When Babita Goswami was 10 years old, she lived in a ground-floor room in a narrow lane in Jamshedpur. One day, angered by the constant chaos of a political rally moving past her house while she was trying to study, she poked her head out of the door and yelled at a policeman zipping past on his bike.
The policeman stopped his bike a few metres away and looked back. Babita’s father panicked and began to apologise profusely as the man in uniform reversed to their door. “Sorry sahib, galti ho gayi meri beti se,” he said, folding his trembling hands. To his surprise, the policeman looked at Babita and her school books sprawled across their uncemented floor and told her father, “This young girl is daring; she will go places, look after her well”.
She dared to do
Fast forward to 2022. Babita, who is now 46, runs a scooter-training school in Rupchand Mukherjee Lane, next to Bhowanipore thana. Everyone in the neighbourhood knows her as Bobby Didi. Most of her clients are women who she has been empowering with mobility solutions for the last 20 years.
“When I first started, there was no support from my family. I scraped together Rs 5,000 with the help of my husband and bought a second-hand scooter. I had some leads from a short stint with TVS Motor so I contacted clients and since then, it’s been word of mouth,” says Bobby, who teaches up to 50 people a month.
Around 30-50 customers sign up every month for scooter lessons. By the end of six days, most are able to ride the two-wheeler on their own
“I started teaching in a sari but found it cumbersome so I moved to wearing jeans and a kurti. My relatives would point fingers at me and my para people would think, ‘baje kaaj korchhe’. One day, a group of men from my neighbourhood in Garia followed me to my training and when they saw that I was running behind the scooter, helping women learn to ride it, and often falling down myself, they came up to me and apologised,” she says proudly.
One leader, many women, two wheels
Bobby Didi’s greatest pleasure comes from seeing the happy, accomplished faces of young girls and even senior citizens after they have mastered control of the red TVS Pep scooter she uses in her classes. “The oldest member I have taught was an 80-year-old gentleman. It was challenging but fulfilling,” says the mother of a teenage daughter.
‘[Initially], my relatives would point fingers at me and my para people would think, ‘baje kaaj korchhe’,’ Bobby Didi said
Most of the girls who come to Bobby Didi are looking for a means of livelihood, a sense of independence, and sometimes, adventure. “Many sign up because their job demands them to travel distances on a daily basis and this way, they can steer clear of crowded buses. Some are resource-poor and it helps them earn a livelihood. In the recent past, we’ve also had a few solo travellers wanting to learn riding to navigate new destinations,” she adds.
The technique she follows is something she gained from her experience at TVS Motors’ training school, Women on Wheels. Unlike other schools that may have someone sit behind the rider, her process is completely independent. “The riders are first taught about the parts of the two-wheeler, then they climb on the vehicle and walk up and down the road to get comfortable with it, and finally we teach them how to control the speed. A lot of it is about confidence and pep talks are a big part of the process,” she explains.
A class apart
Bobby Didi holds her classes from from 7am-11am and 4pm-9pm every day in Rupchand Mukherjee Lane
Bobby Didi’s Scooty Training classes take place every day from 7am-11am and 4pm-9pm in Rupchand Mukherjee Lane. One can sign up for a six-day course of 30 minutes daily for a fee of Rs 2,500. It may seem like a short span but by the fourth day, almost everyone is able to ride the scooter. Knowing how to ride a cycle is not a prerequisite but it does help to balance better.
“I dream of a day when I could have a training ground with speed breakers and tricky turns,” says Bobby. But for now, the 400m stretch of road in a quiet lane in Bhowanipore is where she navigates her dreams and wheels.
Bobby Didi can be reached at 9874441827