Thousands of people thronged Sawday Road, Mandi Mohalla in city during the recent Eid Meelad celebrations to witness a Royal Enfield Bullet bike weighing 200 kg being hung from a boiled egg. The owner of the bike and the man behind this creativity is Inayath Ulla Shariff, a two-wheeler mechanic by profession. Curious people were seen clicking pictures of the bike in their cellphones. Inayath Ulla has been repairing and tuning two- wheelers such as Lambretta, Java, Royal Enfield Bullet, Yamaha RX 100, Yezdi, Road King, Vespa and Bajaj Chetak for the last 25 years. He started his career as a mechanic when he was just 15-years-old. Now he is 40. Inayath Ulla, who owns a two-wheeler garage by name ‘Track Point’ on Sawday Road in Mandi Mohalla, is the son of Late Mahmood Shariff, a Milkman and Late Chhoti Jaan. Star of Mysore caught up with Inayath Ulla Shariff for a tete-a-tete. Excerpts…

SOM: How did you get an idea of hanging such a heavy bike from a single boiled egg?

Inayath Ulla: I have been a mechanic for the last 25 years. During the past Eid Meelad processions, I had seen people hanging bikes from a bottle-gourd, ridge-gourd, brinjal and other vegetables. So, I too thought of hanging a heavy bike (Royal Enfield bullet) from an egg as nobody had tried it.

SOM: How can a single boiled egg hold such a heavy bike? Have you done any gimmick?

Inayath Ulla: No gimmick at all. It is all about balancing. Myself, along with six others, lifted the bike and hung it from the egg with the help of ropes and two 7mm rods. It took an hour to hang and balance the bike. One should have the skill to balance through ropes and know how to do the centring properly.

Even if a single person does not balance properly or shakes the bike while hanging, then the bike will fall down.

SOM: You have inserted two 7mm rods into the egg to lift the bike with the help of ropes. How did you insert the rods? Didn’t the egg break while inserting the rods?

Inayath Ulla: First I boiled the egg. After boiling it, I did not remove its shell. I slowly made two small holes in the egg with the help of a drilling machine. Then gradually I increased the sizes of the two holes by inserting pencil into the holes and rotating the pencil clockwise. Later, I inserted the two rods. So the egg did not break.

SOM: Doesn’t the bike fall when the egg gets shaken by the wind?

Inayath Ulla: The bike does not fall due to wind. Even the egg does not break into two parts during the wind. But the bike will fall only if someone shakes or pushes the bike manually. You should ensure that nobody touches the bike when it is hanging.

SOM: You have been an expert in repairing bikes and earned a name for yourself. Do you want your children also to become famous mechanics like you?

Inayath Ulla: I have two children. One is studying in 8th standard and the other in 2nd PUC. I don’t want them to be mechanics. I want them to study well and become Officers. I am working very hard to provide them good education. I do not want them to suffer as I did.

[Inayath Ulla is married to Reshma Banu and resides in Hanumanthanagar in city. To meet Inayath Ulla, one can visit his shop on Sawday Road in Mandi Mohalla in city or call:97430-28265].

source: http://www.starofmysore.com / Star of Mysore / Home> Feature Articles /  Wednesday , January 07th, 2015