“Cycle, an aspiration for every 90s kid. I am sure everyone remembers fighting with their parents and even scoring top marks in the class to own one. It was everyone’s pride possession and nothing in the world could match up to the joy of flaunting your cycle in front of your friends and crush. But that’s all a thing of the past now. Only a handful of children buy cycles now and barely any of them are interested in repairing one and using it.

It was about 2 decades ago when I started this shop. I used to have around 20 cycles lined up for renting out. People used to wait at my shop by 8:30 in the morning to either get their cycle fixed or to rent one of mine. Young or old, this was their mode of commute. But, things are different now. People now find it hard to believe when I tell them that I had two people to assist me at my shop. Back then, we could never leave the shop unattended because customers were many. Alas! Now there is just enough work to keep one person barely busy.

Mostly school kids come down to fix a puncher or service their cycle occasionally. Connectivity, development, and progress are all good for the city, but, it takes a toll on the lives of a few of them like me. I have been doing the cycle business since I completed high school. Before starting my own business, I joined a cycle shop to assist.There was so much work to do and the shop with abuzz with activity. All this faded because people thought it was below them to ride a cycle or take one on hire on an hourly basis. Every fad comes back into vogue in a few years. The cycle was a fad when MGR rode it around in his movies, it faded, and now it is coming back in trend again. Till date I see hire cycles plying in the city, only this time, a corporate company owns it and it is suddenly cool to ride a bicycle.

People somehow find pride in feeding a corporate company over the common man, but I’m not complaining. I have these kids who come to me regularly to have their cycle fixed. The glow in their eyes and the excitement on their face when they see their cycle all ready is what motivates me to continue running this business. Smiles and happiness are worth more than mere pennies.”

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