Up Close: Wall of Death

The stuntmen of Allahabad, north India, risk their lives daily by riding motorbikes around vertical walls made from salvaged wood. Defying gravity through sheer momentum, they create a vertiginous, noisy whirl of action to enthrall the crowds.

  • Words + Photography: Sahil Lodha

This image is from a project on the wall of death riders in Allahabad, a city in north India, who every day risk life and limb to earn money at local fairs. It is extremely risky for both the performers and audience members, but always draws a huge crowd. The first time I saw it I was completely captivated, and I wanted to capture that experience in this series. Riding ancient bikes that look as if they haven’t been maintained since they left the factory, the stuntmen drive at breakneck speeds on vertical walls built from salvaged wood.

The stuntmen drive at breakneck speeds on vertical walls built from salvaged wood.

But as if these stunts weren’t crazy enough, and the walls not rickety enough, the stuntmen place themselves in even greater peril by driving cars around the walls as well. Everything is fast, loud and dangerous. It’s one of the most breathtaking experiences I’ve ever had.

Sahil Lodha is a photographer based in London

Article taken from

Issue 05
Articles

Further Reading

View All

The Airship Revolution

It’s the longest aircraft in the world, ready to set more records than Concorde yet its presence is bashful, modest, perhaps embarrassed by its own simplicity. Avaunt discovers the future of aeronautics.

The Anatomy of an Antarctic Explorer

Last December Louis Rudd became the first Briton to cross Antarctica using muscle power alone. Here he describes in precise detail how the 925 mile crossing impacted on each part of his body.

Chichu Art Museum

Chichu means “under the earth” in Japanese; a particularly apt name for this unusual gallery which sits almost entirely underground.

Flows: Chinese Garden

Shot over the course of five months in and around Tulum, in the Mexican state of Quintana Roo, Flows leads viewers on a journey never before taken.

Ripped Genes

The ever-growing bank of genomic data we have is radically transforming our world, and as with all revolutions it will spark both positive and negative consequences.

Tashkent Metro Stations

Stately pleasure domes: the palatial architecture of the underground stations of Tashkent are inspired by everything from Central Asian Emperor Tamburlaine the Great to the Soviet cosmonauts.
Browse by Category