The mother and a working woman

February 28, 47 years ago, in 1971, Director A Prakash Rao has produced a Telugu film called ‘Tahasildar gari Ammayi” Veteran actor Nagabushnam played the role of a Tehsildar and late Sobhan Babu acted in dual role as a conductor and his son, who goes on to become a Collector. The film was a great hit, and the role of the disciplined and hardworking conductor who strives hard to make his son an IAS officer was very inspiring.

The story of a woman conductor in Kadapa district bears similarity to the film that was made decades ago. The real story protagonist is not just the role model of her family but also to her colleagues and people who see her work.

Pesala Ramulamma, a woman conductor working with APSRTC, Kadapa depot known to all as hard working and committed in discharging responsibilities as she plies between Kadapa-Prodduturu and kurnool-Kadapa, also strives to see her children as civil servants.

During her 22 years of service, she has had several experiences with the travellers, which made her wiser. “No one has descended from the sky .There is no short cut to hard work. If we think in these lines, we can easily achieve our goal. During my early days, I used to shy away from interacting with the passengers, but it has become routine for me now.”

Interestingly, she had never taken off in the last five years as she thinks it will be useful to save money in the interest of her children’s educational expenses. Ramulamma, who is a graduate belongs first batch of women conductors in APSRTC during the time of former chief Minister Late NT Rama Rao. She comes from a poor agricultural family in Bestavaripalle village of Pendlimarri mandal. Born to P Nagamalla Reddy and Eswaramma, she is the only one amongst the five siblings who completed graduation.

Fifty years ago her family had migrated to Kadapa and had a small hotel for livelihood. Despite being from Kadapa where women were confined to kitchen, her father allowed her to go for a job after she received an interview letter from Kadapa Employment Exchange. That marked the beginning of her journey as a bus conductor.

Ramulamma, during her free time makes plastic toys and dolls. “It is a costly indulgence, but she likes doing it, so I never object,” says Subbi Reddy. She adds, “In making these colourful designs, I feel much relaxed, especially since my job involves a lot of mental tension.”

She married E Subba Reddy, who is LIC Agent. They have two children - Shiva Naga Divya and Shiva Ganesh Kumar Reddy. Both finished their B.Tech and are now preparing for Civils entrance. Divya, secured gold medal from JNTU twice and secured a government job, which she did not take up. “I ignored the opportunity because my mother wants to see me as a civil servant,” shares Divya.

By: M Srinivas Rao