FIRST BICYCLE OR " BISCOE SAHIB KA DJJIN " IN KASHMIR

                                                             

                                             

( For this photograph my special thanks to Photo Journalist  Nissar Ahmed Photo   who clicked it for "The  HINDU "  Newspaper )

RIDING " BISCOE SAHIB KA DJJIN " OR BICYCLE IN SNOW FALL.

History tells informs us that around 1817 , Germans built the first Archetype of the bicycle that they named draisine. The German Draisine had three and four wheels as well . 

In 1860, Draisine was subjected to some major technical improvisations by the French who named the New two wheeler as Bicycle . It had cranks and a pedal and a popular commercially successful design.

                                                                             

           
( An advertisement for marketing of old Hercules Bicycle that was imported from UK )
                                                                              

                                                                            

Some time around 1890, Tyndale Biscoe brought the first Bicycle to Kashmir. He would use it as his local conveyance . As and when , Tyndale Biscoe would move to down town Fateh kadal on his Bicycle , Pandits and Muslims would line up on road to see what the metallic animal Tyandle Biscoe was riding . It was named as “Biscoe sahib ka Djjin “.So a Bicycle was a Djjin for kashmiris initially. They also named it as Zal Gurr later .

There is a popular story in Kashmir that once a kashmiri lady came with some animal feed and put it in front of Tyandale Biscoe’s bicycle . She presumed it to be some unknown beast of burden .

I add relevant excerpts from the book TYNDALE BISCOE OF KASHMIR…

“we usually went to school by boat until I brought the first Bicycle to Kashmir, which caused even more astonishment than did the first motor car many years later.My first bicycle ride was at night .As I passed a coolie carrying a load , I heard a shriek and on looking back , I saw the coolie shouting in terror ,
“ Mooduss Ha ! Mooduss Ha ! or I am dead ! I am dead !”

Poor fellow, he had heard much of the Djjins and had at last seen one with his own eyes .What a grand tale he must have had to tell when he reached his home !”

From the diary of Tyndale Biscoe..

( Autar Mota )

PS

After the second world war , cycles stated coming to Kashmir in large numbers . It was considered as  mode of conveyance of the elite . College professors , magistrates, advocates , Europeans stationed in valley were the new users . later , it became an essential item of Dowry given to girls at the time of marriage  in well off families . The brands that came to Kashmir included Hercules , Humber , Raleigh and Robinhood .All these Bicycles were manufactured in England .

CHINAR SHADE by Autarmota is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 2.5 India License.
Based on a work at http:\\autarmota.blogspot.com\.