Mumbai: Sarika Randive, 38, has made her mark at Mumbai’s Gateway of India. “They call me ‘Gateway Ki Rani’,” she smiles, where she has carved out a niche for herself among a crowd of male taxi drivers.
Sarika has been driving a taxi for the past two years, and her route is limited to CST to Gateway. “It’s my world,” she says proudly. But the journey to this seat was not easy for her.
Her day begins at 8 am and goes on till 10 pm. When this reporter met her, she was in an argument with a male taxi driver who was trying to take her place. She replied nonchalantly—“Bhau, chill thoda.”
What is her mantra to survive in a male-dominated profession? “The more you react, the more people will try to suppress you. Just laugh and move on.”
A journey full of struggles
Sarika once worked as a housekeeper in a mobile showroom, cleaning floors and doing odd jobs to feed her family. Her life changed when she met Popat Date, an NGO worker. He taught taxi driving to Sarika and five other women. But everyone else quit—only Sarika persisted.
“I was scared too in the beginning,” she recalls. “Big vehicles, constant overtaking, and male drivers all around—it was all very intimidating.”
Her toughest moment came when her guru, Dateji, asked her to quit. “He said I was wasting his hard work and I should go back to sweeping and mopping.” But that day, Sarika made a promise to herself—”I pulled up my pants, put on my seat belt, and pressed the accelerator of my life. I never looked back.”
Struggle like a warrior
Born in Solapur, Sarika lost her father at a young age. Her uncles forcibly married her to a man 20 years older than her. “I became a mother before I was 20. I didn’t know where to go next in life and what to do.”
But the spirit of the queen of Jhansi lived inside her. “Every woman is a warrior—whether she is fighting a battle at home or against the world.”
Taught courage to her daughters
Sarika teaches her two daughters not only the value of hard work and success but also courage. The proudest moment of her life was when her daughter’s school invited her to speak to the children.
“The school didn’t want a doctor, engineer, or teacher—they wanted a female taxi driver to inspire the children. I told them—every failure is not the end, it’s just another step forward. Never give up.”
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Today, Sarika earns, manages the house, raises the children, and takes them on holidays—without depending on anyone. “I am the breadwinner, the planner, and the fun-maker for my family,” she says proudly.
