The official Republic Day parade held in Delhi on January 26 every year is something of a spectacle, what with the many battalions of marching men-in-uniform, colourful smoke-spewing fighter jets and daredevil motorcycle stunts. While you can expect much of the same this year too, there will be one marked departure from tradition. For the first time, the motorcycle stuntmen will wow their audiences not only from the saddles of Royal Enfield motorcycles, as they traditionally have, but also from those of a motorcycle that is purely Indian in its heritage and development – the TVS Apache RTR 180.
The Motorcycle Display Team of the Military Police, popularly known as ‘Shwet Ashwa’, will jump through rings of fire and balance on a single wheel, among other physics-defying stunts, on four Apache RTR 180s. Shwet Ashwa has been trained to use the Apache RTR 180s by TVS as well as Team Balance Point, a collective of well-known stunt riders from Karnataka. You should really be looking forward to the parade tomorrow, because Shwet Ashwa also holds a Guinness World record and has performed at the Asian Games.