Auto driver now fights cases in HC

“If there is no struggle, there is no progress,” said renowned African-American social reformer Fredrick Douglas. 

In Namma Bengaluru, P Venkatalakshmi (39), an autorickshaw driver-turned-lawyer, is an embodiment of this saying.

Visit the Karnataka High Court and you might just be able to catch a glimpse of Venkatalakshmi arguing in criminal or civil cases on behalf of her clients. Reaching this position, however, has not been easy. 

She lives at Ramamurthy Nagar with her daughter, a 1st Pre-University student, and husband, who is also an autorickshaw driver.   Back in 1996, Venkatalakshmi owned her own canteen and a catering business at Devasandra in K R Puram. 

“I became a victim of the local land mafia. A local politician who was part of the mafia harassed me and forced me to become his fourth wife, despite I being married. I had to face several problems, but neither the police nor the advocates helped me. I tried to fight my case in court but was misguided and lost it. With it I lost everything,” she said. But upsets didn’t deter her. 

She found a new means of livelihood–driving an autorickshaw. 

“During my catering days, I used to ride a carrier auto occasionally and this came in handy. At the same time I decided to  study law and become a lawyer so as to help the needy. I drove autorickshaw for over a decade and it helped me mobilise money for my goal,” she said. 

Determined, she enrolled in an LLB course at Bangalore University in 2005. Juggling work and studies was, however, not rosy but could complete the course in 2012. “I used to attend college in the day and ride autorickshaw during the evenings and even at night.” After a two-year stint interning at a law firm, 

M T Nanaiah Associates, she started her own practice by opening an office at Magadi. Today, she has two offices.  

Her efforts have not gone unnoticed as she has won several awards and honours from organisations like the Advocates’ Association and Karnataka Vidya Vardaka Sangha, to name a few. 

“Today my feelings are just like the joy of a farmer when he harvests his crop. But those days of hardships are not forgotten,” she adds.