In Dhanbad, Jharkhand state, a group of Indian stuntmen are keeping a dying tradition alive. Welcome to the Death Well: a gravity-defying display of daredevil fearlessness that reimagines what’s possible on a two-wheeled machine.
Text: Niall Flynn Photography: Tom D Morgan
THE DEATH WELL – known sometimes as the Wall of Death, or Motordrome – is a carnival sideshow in which fearless riders zip around the near-vertical walls of a commanding circular pit.
The practice was popular at fairs and amusement parks in the US and UK during the 20th century. Eventually it made its way to India, where it found a home at carnivals across the country, with performers taking the stunt to terrifying new heights.
Today, few are left. One of these remaining sites sits in Dhanbad, a coal-mining district in the state of Jharkhand – far beyond the tourist trail. It was here that photographer Tom D Morgan witnessed the practice in action for the first time.
“It’s been said many times before to describe India, but this fairground on the banks of the Damodar River truly was an assault on the senses,” he says.
Morgan remembers immediately being met with the distorted cacophony of several PA speakers – advertising everything from sex shows and illegal gambling rings, to childrens toys and rides on a ferris wheel operated by hand. “I had arrived from the relative tranquility of Manhattan, so it was quite an introduction,” he adds.
He ended up staying for 72 hours, documenting everything the carnival had to offer. It was here that he learned that the riders were stuntmen “by necessity”
