‘Why not her?’: A military nursing officer’s 8,800-km solo ride after retirement redefines what women can do

It was two decades ago when a young officer of the Military Nursing Services (MNS) specialising in operation theatre (OT) administration and surgical assistance found herself drawn to a machine far removed from the hospital setting: her motorcycle.

Perhaps it offered an escape from the routine, but the feeling of oneness with her motorbike over the years has led Lt Col Ambily Satish to participate in multiple rides across the country, with her most recent feat being an 8,800-km solo bike ride to 12 Jyotirlingas (sacred shrines of Lord Shiva).

Lt Col Ambily, who opted for voluntary retirement this August at the age of 45, told The Indian Express that she began her journey by first trekking to Kedarnath in October. On November 8, she set out from Dehradun, riding through Uttar Pradesh, Jharkhand, Odisha, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Telangana, Karnataka, Gujarat, MP, and back in Maharashtra before concluding the ride in Pune on December 24.

For this woman rider, motorcycling is not just a hobby but a way of life that speaks of her independence and sense of purpose.

“There is a widespread belief that motorcycles are not meant for girls, that Indian roads are unsafe for women and once she is married and has young children, then she must give up her passion.”

“I was a rebel kid and feminist at heart. My dad was very loving and protective, but he, too, subscribed to the beliefs of his peers that motorcycling is not a woman’s domain. At the age of 12, I somehow made this promise in my mind that I would learn motorcycling and that too from a woman. I wanted to challenge and change these perceptions,” she recalled.

She was in Jodhpur, newly commissioned into the corps of MNS, when she found her mentor in then Lieutenant Sarita Muwal, her batchmate and dear friend.

“I was 25. What started as a mode of commute soon became a passion. Biking liberates, as any other sport does. Sarita is just 5 feet tall, yet she would ride or drive all kinds of vehicles, including trucks. She agreed to be my pillion just as soon as I learned to bike, which, normally, people are scared of. We both used to go on rides to nearby sand dunes,” she said.

Her first bike was a modest 125 cc Bajaj XCD motorcycle, bought at a cost higher than her monthly salary. Later, as her confidence grew, she rode longer distances and by 2014 upgraded to a 220 cc motorcycle.

It was in Pune that she met her future husband, then Group Captain C N Satish, at the Artificial Limb Centre. He had organised a long-distance 1500 km 10-day rally in Nagpur along with amputee officers to honour them. His four amputee patients rode along with the team, and Maj Ambily joined them.

“It was to demonstrate that they are no less capable than able-bodied civilians,” Lt Col Ambily said, adding that the entire team set up a group `Phoneix Bravehearts’.

“Our oldest rider is a 75-year-old distinguished veteran of the 1971 Indo Pak war,” she said. While the group set off on annual rides, Lt Col Ambily also went on her first long-distance ride: 2,700 km from Bengaluru to Ferozepur. Long hours in the OT and on the road instilled discipline, patience and adaptability and soon she also participated in the landmark all-women Nari Sashaktikaran rallies commemorating Kargil Vijay Diwas in 2023 and 2024.

Reflecting on the recent life-changing solo ride, Lt Col Ambily strongly believes that what she achieved is possible for any woman who dares to begin.

“Strong support from family and friends, kindness from strangers across regions often labelled unsafe and faith in the Almighty helped to ensure anything is possible,” she said.