A Freedom Bike that was unveiled here recently is a work of art made up of antiques like an old Railway lantern, a 100-year-old pan daan decorated with Urdu couplets and a Hermes portable typewriter
It’s not a bike you would love to ride. You would rather admire it like any other brilliant piece of art. A close look at the bike would reveal that its each part is unique and has an old world charm. For example, what you see as a seat of the bike is actually a 26-year-old saddle gifted by Yaduraj Singh and Veeram Dev Singh. At the back part of the bike you will find a 100-year-old pan daan decorated with Urdu couplets. Hermes portable typewriter has been used as the numberplate. You can also spot the old Railway lantern that was used around 60 years ago in the Maharaja of Udaipur’s Railway salon. It’s used as a light in the bike. Then there’s a brass tiger which was collected generations ago from somewhere in the northeast of India and a pre-Independence gun powder box. This unique bike was recently unveiled here. It’s called the OlX Freedom Bike.
All the antique things that one can see on the bike have been collected in over 50 days, during a motorcycle journey, The Great India Collectors’ Ride, from across 45 cities and towns in the country. The objective was to convert these collectibles into a unique piece of art. “The intent of this journey was to explore the diversity of India, celebrate the spirit of freedom and demonstrate the hidden value of used goods. OlX has given people freedom from middlemen and the freedom to sell and buy at the price, place, and time of their choice. The Freedom Bike is symbolic of this freedom, and of the value of used goods. OlX is the largest marketplace for used motorcycles in India, and the default destination for those who want to sell and buy collectible and vintage items. Through this initiative we have shared extraordinary stories and collections of these ordinary people,” says Amarjit Batra, CEO of OlX.in.
The Great India Collectors Ride was done in association with xBhp, a motorcycling community. The 12-feet-long and seven-feet- high Freedom Bike has been created from scratch by Delhi-based designers Gautam and Prateek, who specialise in creating installations and sculptures. “All the vintage items that one can see on the bike are also symbolic to India’s culture. In different cities, we have so many collectors and each boasts of antiques that have so many interesting stories related to them. Everything that has been used to turn this bike into a piece of art has an interesting story to share with people,” says Batra.
Other interesting things that one can see on the bike are a 70-year-old Esraj musical instrument from a 90-year-old collector in Kolkata, compass from Bhavnagar, an old gramophone from a collector in Kolkata, a 1942 Triumph motorcycle fuel tank from Krishnagiri, a wheel clock from an actress in Bengaluru and a model car from an auto-engineer in Chennai who has a collection of 200 cars. A coffee table book that shares stories about these collectibles was also launched. “We want more people to know about a range of collectibles in our country and value the stories that these collectibles carry with them, therefore a coffee table book,” shares Batra.