Trring trring...our milkman used to sound a bicycle bell early in the morning with two metal milk cans on either side of the rear wheel, signalling my mother to venture out of the house at dawn with a stainless steel utensil to collect our milk for the day.
He used to ride an Atlas Roadster bicycle. I did not know it was called the Roadster till now, when I asked my mother what kind of a bicycle it was, I was told that it might be an “Atlas”. The brand was synonymous with inexpensive bicycles and made the popular U-shaped handlebar popular. Unfortunately, these bicycles were too tall for seven-year-old me and hence, I never got to try the oddly-shaped handlebars and the very simplistic diamond tube frame.
Over time, I started to recognise these Atlases on the streets of the then Bangalore and was intrigued about the entire concept of cycling. Now, all I wanted to do was to learn to ride a two-wheeled bicycle. Seeing men and women ride these, trying hard to push down on the pedals and pull flimsy, strange-looking brake levers, forced me to ask my parents for a bicycle. My mother and uncle took me to a store later and got me a small-sized MTB bicycle, a brand under the Altas Cycles company.
At first I was forced to ride with trainer wheels on, but I was tired of looking like a little kid and wanted to ride on two-wheels, like a “big boy”. My cousin came to the rescue to make me feel just that, a “big boy”.
Once my trainer wheels were removed, he asked me to mount my bicycle and sat on the tube-frame carrier and asked to pedal while he balanced the MTB machine. This went on for an hour or so on the traffic-free road right outside our house. He reassured that he will not dismount the cycle at all, and he kept his promise, well for a while at least.
We used to ride till the temple at the end of the street and ride back to our house and I did fall a couple of times and told him I couldn’t do it. After sometime, as dusk approached, he decided it was time I learnt the ropes. My cousin got onto the cycle near our house, halfway between the temple and our house. I wanted to confirm that he was there behind me because it felt weird for some reason, I asked "Anna, are you there?”. There was complete silence except the sound of the chain moving, I rode till the temple and searched for anna but he was in the distance near our house. I was shocked and completely scared, I wondered how I would get back. Mustering up some courage and I hopped on with some difficulty and rode back home on two-wheels.
A few months later, my milkman graduated from an Atlas bicycle to a moped and then to a scooter, years later, to a van, I was told.
Atlas Cycles has been responsible for the humble beginnings of many. Unfortunately, I’ve not yet had the opportunity to try the oddly-shaped handlebar and brake levers or the simple diamond frame and may not be able to, for the company, Atlas Cycles has shut down.