Every day, Mangaluru witnesses the rumble of autorickshaws navigating their way through the streets. Among them, one auto-rickshaw stands out, not for its colour or speed, but for the grit of the woman behind its wheel.
Anni, a transgender woman, isn’t just driving an auto. She’s driving change.
Born into a family of coolies, Anni grew up in a small, impoverished home with four siblings and parents who laboured every day just to keep food on the table. “A novel can be written about the adversities I’ve faced,” she says. There were days without food, nights without hope.
But what remained constant was her resilience. Her quest for ‘community’ took her from Mangaluru to Bengaluru. There, instead of the acceptance she sought, she found cruelty – “not from strangers, but from her own.”
Under a guru, she was exploited emotionally, financially, and even physically. “I left with nothing but a saree. But I left to save my life,” she says.
Back home, she chose dignity over despair. Anni completed her BA and is currently pursuing a BEd. But degrees didn’t shield her from discrimination – when she finally secured a job at a hotel, she was asked to leave as customers were ‘uncomfortable’. That constant rejection could’ve broken anyone. But Anni turned her pain into purpose.
Story continues below this ad
One day, while trying to hail an auto, she was refused a ride – not once, but several times. That moment became her pivot. “If no one would take me, I decided I would take myself – and others,” she says. With little savings, borrowed loans, and courage, Anni launched her auto-rickshaw service.
What started with one autorickshaw has now grown into four. But what makes her service truly remarkable isn’t its scale – it’s its soul. Anni offers free rides to pregnant women, the elderly, and people with disabilities. Her service isn’t a business; it’s an initiative driven by compassion for human life.
She doesn’t stop at that. To support her family and sustain the service, Anni also works as a gym trainer.
When asked what gives her hope, she doesn’t pause and says, “The orphans on the streets, the homeless I see sleeping on pavements, the animals with no one to feed them – I see them, and I remember why I’m still here.”
Story continues below this ad
Anni dreams of starting an orphanage one day – “a safe haven for those like her, who have only known rejection.”
“I didn’t have anyone when I needed it the most. I want to be that someone for others,” she says.
(Mehak Singh is an intern with The Indian Express)