R. Chitra, an MTC bus conductor in Chennai
| Photo Credit: B. Jothi Ramalingam
As a hot breeze blows in on yet another sunny forenoon in the city, empty seats gradually get occupied. In her late 20s, a mother struggles to hold her shopping bags in one hand and hold on to her naughty little daughter on the other as she finds a spot to sit. A bearded man, likely in his 50s, anxiously fans himself with a folded Tamil daily. An elderly woman, with a large sack full of vegetables, stands near the steps asking for a helping hand to board. A bleak male voice asks if there is a stoppage at Vani Mahal.
A sense of preparedness fills the air as they see khaki-clad R. Chitra, with her spectacles resting mid-nose, with an old, black bag hung on her left shoulder and a ticket machine on her left hand, walks in. As she issues tickets to the crowd, she blows the whistle hanging around her neck and thus starts the journey of Metropolitan Transport Corporation (MTC) bus route number 13, from Thiyagaraya Nagar (T. Nagar) depot.
Forty-four-year-old Chitra who is among a bunch of women conductors in the MTC’s fleet has completed over 16 years of service. Mother of a teenage son, she sets off to work from her home in Guduvanchery around 4.30 a.m. “Like the rest of the women conductors in the city, I have been posted in the daytime shift. My eight-hour shift begins at T. Nagar depot at 6 a.m. and ends at 2 p.m. after about making eight to-and-fro trips,” shares Chitra.
For every trip she makes, she signs with time, at both the depots of arrival and departure to mark her attendance as well as to record the bus’ trip timings.
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“My son takes pride over the fact that a government bus starts and stops at my whistle and that I am responsible for the safe journey of hundreds of passengers every day,” she tells.
Having lived all her life in the capital city, Chitra describes Chennai as dynamic and sprightly. She says, “For years, I was posted in the OMR region. The area that was once sparsely populated with independent houses here and there has now undergone incredible transformation with high-rise buildings and a swarm of IT professionals. It is the diversity of the people that makes the city animated.”
And for this city, MTC is a lifeline for the working class and the middle-class people, she points out. Rain or shine, the buses ply on the Chennai roads enabling affordable and safe commute.
Chitra’s face lights up when asked how she chose the profession. “I completed class XII and could not study further due to family’s financial status. Ever since I was in class VIII, I wanted to join government service and most importantly, wear a khaki uniform.” She had desired but failed to become a police constable, and was delighted to grab the opportunity to become a conductor when the State government recruited and trained about 60 women as MTC conductors in 2007.
The only difficulty she faced initially was the inability to eat home-cooked food during the bus trips. “MTC drivers and conductors usually eat whenever we could quickly grab a meal or a cup of tea/coffee from outside, in between trips,” she smiles.
“I derive utmost job satisfaction wearing this khaki uniform as a conductor. I am very certain that I would not have been this happy had I become a policewoman. This profession gives me the chance to meet people from various walks of life daily. The immense public patronage and respect keeps me going. That is why I seldom avail leave,” mentions Chitra as she rushes for her next trip from Broadway.
Interestingly, Chitra’s father was a retired MTC conductor while her sister too is one presently.
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