Indian wells of death

2024 Author: Seth Attwood | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-16 15:55

I remember in the days of the USSR it was the most extreme attraction that I went to as a child. There were wells, there were also round metal cages in which motorcyclists circled. Truly I don’t remember the cars, were there any?

But what the Indians do in their wells is, of course, a "plague."

India is a land of contrasts and extreme entertainment. One of the most popular is “Maut ka Kuaa”, which means “the well of death” or “wall of death”. Such an unusual name was not chosen by chance: daredevils-motorcyclists (and sometimes motorists) drive at a breakneck speed along the edge of a cone-shaped wooden well, thanks to the centrifugal force that keeps them from falling.

Numerous spectators look down with bated breath, because what is happening before their eyes seems to be fantastic! Participants in unusual competitions "start" at the bottom of the cone in a counterclockwise direction, gradually picking up speed. By the time the speedometer reaches its maximum, they are already high. Most of the participants manage not only to ride the wooden walls, but also to perform a couple of tricks.

The idea of such an extraordinary show originated in America at the beginning of the 20th century. For the first time, motorcyclists showed such stunts in New York's Coney Island Park in 1911. In just a couple of decades, these competitions have gained popularity among Americans. The British are also happy to carry out such "sheer" races.

The peculiarity of the Indian "well of death" is that it is carried out with all imaginable safety violations. Not only do the participants ride without helmets, but their "iron horses" are often in disrepair and require repair. Besides, there may be no boards in the "well", which undoubtedly complicates the movement even more. Despite all this, there are more than enough hunters to try their hand at this attraction: sometimes even women are behind the wheel. For example, this was the case at similar competitions in New Delhi in 2011.

A little more extreme in your tape? Yes, please: for example, Jumping into the water on horseback, and here is How they build sightseeing roads in mountainous China and the Saudis on two wheels. Well, here's how climbers sleep and how to walk along the edge at an altitude of 356 meters.