Pedaling to glory

"The life is adventure, you will have many adventures in life. When you read this book, forget all about it, as your own adventure will surpass and you will enjoy your own handwritten diary with more interest.”

This is what Adi Hakim wrote brushing aside any talk of honor when I requested him to autograph his book Round the world on Bicycles co-authored by Jal Bapasola and Rustam Bhamgara, for his one-year-old granddaughter, Jasmine. These three Parsi youths traveled the world from 1923 to 1928 on bicycles, covering 44,000 miles in four-and-a-half years.

When Hakim exired in 1982, his eldest son’s friend Mahendra Desai came for a condolence visit, and it’s then that he became aware of a living legend who had quietly passed away. I still remember Desai was so charged reading the book and talking to the family that he decided to write a story based on their book. He contacted the other surviving cyclists and their families and gathered sufficient data and documents, photographs, etc. He wrote the story in a prestigious Gujarati magazine Chitra­lekha, which serialized it as "Pedal per prithvi parakamma.” It was a runaway hit! Thereafter Desai published it as a novel in 1984. A multifaceted character, Desai was a civil engineer, dramatist, media person, author and an advisor to the former chief minister of Gujarat Shankersingh Vaghela.

Cyclists Hakim, Bapasola and Bham-gara Photo courtesy: Parsis and Sports

Desai died in January 2003, and his wife Bhanu took it upon herself to complete all his unfinished works. So on January 17, 2004 a memorial function was held where three books and a reprint second edition of Pedal per prithvi parakamma were released.

The who’s who of Gujarati literature, Vaghela, along with Hakim’s eldest son Dara graced the dais. Dara was given the honor to release all the books. The Gujarati audience was awestruck by the adventures of three Indian Parsi cyclists. Indeed it’s a day of pride for the community when others honor their heroes, and a special day for a son to be singled out to release his father’s tale.

Incidentally the feat of these three brave men is recorded in Ripley’s Believe it or Not. It certainly is a matter of great pride and elation for the seven sons of Naju and Adi Hakim (Dara, Khushru, Lovji, late Eruch, Rumi, Changis and Eddy) and their families.

RODA D. HAKIM