Though a native of Kerala, I grew up in Jaipur. I was pursuing engineering in automobiles
and dreaming as high as I could. Like everyone’s initial days at college are
submerged in making friends, so were mine. But unfortunately, I wasn’t as lucky as others. Three
weeks into the college but still not a single person to call a good friend until the day when an
acquaintance introduced me to Pranjal, fellow from Nagpur who used to live in same corridor,
3 rooms next to mine. His generous and helpful nature soon revealed his personality as he invited me to
have maggie with him. Now, who turns down maggie especially when someone else is
making it for you? He started cooking and as the water boiled so did
our awkwardness and unfamiliarity. But as the maggie got into its true self, so did we.
We had so much in common! We were both on education loan, believed in practicality
over hypothesis and above all, we both loved automobiles. In the room that day, we cooked, both an
appetizing meal and a long lasting friendship. We used to share our issues, ideas, dreams, and imagination with each other. One of which I recall was to enter the campus on our own designed bike, with Knox taking every ear and fire from exhaust taking every eye upon us. The first project in which I participated with Pranjal was the summer training program between the second and third semester. Our teacher teamed me
up with him along the with two other classmates. This workshop turned out to be a blessing for
us. It made us realize our passion and indelible ardor for achieving a dream.
We analyzed that I had a clean hand on cutting and Pranjal on wielding ( a perfect mechanical combo).
Not only this but , ‘DEVRATH’ did come into vision. Above all, it taught us that we were more than just two
ordinary students who came to pursue a degree at the Chandigarh University. ‘We were here to
create’.
The project assigned to us was to make a double arm suspension from scratch. Every
day at the workshop, we came across new concepts and everyday was a new adventure. We
acquired basic knowledge about cutting, grinding, welding etc. but these were just the valuable
affairs from an engineer’s perspective. As a group we learned team work, time management and
sharing of ideas plus there was no question asked about leadership. Also, I got over my fear
of high voltage during welding. We were just a bunch of cool nerds who loved their work.
We celebrated every little achievement; every little step we took. For example, once we were finished
with the framework of the arm suspension. Our jubilation could be measured by the very fact that
we were taking pictures of it. That was the day when we realized that we can customize our
motorbike. In second year we thought of giving shape to our ideas. I won’t lie that thoughts like “Are we
ready?”, “Is this even possible?” used to pop up but we kept our faith. We started
asking around about it. After a lot of taunts and mockery came a guiding light, a senior who not
only gave us advice but also shared some books on building bikes.
In no time we could see ourselves doing things which we used to see just in movies. For example,
we found ourselves travelling to different cities for different parts; as the fund was limited
and quality couldn’t have been compromised. So, we needed to explore on search of the part
which fit right to our needs. We used to bargain for hours. As students neither could we pay more nor
we could lose it. After we bought all the parts to the workshop, we needed to check how it
looked in frame but we didn’t have enough people to hold each part. So, we started arranging
it horizontally on the floor. We drew a painting out of it which served as a pioneer to ‘Devarth’ .
Then, there was time management. We needed to attend our classes till early evening. We knew
2-3 hours a day won’t just suffice. We worked incessantly. There was a time when we used to
sleep in 2 hours shift at the workshop. We had missed a number of dinners and relaxing at the
hostel room seemed to be an old sweet memory.
The problem of funds was driving us crazy as we were flat-broke. There was no way we were going
to ask for money from home. So, we started working to earn for befitting the needs. I used to write redundant assignments for classmates and Pranjal worked as waiter in occasions. Like a ray of light after rain, like music after distress Harshil too came like zephyr in our dismal days. Even after being form Civil branch, he helped us throughout the process, from screwing the nut to being an energy booster he was always there.
Where others were sitting under the cozy light beside the elegant fountain in the campus, we
were burning evenings in the workshop. We used to read books from one side and apply
what we learned on the other side. YouTube became our mentor and Mechanical channels, our best
friends. Undoubtedly, we had each other’s support but the comments that were pouring in daily, made us feel low.
They were totally absurd to hear, “oye tera loona kab tak banra hai” , “han bhyi, banale tarzaan
the wonder car”. Clearly, there is this incident I remember. Once after being in workshop the whole day, I
went to eat a burger outside. Little did I know of the grease on my hand. A girl out there right on my
face compared me to “rakshash”, “Kese kaale kaale hatho ke sath kha raha hai chiii”, she said. Ofcourse these comments used to infuriate me but then Pranjal used to say, “There is no better befitting reply
than Devrath” . Well, that turned out to be true as well.
Today world sees Devrath as a sporty, classy bike that can throw flames and have a hanging
engine. What they fail to notice is all the imperfections Devrath has overcome to become such. Every
curve of the bike carries the essence of our sweat and love; every linked wire showcases our
caution and care.
After Devrath, we made some other bikes too. We improvised a Royal Enfield classic 350 into
a cruiser bike, and are in talk with a Chennai director for 3 models of Devrath. Today, people
ask us that which bike’s modification is Devrath. I feel immensely proud to say, Devrath is not
a modification but it is a masterpiece we have carved out of scrap. Today, all of the pain seems to reap its
fruit. We are really grateful for this experience of Devrath and are always there to help whoever we
can”.
Instagram : @___vinaykumar_1punch_man___ , @pranjalbansod , @another__brick_in_the_wall
Instagram : @direc_tcustom
“The views expressed in the above article are of writer and not the Winged Club.