Has she achieved?

I was in Mumbai last week on a business trip and I happened to take the cool cab from the airport. I was asked if I was ok with a women driver, and I said sure why not? I have traveled for work for a number of years and strangely this was the first time I was asked on this. Mind you this was day time and not in the night if you are thinking for safety reasons etc. This lady in pink appears near the cab line and she says, do wait here, I will bring up the car. Within a few minutes, a Maruti Dezire appears in front of me, well maintained but with no radio. She says the radio was stolen, but she doesn’t want to waste money replacing it. As she maneuvers around the construction ridden roads, busses, autos with ease, we get talking. I asked on her routine, and she says she gets up early morning, prepares the “dubbas- togo lunch”, breakfast, cleanup and kids are sent to school. She then gets off to work. She apparently never had anyone to help, and has been following this routine since 2009. On asking what she feels on doing something which is typically a “man’s job”, she says she never thought about it that way.

It got me thinking, when this woman without any education, support and backing, works and stands on her own two feet, but is not a CEO of company, has she achieved? We tend to celebrate women who have “achieved” much, but this cab driver in her own right is a model for so many girls around her including us so.. has she achieved? She fights various battles everyday with the simple goal of being a provider for her family, so yes she has achieved. Is she ambitious? Yes she is! She is ambitious for her children, for a better life for her and them. From where she started with her humble background, she has achieved. She has been driving people to their destinations for more than 10 years flawlessly and hence she has achieved. She chose a profession that she could spend time with family, yet provide for them and hence she has achieved. In a city where the buses don’t see you, the autos don’t mind brushing you and roads are blocked thanks to rains or construction, she drives with ease, and hence she has achieved. There is inspiration all around us, its upto us to learn, absorb and utilize. So my dear women colleagues, you have enough support to achieve! Do your bit of networking, building support, building your personal brand, keep learning and work hard – and you will achieve!

Happy Women’s Day