Finally a BHPian

topse · 27th May 2020, 20:58

Finally, I became a part of Team-Bhp after giving my first try in 2013, then in Jan, 2020 and now. I am very much thankful for getting this opportunity of being attached to this amazing forum of automotive enthusiasts I wishes to be a part of since long.

Its a little more than 10 years since I was introduced to team-bhp. I am Tapas, age 34 years, working as a banker, I am from the city of joy Kolkata and my native place is Jalpaiguri which is a small town in North Bengal although I was born in Assam. Presently I am staying in Kannur town in the state of Kerala as my job profile demands an all India service.

I am a wheel maniac since my childhood. It was all about RC cars, watching motor-sports like Dakar rally, MotoGP, WRC, F1 and playing games like NFS MW, GTA were making me crazy, hence still I am nurturing that RC car enthusiast in me, so I became a hobbygrade RC car collector, upgrader and my technical background is helping me in this regard as well. Also, I am very much interested about learning the know-how about the working of different machines, cars, electronic gadgets etc.

Now lets come to my wheel story

Our very first petrol-run wheel was the Bajaj M80, my father bought it back in the year 1992. During the weekends my father used to took me for ride while I was sitting on the front storage cum tool box enjoying the wind, watching the beautiful surroundings passing by us which used to give me feeling of liberation from our strict daily school life. In the year 1998, my father brought home a more powerful machine, a better capable motorcycle of those days, the Bajaj 4S Champion, as my father loved made in India products, so was a Bajaj guy. This machine taught me to ride a two wheeled steed and the knowhow of motorcycling.

After completing B.Tech in 2010, I joined an IT company, and after a few days our family bought our first car a Huyndai i10 Sportz with Kappa engine under the hood. I learnt driving on this machine.

Our first family car

So, after securing my first job, I set my immediate priority to acquire my dream machine, an Yamaha FZs. There is a small story about it. I was always fascinated by Yamaha's engineering and performance. The folklore I heard about RX100 and the legendary RD350 during my childhood days was still in my mind. As many of us know RD is the abbreviation of Race Derived, although popularly known as Rajdoot among Indians, my kid-friends used to call it 'Yamma' and share strories about how they had seen an 'Yamma' zooming past them that day and all

So, the brand Yamaha already occupied a nostalgic place in my heart from the very early years. It was the 90s.

I started researching a lot about motorcycles regularly during break time at office. I had narrowed down my choice on Bajaj Pulsar 180 and Yamaha FZs. Then I came across few articles and ownership reviews specially on team-bhp, and the quality of writing and the detailed technical reviews embossed the thought in my mind that if I have to consider any abode for my enthusiasm about wheels ever, there can't be any better place than team-bhp. Also, the ownership reviews on team-bhp helped me to pin down my choice to FZs finally. So the Yamaha was bought by me in Feb 2011.

After getting it delivered and riding frequently I was kind of on cloud number nine. The handling, the balance and the confidence it gave me on the road was just unmatched. Then suddenly I had to go to Noida for my office assignment, so was missing the fun of riding the steed badly. Six months later I came back and quenched my thirst of riding by making a weekend trip to Tajpur, a lonely beach at the shore of the Bay of Bengal with a group of felow biker brethren and I was able to extract every bit of biking with this machine then. I wrote a blog on the experience and that was published in our office magazine. It was my first long motorcycle trip and my first travelogue as well. In 2015, just before joining the banking sector, I moved back to my home town Jalpaiguri and made a trip to the Bhutan border with my friend on my FZs, before that I travelled to Darjeeling with him on his little Honda Shine, and I still cherish all those experiences that I gathered.

In 2017, I was transferred to a rural district of western Bengal in Jhargram and I took my bike there, used to make some adventure riding in the nearby forests during the weekend. Then, just after getting the ownership of my own house in Kolkata, I bought my first car in May, 2019, it was a pre-owned Ecosport TDCI Titanium optional 2015 model. I was longing for this machine for a long time. And a couple of years ago I thoroughly gone through the official review of ecosport made by "vid6639" on team-bhp, so I am thankful to him for all the hardwork he had to put to make such comprehensive review about the car. There was a reason as to why I had chosen this old 2015 make model, I will share it later. Now just after getting my first four-wheel, I was transferred to Kannur but I took courage to bring the steed with me driving all the way from Kolkata to Kannur along with my father's company. Now, that is another big story which I am eager to share with all the Bhpians. Presently, I have both of my steeds, the Ford and the Yamaha with me at Kannur, and I do make visit to the nearby hills and beaches of northern Kerala during the weekends. There are photos on my instagram and my blog. Now my two steeds have already seen much of the different parts of India and endured different climatic situations as I.

