A Legend Is Reborn

Jawa, the iconic motorcycle brand of the 1960s and ‘70s, is all set to return this month, courtesy of three men passionate about retro bikes: industrialist Anand Mahindra, Delhibased banker-turned-entrepreneur Anupam Thareja, and the well-known Mumbai real estate developer Boman Irani.

- Alshaar Khan

“Of course, I remember the Jawa,” exclaimed my very au courant 50-something mother upon learning about my travels to Delhi. I was there for a chat with the gentleman who is the driving force behind the revival of one of India’s best-known motorcycle brands.

Anupam Thareja spent nearly half his career as a research analyst working for international banks like ABN, HSBC and CSFB, before shifting gears and joining the corporate sector in 2005. As the Director of Royal Enfield, he was part of the team that helped turn the other iconic Indian bike maker around. After quitting in 2008, he has spent the better part of the last decade running his own company, Phi Capital, an investment firm that specialises in turnarounds.

I meet Thareja at his tastefully decorated office in South Delhi, where over two hours he tells me the story about the Jawa comeback and his role in it. The company that made these iconic bikes in India, Ideal Jawa, later known as Ideal Motors, closed operations in 1996. Thareja and his friend Anand Mahindra, the automobile industry veteran and Chairman of Mahindra & Mahindra, have for long nurtured the dream of relaunching Jawa in a modern avatar. And he could now hardly contain his excitement - the idea is finally coming to fruition this month. The first of the reborn Jawa bikes will roll out of the Mahindra two-wheeler facility in Pithampur, outside Indore, on November 15.