Dr Gautam Sinha VOICES
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Tilting at Windmills
April 15, 2026, 5:00 PM IST
Don Quixote was infamous for “tilting at windmills,” a by-product of his obsession with chivalric romances. He saw monstrous giants where there were only windmills with sails; I, however, have no such delusions of grandeur. My…
April 15, 2026, 5:00 PM IST
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Another ride with Grumpy Ver 2
April 2, 2026, 4:24 PM IST
As our winter holiday in Doon drew to a reluctant close and the annual separation from Grumpy—my faithful but temperamental steed—loomed, I felt I owed him (and myself) one last spin before his customary ten-month hibernation. So,…
April 2, 2026, 4:24 PM IST
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Grumpy, me, and the twisty roads of Doon
March 8, 2026, 8:25 PM IST
My relationship with Grumpy can best be described as tenuous—and strictly seasonal. We meet for two months every winter, ignore each other for the remaining ten, and then rekindle the affair as if nothing happened….
March 8, 2026, 8:25 PM IST
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Namesake and fellow traveller
February 25, 2026, 8:45 PM IST
What are the odds of meeting someone who shares your exact name, is an engineer like you, lives in the same gated community in Bangalore, hails from Patna, is an active biker, and—just to complete…
February 25, 2026, 8:45 PM IST
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Running with the Big Boys: The day I rode beyond my limits
December 3, 2025, 10:37 PM IST
It began, like many questionable life decisions, over a cup of mid-morning filter coffee. I was at our neighbourhood Udupi restaurant, contemplating the aroma of the coffee and life itself, when a gleaming motorcycle slid…
December 3, 2025, 10:37 PM IST
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An impromptu ride to Coorg and a taste of Kodava hospitality
November 24, 2025, 10:32 PM IST
A casual conversation at 9 pm on Friday with my neighbour and friend Kushalappa was the seed for the next ride. April 24, 2025. Kushal, a true blue Kodava, is a facilities management professional with…
November 24, 2025, 10:32 PM IST
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A pilgrimage to Bettwil: Bowing to the legacy of Fritz Egli
May 26, 2025, 12:40 PM IST
In June 2013, after a stretch of business engagements in France, I indulged in a few days of leisurely exploration. Strolling through charming lanes, I found myself snapping photos—not of historic landmarks or elegant architecture—but…
May 26, 2025, 12:40 PM IST
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Let’s focus on national goals, not a collapsing neighbour
May 18, 2025, 4:01 PM IST
At the outset, let me admit I am Gen-Jurassic Park, born in 1953, the last batch of engineering to have used the slide rule—that too my father’s! I have progressed from slide rule to Fortran…
May 18, 2025, 4:01 PM IST
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A ride where spirit triumphed over flesh
January 3, 2025, 10:06 PM IST
Can I complete nearly 570+ km on my bike from Bangalore to Munnar, in the company of youngsters half to one-third my age? The flesh may have weakened but the spirit was there. Should I…
January 3, 2025, 10:06 PM IST
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Bulletnama Part 2: About bond and classy
February 18, 2024, 10:36 PM IST
In early 1996, I traded off my Czechoslovak Jawa 350 ‘City Boy’ for a Royal Enfield Bullet 350 (BPU 7007) owned by my biking guru, Manjit Singh. I named him ‘Bond’, after the last three…
February 18, 2024, 10:36 PM IST
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My Rocinante
August 28, 2023, 12:41 PM IST
Alonso Quixano, an ordinary man, 50 years old, adopts the grandiose title of Don Quixote la Lancha, and astride his tired horse Rocinante, sets out off to many (mis)adventures. The 50s are dangerous years for…
August 28, 2023, 12:41 PM IST
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Jawa aur jawani
March 3, 2023, 10:25 PM IST
My life reached a nadir when I was diagnosed with disk problems in my lower back in late 1989. The orthopaedic surgeon forbade me to ride bikes altogether! Calamity nonetheless, so my stallion Apollo had…
March 3, 2023, 10:25 PM IST
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Jawa-ni Jaaneman
January 31, 2023, 1:03 PM IST
My earliest pleasurable memory — it should be 1958 — was that of riding on the tank of my father’s motorcycle. Later on, I would get to know that it was a Jawa. I was…
January 31, 2023, 1:03 PM IST
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Bulletnama: Remembering Apollo & Lili Darlin
December 5, 2022, 11:55 AM IST
In the September of 1977, I became the proud co-owner of a Jawa 250cc lovingly named Lili Darlin, bought for a princely sum of Rs 3,500. Till November 1979, I had a blast with Lili…
December 5, 2022, 11:55 AM IST
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Road to Mussoorie: A motor-head’s delight
August 9, 2022, 11:50 AM IST
There was a movie I had seen in 1970s with an intriguing name- ‘If it’s Tuesday, it must be Belgium’, the plot long forgotten. If it is around 7am on Mussoorie Road, and I hear…
August 9, 2022, 11:50 AM IST
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