The two wheeled steed.

The four wheeled steed.

I am more of an off-roader type, so wish to own a Mahindra Thar or Ford Endeavour as my future adventure vehicle. I believe that the Thar is a very much capable offroader which comes with 4x4 and loads of customizing options. The rugged built, great macho looks, high torque motor, diff-locks are the attributes that make me attracted towards this offroader.

Another almost allrounder machine that is in my wish list is the Ford Endeavour, also populartly known as the Endie in India. In my opinion the Endie is not only a much capable offroader but comfortable tourer as well. We can take this vehicle to the most of the places one can desire to go if not all, whether its the deserts of Rajasthan or the diffiicult mountain terrains of the Himalayas or the long long highways. So, I am wishing to add either of the above two machines in my stable if everything goes well and we all could overcome the present Covid-19 crisis subsequently.

Lastly, would love to discuss, and learn from all other petrol-heads/ fellow Bhpians more about automotives here. Looking foward to share more and have a great experience together with you all.

Sukanta73 · 28th May 2020, 09:53

Welcome to family.

Kindly share your driving experience from Kolkata to Kannur. And also share the local sightseeing details.

TusharK · 28th May 2020, 11:23

Hi Tapas,

Welcome to Team-BHP!

Thank you for the descriptive introduction.

The drive from Kolkata to Kannur must've been one hell of a journey.

I echo Sukanta73's thoughts and would also love to read the details of this drive.

Looking forward to that.

Cheers!
TusharK

topse · 29th May 2020, 22:00

Thank you Sukanta73 for the warm welcome. It feels like I have become a part of the bigger family now.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sukanta73

Welcome to family.

Kindly share your driving experience from Kolkata to Kannur. And also share the local sightseeing details.

The driving experience was fantastic and it made a lifetime story for me

. We did take a driver as support since it was a very long journey, but for more than 95% time I was behind the steering wheel. And about local sightseeing, yes, in our 2200km stride we were able to stop by Chilka lake for much time. We had a plan to visit Tirupati but couldn't because of time constraint. I am eager to tell the story in detail in my next post.

Thank you TusharK for welcoming me to the community.

Quote:

Originally Posted by TusharK

Hi Tapas,

Welcome to Team-BHP!

Thank you for the descriptive introduction.

The drive from Kolkata to Kannur must've been one hell of a journey.

I echo Sukanta73's thoughts and would also love to read the details of this drive.

Looking forward to that.

Cheers!
TusharK

Yes it was indeed. Except those night stays we were traveling continuously. It took us a total of 3+½ days to cover 2200km long distance. Traveling and experiencing such vast land of India within such a short span of time left us little for getting tired, rather we were all very excited and enjoyed every bit of the journey

. I will be preparing to write and will post it in the next week possibly as I might have to share a detailed experience of the same as a travelogue.

SS-Traveller · 30th May 2020, 20:08

Quote:

Originally Posted by topse

Finally, I became a part of Team-Bhp after giving my first try in 2013, then in Jan, 2020 and now.

Welcome aboard, Tapas, the adventurous, off-road-aspirational, Bong banker residing in another state which loves fish as much as Bongs do!

Look forward to your travelogues. You seem to have logged up a lot of road trips.

topse · 31st May 2020, 00:09

Quote:

Originally Posted by SS-Traveller

Welcome aboard, Tapas, the adventurous, off-road-aspirational, Bong banker residing in another state which loves fish as much as Bongs do!

Look forward to your travelogues. You seem to have logged up a lot of road trips.

I am feeling privileged to be noticed and quoted by a distinguished BHPian. Thank you a lot for the quote.

Yes, I love off-roading adventures, I think it's in my blood but only lacking is the right machine, hoping to fulfil this dream in the near future if everything goes right.

And yes, I am a fish lover but even after staying away from Bengal, I am not missing the savour, as this coastal state Kerala has plenty of fish eating culture as Bengal.
And regarding travelogue, yes I have quite a few in my mind, will post one soon. And I might be getting many opportunities to enrich my travel experience till my service life in bank for sure and also to write more travelogues and share with the community, credit goes to my transferable job.
Thank you again and hoping to meet you someday and eager to learn more about Automotives.

