Roading through the wheelies circle of life

CHENNAI: For Hema Apsara, a female bike stunt rider and a mother to Advaitha, ‘Fear’ means ‘face everything and rise’. With dreams of becoming an army officer someday, little did Hema know that her family had other plans for her.

“When I turned 18, my parents married me off. I gave birth to my daughter, a year later. Being young myself, it was a battle for me to bring a life into this world and raise her,” says Hema.

Since her school days, Hema’s life kept changing its phases. Being a good sprinter, she aspired to represent India. Born in Chennai, after her grade three, her family shifted to Kolar Gold Fields (KGF), where she completed the rest of her schooling.

Coming home to witness her parents fight every night was not easy for Hema Apsara, and her brother, who were later brought up by their grandmother.

“Growing up, I had to face multiple child abuses. Being a girl, I restrained myself from sharing it out to the world. I was unable to bring all my focus to bear in trying to study, which got me backlogs during college,” Hema adds.

For the bike stunt rider, her first encounter with a bike came when she started working as an apprentice in Bengaluru. She first acclimated to travel 100 kms daily through trains and buses.

“This is when I started taking my father’s bike, riding my way through life, without their knowledge. Eventually, I was caught red-handed, which made me give up on my fondness for bikes,” states Hema, who worked part-time at juice bars and Xerox shops, to save up money, only to later buy a second-hand bike.

At the age of 18, Hema was riding her own RE classic 350, with the chill breeze running through her luscious long hair. Expounding her passion for riding did not go well with her family and her husbands, who urged her to quit riding geared bikes.

“This time, I wasn’t going to give up on my dreams. I rode solo to parts of Tamil Nadu, Karnataka and Kerala. This phase of my life made me understand my real self. After I met with an accident during one of my trips, breaking my knee and being bedridden for eight months, I had given up hope on my family’s support. Eventually my husband stepped up to support my decision,” explains Hema, who, after her recovery, was astonished to be gifted with a Jawa Classic 300 by her husband. ‘Gwen’, is what she calls her Jawa Classic 300. “It means pure, blessed and holy. That is what it means to my life,” she claims.

Roaring past her struggles, the biker joined female riding groups and clubs in the city.

“I have attended the National Stunt Championship which happened in Coimbatore twice, and came first both the years. There was very little competition. In fact, we had to pick some female volunteers working there to fill the numbers for the competition,” she highlights.

Hema dons many hats to her name. She became the only woman to participate in the Women’s category at the TVS MotoSoul 2023, in Goa. Claiming her presence in the less explored craft of women stunt riders in the country, she has played the stunt double for actor Katrina Kaif, in a Medimix advertisement.

“Our country does have competitions held for stunt riding, but the sport is not celebrated as it is in other countries. And for women, there hasn’t been a separate category for long. In recent times, however, they now have a separate category implemented,” Hema says. “Mommy, you can do it!” comes a loud cheer every time Hema is gearing up for her race, with her daughter who sits with a sparkle of pride in her eyes seeing her mother.

“I want my daughter to know what her mother really stands for and believes in. One day when I happened to take her to the anniversary event of Beast Riderz, one of Chennai’s well-known biking clubs, Advaitha insisted that I teach her bike riding. My family was strictly against letting my five-year-old daughter learn anything from her mother,” she adds.

Hema was unwilling to compromise with her daughter’s interest. She then decided to spread her horizon and advance her riding skills, incorporating stunts. Financially unstable to afford a stunt bike, she had to work as a food delivery partner with Swiggy.

“I got my Apache RTR 180 and started practicing. It took me one whole year to complete a perfect wheelie with braking, which is a hard stunt form to be attempted by female riders in India,” she says.

Highlighting on the knowledge regarding the sport, Hema elucidates, “Now the sport is getting recognition for women. We find our professional ground, abiding by the traffic rules and regulation. There are specific open areas where we practice. I don’t promote racing on the busy streets, just to show my skills off.”

Hema is rather content with her strong desire to achieve her dreams. For her, it all started with the thought, ‘Why only let boys have the front seat?’