Pune youth appeals to thief to return his Honda Activa: It’s my mom’s memory

Abhay Chaugule

Pune's Abhay Chaugule is using a powerful mix of sarcasm and sentiment to appeal to a thief. This Visual Arts schoolteacher's bike was stolen on Dussehra day on October 12 from near his friend's home. Since then, Chaugule has been standing at different spots in Pune holding a banner aloft.

The banner reads in Marathi: "This is a humble appeal to whoever has stolen my bike. My mother had worked very hard for it and bought it when I was in the Std. XII. This is her last memory. Please return it." The banner has the bike number and Chaugule's mobile number too. Chaugule, 31, said, "I lost my mom three months ago to breast cancer. She used to do tailoring work. She used to store the money she collected in a ‘dabba'. She bought this bike 14 years ago for approximately Rs 45,000. This was the first bike for the family. There is so much sentiment attached to it."

Bike gone

Explaining about the theft, Chaugule said, "I was going to a friend's house to celebrate Dussehra on October 12 evening. His house is near Karve Putala (Kothrud). I set off from my home in Sinhgad Road, Anand Nagar Santosh Hall, and near his house, my bike suddenly stopped working. I pushed it along towards my friend's house, eventually parking it where a lot of other bikes were parked. At night, I took a rickshaw home." He added, "I thought I would take my bike to the garage the next day. I asked my friend the next day in the evening to check on my bike; it should still be there below his house. He informed me that he could not locate it. I went over, we looked everywhere in vain, and finally filed a complaint at the Kothrud police station."

Abhay Chaugule on his black Activa that was allegedly stolen

Write way

Chaugule said, "The police are on the job investigating the bike theft. I thought I needed to do something too instead of simply waiting." Chaugule said that he is a writer, and his oeuvre is the Puneri Pati. The Puneri Pati is a traditional way of writing messages/life lessons/instructions using sarcasm as a medium.

He added, "I started writing regularly after my father's death during COVID time; he did not die of COVID though. It helped me deal with the grief." Chaugule has been holding these banners at different places in Pune, like Fergusson College Road, Junglee Maharaj Road, Apte Road, and Prabhat Road, appealing to get his bike back.

The humanity

Chaugule said, "So many people, seeing me standing with my banner on social media, have asked whether I seriously believe the thief will 'return' my bike. I have had to deal with scamsters too who have called my number demanding Rs 5,000 or more, stating that they have spotted my bike. While these are cons, there are genuine people who are moved and are eager to help."

He added, "To people who ask me why I am doing this, whether it will be effective, I say I am not made in the 'angry young man mould'. My style is more in the writer Pu La Deshpande tradition with its trademark humour, which may be dark too at times." "When we think about the internet, we talk about trolls and cyber harassment and bullying. Yet, with the support I have received, I have found humanity on the Internet," he further said.