Rupa Manjunath drives 12 children studying in Sophia High School in her Maruti van daily.

Seven years back, when she first came to Bangalore from a small village in Chitradurga, Rupa Manjunath was used to riding a bicycle for her daily commute. But she would never have imagined that she would soon be driving a van for her livelihood.

Today, Rupa (38), is driving 12 children (of whom five are with special needs) studying in Sophia High School in her private Maruti van every day.

Commuting and communicating with these children has become a part of her life now, and driving, her passion.

“Before marriage, I never even rode on the pillion of a two-wheeler. I even faced difficulty crossing the road, but when I came to Bangalore after marriage, I thought of helping my husband. He was already driving a van, so I learnt driving from him. Initially, there were only three children, but now I drive 12 children at two shifts everyday,” said Rupa.

A mother of two school children, Rupa’s day begins as early as 4 am. She first readies her elder son, who studies in class 7 at Shantiniketan School in Bilekahalli and takes him to school. Then she drops her younger daughter, who studies in LKG at the same school.

Rupa and her husband Manjunath have divided their work and duty. While Manjunath begins his driving in the early morning shift, Rupa’s duty begins around 11 am. “He looks after our children when I go to drop and pick up the children in my route,” says Rupa.

She picks up children from almost all over South Bangalore areas like J P Nagar, Jayanagar, Wilson Garden, Mission Road, Shantinagar, Langford Town, Double Road and Richmond Road.

Parents are happy with Rupa. “She looks after the children with a lot of care. She understands their mood swings and attends to them. I have not heard a single complaint about her from my daughter,” said a parent.

“Initially, it was a little difficult to understand the needs of these children, but today they have become a part of my life. I like to chat with them and listen to their talk. Many times they take my help to resolve their innocent fights. In such situations, I divert their attention by singing songs or playing music in the van,” said Rupa.

“It is a very responsible job to take care of schoolchildren on the road, especially in Bangalore traffic. Since it is a girls’ school the school and parents too feel very comfortable to have a lady driver dealing with the students.

“I wish many more get motivated to take up this job. We feel our students are in safe hands,” said Sister Priscilla SND, Principal, Sisters of Notre Dame Sophia High School.

source: http://www.bangaloremirror.com / Bangalore Mirror / Home> Bangalore> Others / by Hetal Vyas – Bangalore Mirror Bureau / March 08th, 2014