In her Facebook account Athira Murali describes herself as a rider, true every bit, as far as this 21-year-old motor-crazy girl is concerned. Her love for motorbikes started when she was in Class VII and the fleet of vehicles she has fascination for has grown bigger and bigger. The list now includes buses, trucks and earthmovers too! She was honoured in the India Book of Records for being the youngest person to hold the most number of vehicle licenses. She has the license to ride Heavy Motor Vehicles alongwith a badge.
She recalls, “My dad used to drive lorries to transport loads from quarries. My task was to collect money for the trips he undertook. My first lessons in bike riding started on his bike,” says Athira. Though she does not have a bike of her own for the rides including long trips, she shares them with her friends.
As a rider, she wants to call for safe-riding practices and takes all safety measures required beforestarting a journey. “I am a member of a club where we follow the message ‘Ride Safe, Ride Smart’. The longest trip I have ever taken is from Thiruvananthapuram to Kottayam on group rides, and we are planning a tour from Kanyakumari to Jammu and Kashmir,” she says.
Her emphasis on the importance of safe riding does not deter her from adventure, and is getting ready to learn bike-stunts from experts in the club while she is already trained in performing car stunts. Athira, has a Bachelor of Computer Applications (BCA) and is currently pursuing BTech in Mechanical Engineering from Regional Institute of Engineering in Thiruvananthapuram.