In Jaipur, it was a common sight to see Veenu Paliwal riding her Harley Davidson 48 on the roads. Dubbed as the “Lady of Harley” (Dunes Harley-Davidson) and “HOG Rani”, Veenu Paliwal is one of the most well-recognized Indian motor bikers of all time. And she died doing what she loved — riding Harley Davidson.
Born in 1972, Veenu once noted during an interview that her inspiration was her father since childhood, who himself was an “avid biker”. Although she was passionate about bikes, it was only after getting into college when she learned to ride motorcycles from her college friends. However, she herself did not own any motorcycle then.
Veenu was well known for being the only woman biker in Jaipur. She became the first Indian woman to ride a Harley-Davidson bike at 180 km/h. Apart from being a biker, she was an entrepreneur and ran a lounge in Jaipur called “Chai Bar”
She was married, but due to her husband's restriction on her riding, and other issues led to a divorce, she had two children from her marriage, son Shiven Vikram (studying in the USA) and daughter Shivika Vikram (had just completed her twelfth standard), though the children’s custody remained with their father. Veenu's father had retired from the Union Bank of India. She has a sister who lives in USA.
Veenu had clocked 17,000 kms since November 2015 and wanted to cross 50,000 kms in a year. She also wanted to make a documentary on biking. Paliwal wanted to join politics one day and show people that it is not the big bad world it is made out to be.
Veenu died in a road accident on April 12, 2016 during a Harley Davidson sponsored nationwide tour where she had to cover all Harley Davidson dealerships. While en route to Bhopal near Gyaraspur, her bike skidded negotiating an accident-prone curve. She was rushed to a nearby health centre but died soon after due to internal injuries. The autopsy mentioned that her liver had burst. She was cremated in Jaipur on April 14, 2016.
People from all walks of life bid a tearful adieu to 44-year-old Veenu. Everyone from a small kid to a senior citizen thronged the cremation ground.
Actor John Abraham, an avid biker himself, shared two pictures of the noted woman biker on Twitter and said: “My heart goes out to Veenu Paliwal. May her soul RIP. From a fellow biker. Respect.”
Maral Yazarloo and Seema Sharma Dora, members of a group of women bikers called ‘Lady Riders of India’, said Veenu set an example for the women, as well as men, in the country.
Urvashi Patole, the founder of Bikerni and a Royal Enfield Classic 500 rider, said Veenu’s death is an unfortunate incident and women should not be discouraged by the incident and should take up riding to pay homage to her soul. “There are many challenges faced by a woman on a bike. More than the familial tussles, when on roads women bikers are eve-teased, followed, stalked shamelessly by men. The extent goes to even pushing them off their bikes. Moreover, their character is judged, they are subjected to insults, and are also belittled and defamed. The patriarchal society of India and the so-called ‘machoism’ of men gets offended when they see a women biker on the roads,” she said.
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In a society like ours, where it is hard for a woman to step out of ‘normal code of conduct’, the example set by Veenu in breaking multiple stereotypes is truly unconventional and inspiring, and her legacy will go on.
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