TIME TRAVEL

In Goa, where time slows to a crawl, a ride on the BSA Gold Star 650 turned into an unexpected journey through history

- Manaal Mahatme

Humankind and time have been in this eternal battle, one that's deep rooted within us. Though time is this unstoppable force that will relentlessly move ahead, we find ourselves continuously striving to control, defy, or make the most of it, don't we? Fortunately, we have motorcycles on our side fighting the same battle. And of course there's Goa the place that has this strange power of slowing down time... except that one day when instead of unwinding, the BSA Gold Star 650 and I ended up winding back the clock.

It all started with us visiting the Fontainhas in Panjim with a simple agenda -taking good pictures of the Goldie against the backdrop of Goa's Latin Quarter. This neighborhood is possibly the most visible legacy of the four-and-a-halfcentury Portuguese rule over the state. What started as Portuguese law that mandated every urban resident to paint their house after the monsoons became a tradition that is followed till date.

And the building you see in the picture has a lot more to say than just about that tradition. The roosters on the building are the national symbol of Portugal, symbolising honesty, trust, honour and integrity. If that piqued your interest, you should read up the story of how the Barcelos Rooster became their national symbol. Notice the statues of the soldiers on the balcony? Those marked that the house belonged to someone who served in the army.

Such symbols play a vital role in the Gold Star's life, too. For starters, the three-crossed-rifles logo was used when BSA - Birmingham Small Arms used to manufacture machine-made guns decades before it started making motorcycles. And the golden star motif on the tank, and even the name, came to be as a tribute to Wal Handley's feat of clocking 160 kph at the Brooklands circuit with a BSA Empire Star that earned him a traditional 'gold star' badge.