13/09/2016
Now a days knowing news is from FB only, sometimes in the form of trolls also and this morning when I saw this news, some memories came to my mind, of course the crew of 3T magazine and our efforts to write about here three years back in our final edition of 3T, and now she became the first women to get a silver medal in RIO para olymbics :)
Deepa Malik
Life never stops when one gets paralysed. That’s what the life of Arjuna award winner Deepa Malik strongly proves even today. A well-known para-athlete, a socially committed restaurateur, a former beauty queen, an accomplished swimmer and, most importantly, a hardcore bike rider and car driver, disabilities never blew the feathers on her cap. She has stamped her name in the Limca Book of Records, THRICE, the first, when she swam one kilometre, against the flow, in the Yamuna River. She made another world record in 2009, when she bought herself a customised Tata Safari and completed the 10 day, 3000 km odd journey from Delhi to Khardungla Pass near Leh- Ladakh, one of the highest mountain passes in the world.
Daughter of an army man, Deepa’s obsession to ride was a result of her extensive travelling and she learned to ride one secretly in her backyard. This obsession was also the way to her meeting with her husband Bikram Singh Malik, who later retired from the army as a colonel. Her actual riding started when she got herself a Luna in her teens and she hung out with bikers who were beyond their teens and it was during then Deepa met and impressed Bikram with her confidence and skills when she rode his bike, an Ind-Suzuki. The first bike she had after her marriage was a 100 cc Kawasaki Bajaj, which she was promised will be gifted to her. This biking experience was short lived when she got paralysed after she was operated because of her tumour. Later, when she set up her restaurant, “Dee’s Place” at Ahemednagar, there came so many young cadets on bikes and in the company of those youngsters, she rediscovered her serious interest in bike riding and also was awarded with the Swavalamban Puraskar, given by a Pune NGO for her financial independence, despite her physical limitations. She was urged by one of the young cadets who came there to write to manufacturers, asking them to provide her with a motorcycle, specially designed for her. With a power point presentation to explain and compel, she finally got her “Bike”- a modified four wheel All-Terrain Vehicle made by Kaulson Racing Products, Delhi with the United Breweries Group financing it. Since then she started again with her bike riding and to push her challenge further she moved on to four wheelers.
Deepa’s challenges are numerous. What she was really upset about was not her illness, but not being able to drive. Despite all the odds, Deepa has never backed from driving. She always participated in any of the car rallies and was an unfailing regular participant at Delhi, Kutch and the Thar long trail events, every year.
Deepa was always active and wanted to do extraordinary things. She never wanted herself to be known for her disabilities and always drove herself to prove that she could do so many things. She had set her mind for the Raid de Himalaya, an off-road adventure, starting in October every year. She drove through Kargil when she made her record in 2009. That year was the 10th anniversary of two events, one the Kargil war and the other, Deepa’s war with her tumour, and covered nine high-altitude peaks in nine days.
Named as Biker of the Country in the India Bike Week in Goa, Deepa is now well established, and her husband works as senior manager at Hindustan Construction. She was being always backed by her husband who “carried” her around, her parents, daughters Ambika and Devika, had been always besides her. And she has Prateek Gahlaut, a keen sportsman and motorcyclist as her driving buddy, accompanying in her sports and race events. She now, is also helping the biking event called ‘Ride for Safety’, which is held every winter in Mumbai. The highlight event which she recently became a part of was ‘WoW- Will on Wheels’, a Pan-India event with a cause- to spread awareness in the society on two very important issues, first to motivate differently abled people and other to encourage young minds to come up with some concepts that would help people like her. The event was the result of her inspiration on 6 young and very talented engineering students of Sathyabhama University, Chennai. She rode in a Renault Duster for the event from Chennai to Delhi from 22nd September to 30th September, 2013. Also she is an active member of various awareness programs including HIV AIDS awareness, female foeticide, safe riding and various others.
Deepa, who now is more than 40 years always stays young and energetic. She takes inspiration from the small things and never gets disheartened. She has found a new meaning for her life after the disaster which happened to her. She now is a motivational speaker and has been a huge motivator for many. This article would be aptly concluded with her own words, “The only festival you can celebrate every day is life. So erase all excuses and get on with the celebration! Life is not a dress rehearsal, so don’t wait for something drastic to happen”.
-3T Magazine
