City Pulse

At 16 she learnt how to ride a motorcycle. Ten years later, Roshni Sharma, undertook an arduous journey on her bike, covering 5,452 kilometres to make a screaming statement against debilitating oppression of women.  This software Engineer from Bangalore, travelled from Kanyakumari to Khardungla, Ladakh, in 14 days, making her the first Indian female rider to do so.  

Born and raised in Narora, a small town in Western Uttar Pradesh, Roshni was lucky to have a set of liberal parents who did not believe it clipping their daughter’s wings. In fact, they fueled her passions and ambitions.   “My father taught me to ride a motorcycle when I was in class 11. My parents never held me back. They knew I had a mean adventurous streak, and they helped flourish it,” says this 26-year-old. In spite of having the privilege of a liberal upbringing, Roshni could not escape the widespread oppression of women, and sexism that exist all around.  

With the help of her passion, biking, Roshni decided to rebel against the crippling cultural norms that evidently eat into a women’s self-esteem, and well-being.  The mantra that propelled her forward and enabled her to complete the journey was women emancipation.  “I believe that women armed with sufficient precautions, and determined self-belief can conquer anything. And my bike journey proves that,” she adds. 

“I have ridden solo before. I rode Bangalore to Chennai and back in 12 hours. I have also ridden in groups. But no woman has done the entire North-South distance. When I informed my friends about the plan, almost everyone asked me to drop the idea.  I wanted to prove everyone wrong,” this Jayanagar resident says.  

The journey begins:  

Roshni embarked on this journey that was undoubtedly going to be fraught with uncertainties, and danger. “I left Bangalore on June 24, and reached Kanyakumari on June 28 , and from there my actual journey began,” she reminisces.  Before leaving, Roshni was advised against taking the Jhansi/Gwalior route, as the stretch is famous for harboring anti-social miscreants.   “I was told to take the Ahmedabad/ Mumbai route instead, but I didn’t want to shy away from difficulties. You can’t generalize an entire city on the basis of few untoward incidents. I took the route, and didn’t face any troubles,” she says.  

However, there were moments when Roshni questioned the sanity of her plan.  “One of my rules was not to ride at nights. Due to some time and distance miscalculation, I ended up travelling through the Pench National Park, on Nagpur-Seoni border at night. I underestimated the road, which was crowded with potholes and speed-breakers, and had only truck traffic.  I was truly terrified at that point,” confides Roshni.  

Roshni quickly managed to get over this minor hiccup and continued on her journey. She adds, “Wherever I went I was treated nicely. The look of awe and respect in their eyes when I introduced myself as a solo female biker, was most gratifying,” Roshni says. 

After reaching her final destination on July 10, Roshni didn’t feel very ecstatic. “I felt something was missing. But when I updated by Facebook status, and started getting congratulatory calls, the impact of what I have achieved hit me,” she says.

The cherry on the cake was the message from her parents.  “My parents called me up and said that I made them extremely proud.  Nothing could be a bigger reward,” says the rebel. 

She points out that a woman with a strong, unshakable self-belief may first rile the world, but it won’t be late before they start celebrating her.