Karnataka - Hassan   

Driven to make a difference

Shama Sunder

Mangala is the first woman driving instructor from the State

AT THE WHEEL: Mangala Prasanna (right) during one of her driving lessons.

HASSAN: It was 1992. Mangala Prasanna, a commerce graduate from Hassan, wanted to learn how to drive a four-wheeler. But she had no one to coach her, as it was a male-dominated society and there were no women in the field. She decided, therefore, to learn driving so she could also teach it to other women. She took the help of classmates who owned vehicles, learnt how to drive and obtained a driving licence too.

No woman instructors

In Hassan, there were eight driving schools. But none of them had woman trainers. Mangala, therefore, decided to make it her profession to train women drivers. She underwent training in Bangalore and became the first woman driving coach from the State, in 1992.

She then began teaching women how to drive. She started with training them to ride two-wheelers and then moved on to four-wheelers.

In 2003, Mangala started the Vasantha Motor Driving School. Since then, she has trained more than 3,000 candidates, including men.

Following her lead, now there are women driving instructors in Bangalore and Mangalore but not in Chikamagalur, Madikeri, Shimoga and Tumkur.

Multi-faceted

But driving is not her only talent. A mother of two, Mangala has passed the State junior-level classical music examination. While she continues to learn music, she also teaches it. She also takes 10 driving classes every day.

Speaking to The Hindu, Mangala says she would have selected another profession based on her qualifications but decided instead to pursue her vision.

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