In a male world there are some women who set a record and break the path. Varsha Betgiri is one such bold woman who owns a driving school and is on the roads of Vasco every day teaching the road secrets to her students
Sapna got asurprise gift on her 18th birthday – a Nano. She was excited but perplexedas to what to do with it, as she did not know to drive. But her dad made thingseasy for her by handing her the keys of the car along with the fees forlearning to drive and insisted that she learn from Gurukrupa Driving School.
“Why Gurukrupa?”Sapna wanted to know so her dad explained that at Gurukrupa, a woman would teachher to drive, so she would learn to be cautious and safe. “Indeed, he was rightin guiding me to Gurukrupa,” admits Sapna who learnt to drive a four-wheelerfrom Vasha Betgiri, the 33-year-old owner of Gurukrupa Driving School, who patientlytaught her the nuances of safe driving. She helped her get through the testsand get a driving licence within a month. And the best part was, Varsha pickedher up and dropped her home while the training was on.
Varsha has beensuccessfully handling her driving school for four years now. “I started on 13August 2008 with Maruti 800. I hired a male driver for some time but when I wasconfident that I can teach others, I sat behind wheels myself,” shares Varsha.She now owns two Maruti 800s and one Bolero. “I am going to learn Bolero andteach that too,” she says confidently.
Varsha is one ofthe lucky ladies to get support and encouragement from her husband Balram Betgiriand father-in-law Shrikant Betgiri. “My father purchased the car for me and myfather-in-law taught me to drive it,” she smiles.
How did Varshaenter this male bastion? Her husband Balram who is a mechanical engineer, wantedto leave his job at an automobile company and started his own driving school. Completingthe paper work he was about to register it, when he got an attractive job offerabroad which was for two years. It was here that Varsha stepped in. She assuredhim that she would take care of the driving school herself. She learnt to driveand insisted that the RTO officials allow her to teach others. “Initially theywere reluctant, but when they tested my driving skills, they willingly gave methe green signal to teach others,” Varsha says.
Varsha kept herpromise and by the time Balram returned, Varsha had taken full charge of thedriving school, teaching 13-15 students in a day. Today she and Balram bothteach and earn a handsome income and plan to expand.
Varsha taughtboth men and women initially but after her husband resigned to join her twoyears ago, she now teaches mostly women students. “Women are slow to learn asthey more hesitant to hit the road,” Varsha discloses. But knowing the femalepsychology she is in a better position to teach them. “I know exactly what theythink and feel, so I take care to cover all those points while teaching them,”she shares.
