KOLKATA: At a time when public transport is preferably being shunned for fear of contracting the novel coronavirus and an increasing number of Kolkatans are pedalling to work, a group of cycle enthusiasts from the Gouribari area in north Kolkata has started holding free learning sessions for beginners every weekend. Learners between 25 and 40 years have been flocking to them.
The learners are being trained in a scientific way so that they learn balancing and pedalling quickly and effectively. Sunish Kumar Dev (68), a retired deputy registrar at S N Bose National Centre for Basic Sciences, along with a few friends, provided free bicycles for coaching. The coaching, which started in July, is being held from 7am to 8.30am on Saturdays and Sundays.
Srimontani Mukherjee (28), an engineer living at Kashi Bose Lane, learnt cycling in just an hour and a half. Dev said, “The most important basics of cycling are balance and pedalling, which can be learnt in one hour if the trainee is physically fit.” Torsa Kundu (25) and her father, Somenath Kundu (62), residents of Gouribari, have volunteered to join Dev as trainers. Torsa, who recently completed her MA from RBU and learnt cycling during last year’s lockdown, said she was happy to join.
Ritam Kundu, 26, a PhD student at Institute in Physics in Bhubaneswar, could not learn bicycling earlier as his father did not allow him to ride. “I could learn cycling in my locality now but it’s sometimes humiliating when someone comments about me being a complete novice,” said Kundu. He was also scared of a fall or accident during the learning process. Kundu, who recently completed his training, is happy that his teachers flanked him on the street to avoid a possible fall. “In Bhubaneswar, cycle is a very common mode of transport but I had to travel by bus or walk to reach the campus as I could not cycle,” he said. He had approached several trainers in Kolkata who asked for a charge to teach.
Dev uses a naturally elevated area of about 20 ft on Badridas Temple Street beside Pareshnath Jain Temple to teach trainees balancing. According to him, once the flexibility of the body and mind comes, it’s easy to ride a bicycle. “But the fitness of the lower part of the body is also an important element, something which is lacking in most who learn bicycling at a later age,” he said.
Due to an increase in demand, Dev, who is also a member of Kolkata Cycle Samaj that was founded in 2009 by Raghu Jana with a member strength of more than 6000, now plans to extend the service to south Kolkata with the help of other members.
