SHORT FILM ON MUMBAI'S 1ST FEMALE B.E.S.T BUS DRIVER PRATIKSHA DAS

Jyothi Venkatesh

Pratiksha Das is a 24 year old Mechanical Engineer from the city of Mumbai. She is known for her remarkable achievements on the race track with Super Bikes and Cars. Pratiksha was introduced to the world of motorcycles at a tender age of 12 and has not looked back since then. Her love for motorcycles drove her in pursuing mechanical engineering to learn more about the technical aspect of machines. Recently, she became the first female to complete the BEST buses training and is accredited with the first female BEST (Brihanmumbai Electric Supply and Transport) bus driver to clear a rigorous 30 day training schedule and obtain an official license to drive heavy vehicles in India. Pratiksha has been successfully breaking the stereotypes one after the other while showcasing her skills as a female rider. She embarked on one of the most challenging road trips titled Himalayan Odyssey which passes through one of the toughest mountain ranges in Ladakh. With support from friends and family, she took the next leap of faith and has shown her mettle on International roads as well. Pratiksha was a part of the South Asian Odyssey and rode a motorcycle across Thailand, Malaysia and Singapore where she proudly unfurled the Indian flag at key places.

With very little knowledge about professional bike racing in the year 2016, she was motivated by her mother and friends to participate at Amby Valley Drag Race- India Speed Week and put up an impressive performance to get noticed by senior riders. This success was immediately followed by an opportunity to participate in the selections for India’s first female bike racing team by TVS Racing, Chennai. 60 participants from all over India were in the pool for a tough chase competition and Das nailed it in the final team of 15 racers. Winning several noteworthy accolades, she became Mumbai’s first track racer and came to be popularly recognized as Racer Chick in the motorcycling fraternity. Pratiksha is a proud winner of 2 TVS Racing Championship trophies and also the title holder of the fastest female at India Speed Week Drag Race.Pratiksha is currently preparing for her exams and aspires to be a RTO (Regional Transport Office) officer someday. She is an avid believer that if a women’s mind can conceive an idea, she is very much capable of achieving anything.