Sandhya Rani broke conventions to find her wings.

I’m a school teacher from a very cultured, orthodox family. We recently shifted closer to the park.

Everyday while going to the school, I used to see women of all ages gathered in the open space near the citizen club.

‘I was afraid I’d fall but my trainer at MOWO told me to leave our fears at home before coming to learn’ and Sandhya never looked back and took to driving like a mission.

THIS IS SANDHYA'S STORY

One day, out of curiosity, I went in to the park and enquired. They informed me about MOWO, and gave me Dharani’s number. I called her and she informed me that the batch was in the finishing stage. Another batch will start in 10 days and she will include me in it. I followed up diligently after 10 days.

The bus stop is far from my new house. I everyday take an auto to the bus stop and a bus to the school. I was already considering a Scooty and watching them train everyday spiked my interest into perseverance.

First two days, they put up a board and taught us all the RTO rules and signs. They took every care even while taking us to apply for LLC.

There were two mopeds in the morning batch to train on. One was bulky, so all of us avoided it. After two days, I tried by sitting on it with my legs to support and pushed. They taught us with lots of patience and clarity. Even though it was for free, they were never rude, demanding or neglecting. I was afraid I’d fall initially but one day the trainer told us to leave our fears at home before coming to learn. This sentence has remained with me ever since. Even I decided that I will learn it as a mission. We also participated in the rally with MOWO in the handlooms day celebration.

One day after the training, I hired a private moped and with the help of an auto guy, we went out of town to practice. I practiced on good, bad roads, sideways, highways, even on the busy roads. Now I can drive more confidently. I’m the first woman generation to learn or buy a scooty in my family. I also save lots of money and time in the commute.

I feel a lot free now. I do all my work on my own. I’m not a pillion rider anymore. I also went through the website of mowo, its very inspiring to know about gender equality and equal space on the roads for women, something I make sure to teach the kids in school now.