“I belonged to a village in Alappuzha, a place so remote that for the longest time - I hadn’t even seen a car. As a young girl I would always think about how life in the ‘big city’ would be…not knowing that the ‘big city’ was waiting for me…
As soon as I turned 17 in 1961, my family married me off. After that, I came to Kochi - a town full of cars, buses and cranes. I was fascinated. But never did I think I would drive any of these. My husband loved everything about wheels. His, ‘Do you know about this model?’ made me fall in love with cars as well. And so one day, he told me, ‘We will start a driving school together.’ But when he told me I will also have to take a license for the same, I laughed it off. I thought, ‘Me and driving?’ But he was pretty serious. That’s how I set my hands on the steering wheel for the first time in 1981!
When I first sat in the car, I was scared-of every turn, every brake and every acceleration. But my husband would patiently say, ‘It will happen.’ Everyday, we would try new lanes. And by the time I mastered one lane, he would be ready with a tougher challenge for me. Slowly, my confidence grew and I started loving it. 4 years later, I took the license for driving a bus and a tempo. And after this we began our driving school together.
And then, I asked my husband, ‘What will you teach me next?’ I was so excited. And he was my support system… until 2004. We were on a walk, when he met with an accident. The thing he loved the most is what took his life. I was shattered. All I was left with was his driving school. So, I decided to take his love forward by taking over that. It was difficult at first, but he had taught me well. And soon, my sons and grandkids helped me!
Today, even after 20 years, I still make sure the school is running well. And once that is done, I sit in my sports car and go for a drive. People look at me with shock, they say, ‘Manniamma you are so cool.’ And I love that. You know, at 74, I am the oldest woman with the maximum license. And while everyone takes a backseat at this age, I decided to fasten my seat belt and accelerate in style!”
Негізгі бет “At 74, when most people take a backseat, I decided to fasten the seat belt…”
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