A woman’s romance with well of death

Alappuzha: She is a woman who dares death by doing  motorcycle stunt-riding in motordromes (well of death). Baby Khan, 40, from Chadayamangalam of Kollam district,  is also a housewife who takes care of a big family.   

On the sidelines of a carnival being held at Oachira Parabrahma temple, Baby Khan, mother of three,  told DC:  “I perform the stunts that a  man does in a motordrome.”  Her  romance with bike stunt began during childhood when her poor parents took her to watch a motordrome show in Chadayamangalam. “The sound of the bikes  without the silencer  attracted me. When my family moved to Tirunelveli, they let me learn  bike riding,” she says.

Rajiv, a bike stunt rider,  taught her the first lessons of riding a bike and doing stunts. Subsequently, she  joined an amusement troupe in Tamil Nadu. She is now part of the troupe called Golden Amusement owned by Babu Khan, her husband.

There are seven bike stunt riders in the group. “Even though we have been in the field for decades, an insurance coverage or pension is still a distant dream. Two years ago, I met with an accident  in the carnival held as part of Oachira temple festival. I was rushed to the hospital and was forced to take two days’ rest,”  she says. “We are constantly on the move  and I have travelled the whole of India several times,” she adds.

She performs the stunts from 4 p.m. till 10 p.m.   “I am proud of being a bike stunt rider and I have a lot of fans as well, mostly children. They often look at me with wonder.  I intend to do stunts as long as I can as there is a thrill in being one of the few women in the field,” she says.