The Mall at Shimla and History of Bicycle

Was pondering what to write since this is the first of the Weekly named Ram's Rhetoric, should I start with the nuances about the evolution of bicycle and the list of contributors but felt can keep it for some other occasion, few things which made me curious to know about the history of bicycle in India happened during my MTB Himachal sojourn of 2011, this event was flagged off from "The Mall" (also called Ridge) Simla and my interaction with TI Cycles folks incidentally it was TI Cycles who sponsored my trip, came to know that the states of Uttar Pradesh and Bihar were the biggest markets for bicycles in India and Hero Cycles and TI Cycles are the major players in this region and how a popular yesteryear brand Philips was being re-marketed apart from other brands, having no source material on cycling as I had very little time to compile this story I breezed through website of Hero Cycles assuming I can do a write up about TI Cycles and its role in the annals of Indian Bicycle History some time in the future as it is based in Chennai. The Hero Cycle website mentions bicycle was seen in India in the year 1890. However import of cycles started in 1905 and continued for more than 50 years. Complete ban on imports was announced by the Government in July, 1953, but cycle kept on simmering in the country till 1961 and mention is made about prices of cycles so on and so forth. The most important and interesting information I found was about a mention that in 1919, five persons in Punjab imported cycles and used them on "The Mall" Simla. These included one Bishop, two military men and two contractors. Under special permission of the Governor,they were allowed to cycle on 'The Mall' only for one hour in a day. They imported B.S.A. Cross Bar Cycle from U.K. and it used to be a kind of Mela at that particular hour on "The Mall" in Simla,the scene watched by hundreds of people everyday. Thus I conclude this first edition presuming someone would add some more spice and zing to this story of the past perhaps not rigidly about "The Mall" only, till next time its Adieus Amigos ...

Before the start of MTB Himachal at The Mall (Ridge) Shimla