Take the case of Athul Jayan, moderator of Smoking Barrels Jawa-Yezdi bikers’ group in Thiruvananthapuram. Watching his father riding a Yezdi, he fell in love with the brand.

“But the bonding began much before. In 1989, moments before I was born, my father rushed my mother to the hospital on a Yezdi Classic 2,” he smiles.

“I then grew up, finished my engineering, got myself an old Yezdi Roadking in 2011. It was like a homage to the brand. I am still searching for the vehicle my father rode. It was sold off when he moved to the Middle East for work. I was too young then, but now, I would love to have it back. So, no doubt, Jawa is truly an emotion for me.”

This emotion brought together a bunch of Jawa buffs in 2007 on Orkut. “Our aim was to discuss procurement of spare parts. They were becoming rare and prized, as Ideal Jawa had shut production of Jawa and Yezdi,” says Abraham K John, a vintage bike collector.