“Watching my mother work endlessly for a salary that could barely sustain us, I realised very early that I would have to carve a different path for myself. I did not want my children to grow up the way I did.” Jancy B V’s voice carries the weight of lived experience, the kind that speaks of struggle, stamina, and a will to rise above circumstances.

In Bengaluru, amid the rush of traffic and the hum of city life, she charts a path not just through the streets but through life itself. At 33, she is an auto driver, a mother, and a mentor. Her auto is a vessel of renewal, carrying her own dreams and those of the many women she now empowers.

Bannerghatta childhood: Lessons in strength and sacrifice

Her early years unfolded in Bannerghatta, a suburb of Bengaluru, where life was fraught with challenges. Her father battled alcoholism and passed away when she was just 12, leaving her mother as the sole provider. Overnight, the responsibility of the household fell entirely on her mother’s shoulders.

“After my father passed away, everything changed. My mother had to take care of us alone, and it was not easy for her at all,” she tells The Better India.

Her mother’s life was defined by unceasing labour. Having lost her own mother as a child, she had spent her years working as a domestic helper and in construction, earning barely Rs 5,000 a month. While her mother toiled, Jancy stayed with her aunt, learning lessons of independence and perseverance at an early age.

“Seeing her struggle every day stayed with me and made me want to become independent,” she says.

She attended school in Begur and completed her Class 10, but financial constraints meant she could not continue further. By 2008, at the age of 16, she entered the workforce to support her family.

From tailor to tea stall: The early years of hard work

Her first job was in a garment factory as a tailor, sewing zippers onto trousers under strict supervision and deadlines. The work was monotonous and........

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