ABHI_1512 · 31st May 2020, 00:43

Welcome aboard, first thing which struck me is your handle name- quite a rage with people who know. Looking forward to some adventure filled logs from your end,

Regards.

DaptChatterjee · 31st May 2020, 01:04

Hi, glad to see you here! A bong who grew up in Assam, well, me too. Where in Assam? The state of Kerala has always been in my bucket list but I have not made it into reality yet. Like you, have lived in Noida too. Do share your journeys here, looking forward to it! Last but not the least, Excellent username!

topse · 1st June 2020, 14:40

Quote:

Originally Posted by ABHI_1512

Welcome aboard, first thing which struck me is your handle name- quite a rage with people who know.
Regards.

Yes, growing up with a kind of childhood literature is a identity symbol for us who knows and my never ending curiosity about cars/bikes have complemented that handle name, so couldn't find a better one.

Quote:

Originally Posted by DaptChatterjee

Hi, glad to see you here! A bong who grew up in Assam, well, me too. Where in Assam? The state of Kerala has always been in my bucket list but I have not made it into reality yet.

I was born in Dhekiajuli district but moved to Bengal later because of my father's transferrable job in the railways.

Surely you must visit this God's own country once. But I will suggest you to visit it either Oct-March if you are a photography bug and love clear skies or during June-Sept if you want to see the monsoon here which is very rhythmic and ancient. And surprisingly during the monsoon only you will get the most coolest and pleasant weather here.

27th May 2020, 20:58	#1
topse BHPian Join Date: May 2020 Location: Kolkata Posts: 52 Thanked: 208 Times	Finally a BHPian Finally, I became a part of Team-Bhp after giving my first try in 2013, then in Jan, 2020 and now. I am very much thankful for getting this opportunity of being attached to this amazing forum of automotive enthusiasts I wishes to be a part of since long. Its a little more than 10 years since I was introduced to team-bhp. I am Tapas, age 34 years, working as a banker, I am from the city of joy Kolkata and my native place is Jalpaiguri which is a small town in North Bengal although I was born in Assam. Presently I am staying in Kannur town in the state of Kerala as my job profile demands an all India service. I am a wheel maniac since my childhood. It was all about RC cars, watching motor-sports like Dakar rally, MotoGP, WRC, F1 and playing games like NFS MW, GTA were making me crazy, hence still I am nurturing that RC car enthusiast in me, so I became a hobbygrade RC car collector, upgrader and my technical background is helping me in this regard as well. Also, I am very much interested about learning the know-how about the working of different machines, cars, electronic gadgets etc. Now lets come to my wheel story Our very first petrol-run wheel was the Bajaj M80, my father bought it back in the year 1992. During the weekends my father used to took me for ride while I was sitting on the front storage cum tool box enjoying the wind, watching the beautiful surroundings passing by us which used to give me feeling of liberation from our strict daily school life. In the year 1998, my father brought home a more powerful machine, a better capable motorcycle of those days, the Bajaj 4S Champion, as my father loved made in India products, so was a Bajaj guy. This machine taught me to ride a two wheeled steed and the knowhow of motorcycling. After completing B.Tech in 2010, I joined an IT company, and after a few days our family bought our first car a Huyndai i10 Sportz with Kappa engine under the hood. I learnt driving on this machine. Our first family car So, after securing my first job, I set my immediate priority to acquire my dream machine, an Yamaha FZs. There is a small story about it. I was always fascinated by Yamaha's engineering and performance. The folklore I heard about RX100 and the legendary RD350 during my childhood days was still in my mind. As many of us know RD is the abbreviation of Race Derived, although popularly known as Rajdoot among Indians, my kid-friends used to call it 'Yamma' and share strories about how they had seen an 'Yamma' zooming past them that day and all So, the brand Yamaha already occupied a nostalgic place in my heart from the very early years. It was the 90s. I started researching a lot about motorcycles regularly during break time at office. I had narrowed down my choice on Bajaj Pulsar 180 and Yamaha FZs. Then I came across few articles and ownership reviews specially on team-bhp, and the quality of writing and the detailed technical reviews embossed the thought in my mind that if I have to consider any abode for my enthusiasm about wheels ever, there can't be any better place than team-bhp. Also, the ownership reviews on team-bhp helped me to pin down my choice to FZs finally. So the Yamaha was bought by me in Feb 2011. After getting it delivered and riding frequently I was kind of on cloud number nine. The handling, the balance and the confidence it gave me on the road was just unmatched. Then suddenly I had to go to Noida for my office assignment, so was missing the fun of riding the steed badly. Six months later I came back and quenched my thirst of riding by making a weekend trip to Tajpur, a lonely beach at the shore of the Bay of Bengal with a group of felow biker brethren and I was able to extract every bit of biking with this machine then. I wrote a blog on the experience and that was published in our office magazine. It was my first long motorcycle trip and my first travelogue as well. In 2015, just before joining the banking sector, I moved back to my home town Jalpaiguri and made a trip to the Bhutan border with my friend on my FZs, before that I travelled to Darjeeling with him on his little Honda Shine, and I still cherish all those experiences that I gathered. In 2017, I was transferred to a rural district of western Bengal in Jhargram and I took my bike there, used to make some adventure riding in the nearby forests during the weekend. Then, just after getting the ownership of my own house in Kolkata, I bought my first car in May, 2019, it was a pre-owned Ecosport TDCI Titanium optional 2015 model. I was longing for this machine for a long time. And a couple of years ago I thoroughly gone through the official review of ecosport made by "vid6639" on team-bhp, so I am thankful to him for all the hardwork he had to put to make such comprehensive review about the car. There was a reason as to why I had chosen this old 2015 make model, I will share it later. Now just after getting my first four-wheel, I was transferred to Kannur but I took courage to bring the steed with me driving all the way from Kolkata to Kannur along with my father's company. Now, that is another big story which I am eager to share with all the Bhpians. Presently, I have both of my steeds, the Ford and the Yamaha with me at Kannur, and I do make visit to the nearby hills and beaches of northern Kerala during the weekends. There are photos on my instagram and my blog. Now my two steeds have already seen much of the different parts of India and endured different climatic situations as I. The two wheeled steed. The four wheeled steed. I am more of an off-roader type, so wish to own a Mahindra Thar or Ford Endeavour as my future adventure vehicle. I believe that the Thar is a very much capable offroader which comes with 4x4 and loads of customizing options. The rugged built, great macho looks, high torque motor, diff-locks are the attributes that make me attracted towards this offroader. Another almost allrounder machine that is in my wish list is the Ford Endeavour, also populartly known as the Endie in India. In my opinion the Endie is not only a much capable offroader but comfortable tourer as well. We can take this vehicle to the most of the places one can desire to go if not all, whether its the deserts of Rajasthan or the diffiicult mountain terrains of the Himalayas or the long long highways. So, I am wishing to add either of the above two machines in my stable if everything goes well and we all could overcome the present Covid-19 crisis subsequently. Lastly, would love to discuss, and learn from all other petrol-heads/ fellow Bhpians more about automotives here. Looking foward to share more and have a great experience together with you all. Last edited by ampere : 28th May 2020 at 10:12. Reason: reduced to 2 smilies
	(10) Thanks

