It was made in England some 100 years ago and continues to hit the streets of Cherthala. Gannas Simon T., 60, a retired Indian Army soldier, considers the ‘Hercules’ bicycle, which he inherited from his father several decades ago, a “priceless” item.
The black-coloured vintage bike is thought to have first arrived in Kozhikode in the 1920s for a trader. Later, Simon’s granduncle Cherunni, owner of Kunnamkulam-based Jos and Company, bought the “second-hand” bicycle and used it for several years. He later gifted the bike to Gannas’ father T.A. Simon.
Though an inscription on the handle of the bicycle reads ‘Made in England’, Mr. Simon says that it is difficult to prove the exact age of the two-wheeler. “Whatever information I have about the bicycle was received from my father and ancestors. I have clear childhood memories of my father, who worked at a shop, riding the bike. He died 39 years ago and the bicycle came into my possession. When we moved from Kunnamkulam to Cherthala, we brought it together with us,” says Mr. Simon.
