“My parents always spoke about having a son who would take up the responsibilities of the family and it annoyed me. Why did they need a boy to do that? We were 8 girls born to a lower middle class couple in a village. Our initial income was based on agriculture with no means of irrigation. We depended on the rains and that didn’t fetch us much. None of my sisters nor I could attend school. We would do odd jobs to earn a little money. Growing up, I saw an uncle riding an auto and learnt it from him. At 13, I started taking the auto around town to make money. Most of the money I earned was spent when my mother fell ill. We didn’t know what the disease was. She was operated but it failed. Twenty minutes out of the operation theatre, she lost her life. That left my father shattered. He couldn’t process it. My father met with an accident and had a terrible leg injury. He became bed-ridden for a while. I was in a failed, troubled marriage. In fact, I walked out the marriage in 7 days. I came to Hyderabad and started riding an auto. That’s when I seriously decided to become a full-time auto driver. Today, I go around the city all day to earn whatever I can for my family. With my hard earned money, I got my sisters married. My father is also healthy and happy. But my fight isn’t over yet. Everyday, I face new challenges – personally or professionally. I may have fallen many times, but I’ve learnt to get up too! Today my father proudly says that he needs no son, he has me!”
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