Vijayakumari is one of the most sought-after bus drivers in Thiruvananthapuram

The 48-year-old mother of two is the most sought after drivers in the city when other drivers go on leave.
Bus driver Vijayakumari
Bus driver Vijayakumari

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Vijayakumari has grown familiar with the looks of admiration she gets from women and men when she drives buses in Thiruvananthapuram city. The 48-year-old mother of two is the most sought after drivers in the city when other drivers go on leave. “People, especially those who come from outside, look at me with awe. Girls in my neighbourhood ask for tips to become a driver,” said Vijayakumari. Hailing from Puliyarakonam, she stunned her family once by driving a tipper lorry.

“They knew that I was interested in driving cars and was taking lessons secretly. But they did not expect me to drive a lorry,” said Vijayakumari . She said the fear that her family would not approve made her take driving classes secretly. For two years, she drove trucks to Bengaluru through Wayanad ghat road. “Bathing at washrooms in petrol pumps and driving all night were part of the long trips,” said Vijayakumari who is a later starter.

It was just nine years ago that she took a heavy vehicle licence. She got her twowheeler licence after marriage in 2003. It was her resolve that put her behind the wheel. “My younger brother ridiculed me when I asked him to teach me how to ride a bicycle.

But I learned to ride a twowheeler ahead of him,” she said, adding that there was discrimination when she started driving taxi cars as the best and big cars were reserved for men. She was hopeful of becoming a KSRTC driver when an all-women pink bus was launched in 2017. However, she was overlooked for the job as male drivers cornered it.

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