The Perak is the reborn Jawa marque's third motorcycle for India; and as you’d have read already, it’s just gone on sale with deliveries set to commence in 2020. But what’s the story behind the Perak name? An elementary Google search would throw up results for Perak, a state in Malaysia. Thing is, the Jawa Perak has nothing to do with the place Perak – far from it, in fact. The Perak name actually pays homage to a symbol of resistance from 1940’s Czechoslovakia, the home of the Jawa brand.
Jawa revealed the story behind the name through an animated clip that traces the story of the Perak. It is said that at the peak of World War II, amidst Nazi occupation of the then Czechoslovakia, there emerged a shadowy figure in Prague. Dressed in all-black and believed to emerge out of the darkness, the figure was also said to have a giant leap, earning the nickname 'the Spring Man'.
Little was known about the man behind this character but he soon came to be associated with hope against the ongoing oppression. The symbol was later given the name 'Perak'. The story of the urban legend goes on to say that the Nazis’ attempts to capture and kill Perak were in vain.
On the night of May 8, 1945, when the ceasefire of World War II was ordered, Perak was spotted riding out of Prague on a motorcycle, never to be seen again – except, maybe when the urban legend made its transition from Czech folklore to its popular culture; Perak, the Spring Man of Prague, featured in several local films, comic books and novels.
Interestingly, the original clip from Jawa also took a dig at the bike’s chief rival, the Royal Enfield Bullet. The clip was subsequently edited to remove the controversial portion and reposted by Anand Mahindra on Twitter. “The old (clip) had a not-so-subtle reference to a competitor. Put it down to our team’s over-enthusiasm. Now deleted. Just isn’t our style. We race against ourselves.” Mahindra tweeted.
Azaman Chothia
Vishal Venugopal
