From begging to boss
What followed was a period of deep despair. Determined to support herself, Ani knocked on the doors of several offices and restaurants. Rejections became routine. “They wouldn’t even let me finish my sentence before saying ‘no vacancies’,” she says. Her identity as a transgender woman became an unspoken disqualifier.
With survival at stake, Ani found herself pushed to the margins — reduced to begging on the streets, like many transgender individuals in India who are denied formal employment. Even the simple act of commuting turned humiliating. “I would signal autos. They would stop, look me up and down, and just drive away,” she says, her voice cracking. “I remember crying all the way home once. That night, my mother said something that changed my life: ‘Stop waiting for others. Be your own saviour’.”
Taking her mother’s words to heart, Ani enrolled in auto driving lessons. She was determined not just to drive, but to own autos, to ensure she would never again be at the mercy of someone else’s prejudice.
She was aware that she would not get a bank loan to pursue her dream. Between 2023 and 2024, she negotiated with auto drivers who were planning to sell their used vehicles. Without formal loan approvals, she took over their EMI payments, agreeing that the autos would be transferred to her name once the dues were cleared. She has already acquired four autos and is still repaying around Rs 1.5 lakh in pending EMIs.
She rents out the autos for Rs 200 per day, but with a twist that reveals her deeper mission. Ani makes it mandatory for her auto drivers to follow two unique conditions: they must give free rides to expectant mothers, and not charge elderly transgender persons, a group she says is “often abandoned and forgotten”. Each vehicle carries a sticker that proudly declares these commitments — small but powerful messages that signal inclusivity and solidarity.
Her autos mostly operate in and around Deralakatte and nearby rural pockets, where many of the transgender community reside. “I don’t want others, especially the elderly, to face what I did. No one should have to beg to survive,” she says.
Advertising by Adpathway
