Jawa India celebrates 18th International Jawa Day

Modern Classic motorcycle manufacturer Jawa celebrated its 18th International Jawa Day virtually. This was done keeping the current scenario of pandemic in consideration. This is a festival wherein the global Jawa Kommuniti celebrates the glorious past, present with thousands of Jawa and Yezdi motorcycle owners  across the country. It is celebrated on the second Sunday of July every year.

In this chapter of IJD that was held on the company's virtual platform, it saw a participation of 3 lakh people. Members from the major Jawa & Yezdi Motorcycle Clubs in India took the mantle of organising the virtual event, bringing together Kommuniti members not just from clubs across the country but also countries like Netherlands, Czech Republic, Poland, USA, Vietnam and Cuba to come together for a virtual celebration.

The festivities began with a session aptly named 'Legendshala' an evening prior to set the mood with stories of the yore from people who kept the legacy of Jawa alive over decades. The session saw veteran racers like Somender Singh, CK Chinappa, Shyam Kothari narrate their experiences of racing on Jawa motorcycles over their careers while Prashanth PK, a collector of all things Jawa talked about his prized possessions.

The livestream on Jawa Day consisted of veteran Kommuniti riders come together on a common platform to reminisce their experiences about previous Jawa Day celebrations, long rides and friendly banter that connects them as Jawa riders. Riders from 10 international clubs as well as 35 clubs from India were invited to do their bit for the celebrations. The club members shared recordings from their locations sending out wishes for their fellow riders and the promise of riding their Jawa motorcycles together soon.

The session saw riders from across the spectrum showing off their motorcycles ranging from pristine vintage ones to shining new models over video clips, just like they would on a live event. The response to this invitation was so overwhelming that not all the clips could be incorporated to be a part of the live session and will be available on YouTube/jawamotorcycles.

In keeping with the tradition, the organising panel of the show hosted contests on social platforms to engage with the Kommuniti. The contests witnessed a stirring response from avid Jawa and Yezdi riders and followers. Categories included best dressed rider, picture of a bike in unexpected location, best 90 second video, picture of a ride with public message regarding traffic rules, recreation of old pictures in a collage with year mentioned etc. 

The virtual meetup session was full of enthusiastic members of the Jawa Kommuniti and while the ongoing lockdown situation did put brakes on the physical rides and celebrations, it didn't curb their enthusiasm to come together as one family on an online forum. In some cities such as Chandigarh, Ludhiana, Jalandhar, Cochin, Kannur and Jaipur where unlock rules allowed riding with safety protocols, Kommuniti members also did a city to celebrate the day.