he decided to buy a motorcycle even though he didn't own a car. Unfortunately for me because we lived more than an hour apart, so after we started dating guess who ended up doing all the long-distance more-than-two-hour-roundtrip drives?
It's always surprised me that you don't meet more desis with motorcycles though. I mean, it's not like there's much diversity in the biker scene in America anyway, but I always thought that since motorcycles are so widespread in South Asia, there'd be more desis like M who would want to own motorcycles in America when they come here. But I only know one other friend of M who also bought himself a motorcycle and every time we've attended any biker rally, we've never seen another desi among the crowd.
There is one guy though, who I've seen on the road and I hope to catch up to one day. I've driven past him twice before. I didn't notice what kind of bike he had or the color of his skin. It was his motorcycle jacket that caught my eye both times. A black leather jacket with a phrase embroidered on the back: "Lahori Badshah" - King of Lahore.
Maybe they can all band together one day and form a desi biker gang. Just have to think of a badass name for 'em first!
Oh yeah, and women ride sideways mostly.
12 comments:
I don't think it is so much of a penchant for motorcycle or scooter culture as much as a matter of the money for affording a car. Average people have no access to credit and one has to pay in full for a vehicle. Petrol and other maintenance is extremely expensive. So that is where scooters and motorcycles come in.
But in the US, who would want to ride a motorcycle if you can have a car? That's why you don't see many desis or Vietnamese or other people from places where two wheel transport is the most affordable doing the same in the US.
Ironically, though we think of white American bikers as burly sort of lower class rough necks, I can only imagine that being a biker-hobbyist is expensive in the US!
Yeah, that's why I wrote about it being the cheapest, most efficient means of transportation. It's still more efficient in America, even with the bikes being much bigger. Motorcycles can even use the special HOV lanes for carpooling because they're so efficient.
But I'm surprised mostly because I would think growing up around bikes for one reason (affordability and efficiency) would naturally lead to an appreciation of bikes for the other reason (penchant for motorcycle and scooter culture like you said) but I have not really noticed that.
well there are scooter log and gari log and I think becoming a gari walla is a step up, and everyone wants to move up in life.
Now you need to make a post about the penchant for Hondas and Toyotas among the people who become gari wallay :-) My DH is different, he likes Volkswagen. But he is the lone weirdo, I think.
Ah, no! My husband's family are "Foxy" devotees, too! I'll have to get the details and write about that tomorrow.
I think it's because desis (and everyone else) think of moving to America as moving up in life..and to them, owning a motorcycle in America isn't considered moving up in life..it's when you own a car that you've really achieved something. People will struggle with having to take public transport everywhere, and have no car, but hang in there till they get a car. They just don't tie America and Motorbikes together. Growing up around bikes may lead a few to appreciate them as much as M, but I think for most people who move to America..it's a 'back home thing.'
Much to my wife's dislike, I do own a motorcycle. What does M drive? I have a Kawasaki Ninja.
I agree, in Pakistan those who can't afford a car afford a motorcycle.
I love motorcycles. I used to own a scooter in India, but the second I reached to college I used to exchange it withmotorcycle owned by my guy friends.
Here in the US, my ex and I bought Yamaha and I enjoyed riding it as much as I could, but due to high speeds and not much safety, I refused to drive it on freeways. I love motorcycles, but not more than my life. I don't own motorcycle right now, but do wanna buy one when I am bit more settled in life. Its just the dream I always had, or may be its the love for style.
Unlike Desiland Motorcycles are expensive in the US thats why most people BTW most people buy Motorcycle as their second ride here not the first and due to long distances driving its not as efficient either.
Hey my husband could join the gang. He of course had motorcycles growing up in Pak and then when living here had bullet bikes and now he has a harley.
M has a Yamaha V-star cruiser.
I was talking to him about this post and the comments, and we were discussing the affordability thing and he had a good point. I said that the same is true in America - motorcycles are relatively inexpensive, and used non-Harley motorcycles are actually very cheap and fuel efficient. But M mentioned that in America, at best 2 people can ride on a motorcycle legally. In the developing world, a motorcycle is a viable vehicular choice for everyone, even families- it's still considered a "family vehicle" and plently of people have ONLY a motorcycle because of that.
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man i would love to have a bike, even though i live in Toronto where you cant use the bike for 6 months , but i still was a sports type heavy bike,,, but i dont think its because growing up with the bikes ,,, because ppl get tired of seeing the same thing again and again ,,, but i have actually grown up ( i would say so ) in north america where i am tired of seeing cars and have no interest in em unlike my age mates ,,, so i would love to won a sports type bike ,,,
@ Ahmad ... i also want a blue kawasaki ninja ,,, i know this one guy in my college's got a black kawasaki ninja
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