Twenty four-year-old Sharmila from Coimbatore aspired to become a bus driver. That dream has now come true. "You are not even the height of the tyre. How do you even want to drive a bus?" These were the taunting questions shot towards her. But Sharmila is driving a bus with gusto today.
The daughter of an auto driver, she has completed her Diploma in Pharmacy. After completing her studies she did not wait to get a job, instead she took a license and became a full-time auto driver in Coimbatore city.
Overtaken by passion towards vehicle driving, Sharmila dreamt of making her mark in the male-dominated field of heavy vehicle driving. On her way to achieving her dream, she trained herself and got a license to drive a bus.
“ Women have driven buses in many cities. But as far as my knowledge goes there was no such person in Coimbatore”.But she never got a chance to drive a bus. Despite this, she continued to practice heavy vehicle driving. Opportunity to drive a bus has now come to Sharmila.
Sharmila has started driving a private bus of V. VTransport plying from Gandhipuram to Somanur. Coimbatore's first woman bus driver Sharmila says:“ My father is the reason why I became a bus driver. Dad was very supportive.I went for bus driving training. Mom accompanied me everywhere whenever I go for driving lessons as dad goes to work. I was able to get used to driving the bus easily because of my passion for driving. I completed my training and got my bus license four months ago.
All those who used to laugh and sneer when I started going to bus driving training now look on in amazement. If I applied for permission to operate a bus, I was judged by height and not by skill.I was driving an auto waiting for an opportunity to drive a bus. All I wanted was to take my mother and father on the bus and to become the first woman bus driver in our hometown, Coimbatore.
There are women heavy vehicle drivers in Tamil Nadu. They are also in Kerala. But there is no female bus driver in Coimbatore. My family wanted me to get that honor. It has been completed today,” she said this with joy. Sharmila is a role model for women who want to achieve. Coimbatore congratulates her; We also congratulate the passionate girl.