In the final countdown to India’s first Military Literature Festival, the Motorcycle Display Team of the Indian Army on Thursday left hundreds of Chandigarh residents awestruck with their exemplary performance.Patriotic fervor prevailed on the nearly 3 kilometers stretch at Uttar Marg near Sukhna Lake during the one hour show of the daredevils in the backdrop of jingoistic songs, with Technical Education Minister Charanjit Channi leading the spectators.People had lined up along the entire stretch of the road in large numbers to witness 48 different feats performed by the men on sports bikes and Royal Enfields. The team— Shwet Ashw (white horse)— comprised 43 riders, led by Naib Subedar N.K.Tiwari with 20 years of experience of performing daredevil acts on motorbikes, and has been recorded thrice in the Guinness Book of Records.The breathtaking displays on the high-speed Royal Enfield motorcycles began with some of the most precarious stints, such as standing, sleeping, jumping, swimming, flying fish, forming sudarshan-chakra, trimurty, bar exercise, head-stand, fire-jump, forming pyramid, taking out march past (in sitting position), seating on Crown Head, standing on seat, one leg riding, ladder climbing, PT exercise, etc.
The spectators, including a large number of youth and children, said they were totally enamoured with the performances, which they described as a once-in-a-lifetime experience."We used to see such performances only on television screens or in the movies, but being a part of this live performance was a dream come true," said Shweta, a college student. The team members, who belong to the Corps of Military Police (CMP) that was raised in the year 1952 at CMP Centre and School, Faizabad, UP, said the performances needed a high level of precision, with even a small mistake likely to prove fatal. They were able to achieve 100% precision with rigorous practice, said one of the jawans, adding that they had all performed at numerous national and international events.The team finds mention thrice in the Guinness Book of World Records - for carrying 133 men on 11 motorcycles in 1995, 151 men on 11 motorcycles in 1999 and for carrying 48 members on a single motorcycle in the year 2010. The team also has the distinction of having performed at the ninth Asian Games at New Delhi in 1982, at the closing ceremony of the "Eighth Asian Track and Field Meet" at new Delhi in 1989, and also during the Miss World Beauty Contest at Bangalore in 1995.