Kendujhar: With grease on her hands and a tyre lever in her grip, Suni Hembram has built a livelihood in a trade where women are rarely seen.
The 36-year-old became a tyre mechanic after her husband’s accident left the family struggling to make ends meet — turning adversity into a source of strength for her family.
At her small shop in Brahmanipal village of Harichandanpur block, Suni removes tyres from vehicles, repairs punctures and fi ts them back.
She has been doing the job since 2017, when her husband, Birendra Hembram, 40, was seriously injured in an accident.
Birendra was working as a tyre mechanic at another shop at the time.
With his injury disrupting the family’s income, Suni had little choice but to step into a profession dominated by men.
“People used to laugh at me and make fun of me when I started this work,” Suni said. “But I did not pay attention to them.
I had to look after my husband, run the household and educate my children.” Suni’s struggles began long before she became a mechan ic. She lost both her parents as a child and grew up with her four sisters.
Unable to pursue her education, she worked in other people’s homes and as a daily wage labourer.
A person from a nearby village, whom Suni identifies as Bhagi, later encouraged her to open a tyre repair shop and helped her obtain equipment and materials worth about Rs 40,000.
She repaid the amount from her earnings after meeting household expenses. “I could not study, but I learnt to keep accounts. Some people would try to cheat me,” she said.
Today, Birendra has recovered and works alongside her. The couple earns about Rs10,000 to Rs15,000 a month, largely from vehicles associated with mining activity.
“When mining is active, vehicles run. When vehicles run, we get work,” Suni said. The income helps pay for household expenses and the education of their two children.
Her daughter, Shivani, studies in Class IX in Bhubaneswar, while her son, Dasarath, is in Class VII in Jajpur Road. Suni dreams of expanding her shop and selling new tyres and tubes with government assistance.
She also hopes to have a house in her own name. Her ambitions for her children are bigger. She wants her daughter to become a doctor and hopes her son will join the military.
For a woman who lost her parents at a young age and grew up amid hardship, Suni’s tyre shop is more than a workplace.
It is the livelihood she built through determination after her husband’s accident, helping her support her fam ily and work towards a better future for her children.