The Hindu : Andhra Pradesh News : Defying death in `maut ka kuan'

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Thursday, Dec 15, 2005

Andhra Pradesh

Andhra Pradesh - Others

Defying death in `maut ka kuan'

S. Harpal Singh

JUST THE RIGHT SPEED: One of the three daredevil drivers keeps a car on track, firmly driving along to the wall of the well.

ADILABAD: Death stands mute at the doors of the `maut ka kuan' where Dil Fariyad, Afzal Khan and Goutham perform the speed feat on three vehicles. The intuitively perfect calculation of time and speed by these daredevils from Ajmer in Rajasthan will sure keep time waiting for an eternity.

At the exhibition at Adilabad the three persons drive two cars and a motorbike simultaneously along the walls of the `maut ka kuan' (well of death), a wooden well 18 ft deep and 50 ft across.

"The maut ka kuan has been in existence for about 35 years. But, the use of cars in the kuan was started 11 years ago. Some of us witnessed the performance of Pakistani daredevils in cars and soon enough adopted it," said Dil Fariyad, the oldest of the three, while tracing the history of the performance.

Revving up the engine of his perfectly tuned Maruti, Afzal Khan denied having any knowledge about gravitational, centrifugal or centripetal forces. "Hum to ek doosre ko dekhte rahte hain our apni speed ghatate, badhate hain (we keep watching one another and increase or decrease our speeds)," he revealed.

However, Goutham said, "We feel confortable between the speeds of 60 to 70 km per hour. That way we are stuck to the walls firmly and find sufficient time to veer when needed."

To the question of fear of death, Jagdish Raj Sharma, owner of the visiting exhibition said rather philosophically, "Iska naam hi maut ka kuan hai. Maut hamesh hamare saath rahti hai. Vo to ooparvale ki marzi hai ki ham aj bhi zinda hai (The performance is called well of death. Death is alway beside us. However, it is the grace of God that we are still alive)."

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