When Luna Moped beat the Deccan Queen!

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When Luna Moped beat the Deccan Queen!

A reader sent this interesting story about Luna Moped which was seen on the Indian roads many decades ago. I felt I should share this unique story with my readers, especially the present generation who must have not even heard about it. Not many may be knowing about the Luna moped’s race with the super-fast Deccan Queen from Pune to Mumbai. Many felt it to be a gimmick, but it actually happened. And Luna became a household name after this race. And the best part is the small Luna Moped beat the mighty Deccan Queen in the race from Pune to reach Mumbai earlier than the legendry train. That was the power of the small Luna Moped! I am reproducing the story as it is. Your comments are welcome.

CHAL MERI LUNA..!

How many today, are aware of the unique story of the Race between the Deccan Queen & Kinetic LUNA?

Shocked...

Luna Moped was a well-known name in the field of two-wheelers. The Pune-based Firodiya’s Kinetic Group Company wanted to introduce small and easy to handle two-wheelers in India, in collaboration with Japan’s Honda Company. With Japanese technology, they started designing a cross between a bicycle and a motorbike. They eventually manufactured a Moped with a 50 CC engine calling it Luna. It was a licensed copy of Italian Piaggio’s Ciao Model two-wheeler.

The Luna was launched in 1972 in India, by the Kinetic Group. In a very short period of time, Luna became quite famous and popular as it was lightweight (50 kg), small and a great substitute for a bicycle.

Pune is well-known for bicycles. In that city, Luna captured the two-wheeler market. Many people booked the Moped and the journey of Luna began.

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Initially, there were many queries about the performance of the newly introduced Luna. Doubts were raised, as to whether it could be useful on the roads of India or not, since roads were of poor quality. Would it be able to run on such roads, will it have sufficient speed and pick-up, and so on.

To clear the doubts of the public and for publicity and promotion of the brand, Mr Firodiya adopted various tactics. Ads were produced for TV and newspapers. To attract the youth, the Man of the match in Cricket matches was given a Luna. Famous cricketers Sandip Patil and B.S. Chandrashekhar won the Luna. The First rank holder students of the 10th and 12th board exams, were also awarded the Luna as a prize. Ads Of Luna came with the tag lines, Chal meri Luna and Safalta ki Savari.  Ads also included the promise, Luna karaati pakka waada, kharcha kam, majbuti zyaada.

In order to achieve the faith of the public with regard to the performance and speed of Luna, Firodiya suddenly made a sensational announcement when he declared that there would be a race between his Luna and the Deccan Queen.

People took it as a mad joke and a publicity stunt. How could a 50cc Luna moped compete against the super-fast train Deccan Queen?

But, Mr Firodiya was serious. He arranged for the race. He even asked Mr Jayant Rao Tilak (then speaker of Vidhan Parishad) to inaugurate the race at the Pune station. The race was to end at the Dadar Railway Station. At the finishing point, the Mumbai Police Commissioner was asked to declare the winner of the race.

On the day of the race, at 0720 hrs, in the presence of thousands of spectators and Newspaper reporters, Mr Jayant Rao Tilak flagged the race off. And, the historic race between Deccan Queen and Luna began.

The Luna rider, with all his skills, drove the Luna at full speed. In those days, the old Mumbai-Pune Highway still was in use. (The recent Mumbai Pune Expressway had not yet come into existence.) There were many obstacles in front of Luna, especially the difficult Khandala Ghat. Many people laid bets that the Luna will not get beyond Lonavala. Mr. Firodiya had also arranged a car to follow the Luna rider, in case any emergencies were to occur.

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Eventually, the Luna rider entered Mumbai and proved its capability. Mr Firodiya was confident about Luna's performance and sure that Luna would complete the race. That it would defeat the Deccan Queen, was not dreamt of, even by him! But history was created that day. The Luna entered the Dadar station to loud cheers and huge rounds of applause, 15 minutes before the Deccan Queen!

The Deccan Queen arrived at Dadar, a quarter of an hour later. The 50 cc Luna moped, won the race, in the presence of thousands of spectators, TV cameras and newspaper reporters. Next day all newspapers covered the news on the front page.

Deccan Queen is one of the famous trains in Indian Railway. There are many records in its name, for example, the first train to run on an electric engine, the first deluxe train, the first super-fast train, the first train to have Ladies' and catering coaches.

But it also has the historical record of being the first train to be defeated by a 50 cc Luna Moped.

From a Luna-tic!

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Creative Instinct

While discussing about creative writing and designing with a friend, we touched upon the subject about creative interior designing for homes and offices. Though I am not a qualified interior designer, but being a professional from the creative field of advertising and communication, with a fairly good sense of space, aesthetics, colour, design and dimensions. And understand a bit of interior design and layout. As a hobby I have helped design a couple of my friends’ home and office on a small scale.

I am still of the opinion that qualified interior designers make a home or office into a hotel, unless the designer has a natural creative Instinct. I have a friend who isn't a qualified designer but has become one with a natural instinct of observing and practical training which helps him to adapt and incorporate in the designing. He is doing well in his chosen profession of interior design, mainly because of his creative Instinct with a habit to think out of the box and provide his personal touch and the feel of what the customer wants.

Be it creative designing, writing, painting, art and culture, the creative Instinct is the x factor that gives a special personal touch to the subject or offering relevant but different options depending upon the taste and liking of the occupants in case of a home or office. The same thing applies to writing, painting and all types of art including performing arts, the creative Instinct being the x factor!

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