Auto Rani
(Defying Stereotypes)
Auto...
The driver heard the
familiar call. Swiftly but smoothly, the auto rickshaw bearing number KA 20 – C
8189 came to a perfect halt.
The commuters got
into the auto and mentioned the place they intended to go. The auto driver
turned the meter on and started the auto towards the destination.
What’s the big deal?
After all, this is quite a familiar scene in India where auto rickshaws are a
common mode of transport for the common people. But the scene mentioned above
is not the quite familiar scene that one usually witnesses on the Indian roads.
This is an unfamiliar scene we (Nagashree D Amin & Jyothi) witnessed on the
roads of Kunjal!
Kunjal is a place
that is around five kilometers from Brahmavar, Udupi District while heading
towards Hebri. People from Kunjal know their auto drivers well. But people who
are new to Kunjal are sometimes in for a surprise when they call for an “auto.”
For, the driver in
the auto rickshaw is a lady! That, dear reader is the unfamiliar scene and the
essence of this article entitled Auto
Rani: Defying Stereotypes.
The first woman auto
driver in Brahmavar!
One would be tempted
to paint the pages with words such as “storming the male bastion,” “defying
stereotypes,” “non-conformist” and so on. But for Manisha Neelavara, the auto
driver in question, what she is doing is just a matter of bread and butter and
more than that, a question of self-reliance.
Sudhakar, an auto
driver, was finding it hard to make ends meet. One day he went abroad in search
of greener pastures. His wife Manisha was left to fend for herself. She needed
something to cling on to; something that would fetch her some money, in turn
respectability. Moreover, she had to keep herself preoccupied. That was when
her eyes fell on her husband’s auto rickshaw that was parked in front of her
house.
There are some
thoughts that translate into action without much ado. This wasn’t one of those.
Firstly, Manisha had
to learn to drive an auto. She had to take the requisite licenses and
permissions. She had to choose an area and an auto stand. Above all, she had to
compete in an area which had been completely male-dominated. She had to take
the “road not taken” as Frost has beautifully put it. There was nobody to lend
wings to her dreams! But self-reliance and pride are qualities that were
foremost in Manisha. She became her own tutor; she became her own master!
Neelavara Cross,
Kunjal!
That’s a busy area
and that’s where the buses stop. That’s where the auto stand is. Manisha Neelavara
chose this auto stand as her place. Surprisingly, the male auto drivers already
plying their autos in that stand didn’t object. Probably for two reasons, being
from the same neighborhood Manisha was a familiar person to most of them, and
two, they didn’t foresee her continuing in the male bastion for long. They
thought sooner or later she would give up.
Their expectations
almost came true; within the first week itself.
A novice to the
field, Manisha met with an accident in the first week of her life as an auto
driver. “That’s it…the end” said some jeering voices. But as we have said
earlier, Manisha and pride (not arrogance) go hand-in-hand! In the beginning,
people were unwilling to rent out her auto rickshaw for they were not sure how
safely a woman could drive the vehicle. Manisha has proved them wrong. For the
last 13 years Manisha has been in the field, thriving and growing with each
passing year.
Contrary to our
expectations, Manisha told us that the general public, commuters (men), fellow
auto rickshaw drivers in the auto stand have been sympathetic to her
enterprise. She hasn’t faced instances of harassment from men commuters. She
said that there are arguments on fare, which is part and parcel of the
profession. Unfortunately, for Manisha, the biggest opposition to her venture
came from own parents who could never come to terms with their daughter being
an “auto driver.” But her husband has been her source of strength and his
whole-hearted acceptance of her decision has been her driving force. Manisha
plies her auto from morning 7 am to evening 7 pm. If the commuters are only
women she is not averse to the idea of even a night trip.
On the occasion of International
Women’s Day, Manisha was honored by the Crossland College, Brahmavar for
“defying stereotypes” and treading the untrodden path to success. Hero Honda,
Udupi and Auto Drivers Union have also felicitated her.
Shila Dawre of
Pune!?!
Dear reader, you
might wonder what Shila Dawre has got to do with this article. During the
course of this study, our curiosity on women auto drivers impelled us to make a
search on the first woman auto driver in India – the pioneer, the path-setter.
It was Shila Dawre of Pune! Not many women are encouraged to take up a
male-dominated profession in the 80s, but Dawre was adamant that she would do
something out-of-the-box. So in 1988, she left her home in Parbhani District
and came to Pune to become India’s first woman auto rickshaw driver (as per the
Limca Book of Records).
Dawre hit the nail on the head when
she said that women empowerment should primarily “address the issue of
unemployment among women first so that they become self-sufficient.”
Dawre’s observations holds
absolutely true in the case of Manisha. She feels that this trade has given her
income, respectability and a vast experience of the world that has made her
stronger. Due to hard work she has added a goods auto rickshaw to her kitty.
Her son is studying in Fifth Standard in the prestigious Little Rock Indian
School. Life is a hard challenge; but Manisha with her “be different think
different attitude” has challenged life.
People like Shila Dawre and Manisha
are breaking barriers. As a result, the very idea of “male-centric fields” is
becoming non-existent.
Ay Auto…
The familiar call! Our time was up.
Manisha asked the commuter to get
in and, as usual, turned on the meter. The auto, the commuter in it and
Manisha, were slowly drifting away from us. Suddenly, as an afterthought, the
auto slowed down, Manisha put her head outside and waved to us. A strange sense
of melancholy moistened our eyes; the images before us blurred until the auto
rickshaw could be seen no more…
Nagashree III BA HEP
Jyothi III BA HEK
Comments
Post a Comment