Auto driver Girija

Girija Ramesh had been driving an auto for hire in Bengaluru for the past few years.

Hear about her journey from working in the garment industry to learing to drive an auto and then to driving an auto for hire. She now has her own auto with support from a bank loan.

She talks about how her life, experience, learnings and the interactions will different people she comes across every day.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Similar Story

From resting place to industrial hub: The changing face of Bidadi

As the sleepy town near Bengaluru transitions from farmland to urban centre, farmers face lost livelihoods and an uncertain future.

In an earlier article, we explored how rural areas surrounding Bengaluru are affected due to the city's expansion. Here, we look at how Bidadi's transformation from a quiet agricultural area to an industrial hub affects the people who call it home. Nestled along the historic Bengaluru-Mysuru corridor in present-day Ramanagara district lies Bidadi, a town whose very name carries echoes of its past. Derived from the Kannada word “Bidara,” meaning a resting place, oral histories recount how the Maharaja of Mysuru once paused here during long journeys between the two cities. In those early years, Bidadi was defined not by…

Similar Story

The Saundarya story: Ahmedabad’s women-led cooperative presents alternative to modern gig work

Saundarya, a women's cooperative formed by organising marginalised informal workers, provides professional housekeeping services in the city.

Ten years back, Kamlaben Chavda was a stay-at-home mother of two children in the Gomtipur ward, at the far eastern end of Ahmedabad. Till one day, a neighbour and relative asked Kamlaben to accompany her to where she worked, the Saundarya Safai Utkarsh Mahila Sewa Sahakari Mandali Ltd. Today, thanks to that visit and the work she eventually found through Saundarya, Kamlaben says, “Now I have this experience where I can confidently go to any workplace and perform. And I can definitely say that I am standing where I am because of the support of my mandali (cooperative).”  Kamlaben is…