28th May 2020, 09:53	#2
Sukanta73 BHPian Join Date: Aug 2019 Location: CRJ (WB) / UAE Posts: 85 Thanked: 74 Times	Re: Finally a BHPian Welcome to family. Kindly share your driving experience from Kolkata to Kannur. And also share the local sightseeing details.
	(1) Thanks

28th May 2020, 11:23	#3
TusharK Senior - BHPian Join Date: Jul 2017 Location: Pune Posts: 6,258 Thanked: 55,746 Times	Re: Finally a BHPian Hi Tapas, Welcome to Team-BHP! Thank you for the descriptive introduction. The drive from Kolkata to Kannur must've been one hell of a journey. I echo Sukanta73's thoughts and would also love to read the details of this drive. Looking forward to that. Cheers! TusharK
	(1) Thanks

31st May 2020, 00:43	#7
ABHI_1512 Distinguished - BHPian Join Date: Feb 2020 Location: Calcutta Posts: 943 Thanked: 11,170 Times	Re: Finally a BHPian Welcome aboard, first thing which struck me is your handle name- quite a rage with people who know. Looking forward to some adventure filled logs from your end, Regards.
	(1) Thanks

31st May 2020, 01:04	#8
DaptChatterjee BHPian Join Date: May 2019 Location: Gurgaon Posts: 76 Thanked: 338 Times	Re: Finally a BHPian Hi, glad to see you here! A bong who grew up in Assam, well, me too. Where in Assam? The state of Kerala has always been in my bucket list but I have not made it into reality yet. Like you, have lived in Noida too. Do share your journeys here, looking forward to it! Last but not the least, Excellent username! Last edited by DaptChatterjee : 31st May 2020 at 01:09.
	(1) Thanks