Daijiworld Media Network - Mumbai

Mumbai, Jun 1: A month after Maharashtra made knowledge of Marathi mandatory for auto-rickshaw and taxi drivers, thousands of migrant drivers across the state are finding themselves back in classrooms, attending language lessons after long work shifts or teaching themselves through newspapers, YouTube videos and social media tutorials.

Under the new directive, auto-rickshaw and taxi drivers must demonstrate working knowledge of Marathi by Aug 15 or risk losing their permits. The rule affects nearly 2.8 lakh auto-rickshaw permit holders and around 20,000 taxi permit holders in Mumbai alone, many of whom migrated from Hindi-speaking states and have spent decades working in the city without speaking Marathi.

Political parties and social organisations have started conducting Marathi classes, while the state government has announced its own language-learning initiative beginning in June.

Among those embracing the challenge is 43-year-old taxi driver Shadaab Qureshi from Grant Road. After completing an 11-hour workday ferrying passengers across south Mumbai, he now attends evening Marathi classes at a school in Nagpada.

Nearly three decades after leaving school, Qureshi has returned to the classroom as a Marathi student. Despite being mocked by friends, he remains determined to learn the language.

"I can understand basic Marathi words used by passengers, but I struggle to speak the language. I increasingly feel embarrassed when I cannot reply in Marathi," he said.

Originally from Delhi, Qureshi moved to Mumbai in 1991 and later became a taxi driver. He said the need to learn Marathi became more pressing during interactions with Regional Transport Office officials.

The classes, organised under the banner of "Chala Marathi Shikuya", bring together taxi drivers, students, teachers, business owners and office workers. Lessons include spoken Marathi, grammar and Devanagari script, with study materials also carrying Urdu transliterations for convenience.

However, balancing studies with work remains a challenge.

"It is difficult to find time for classes. By the time I finish dinner, I am exhausted and fall asleep immediately," Qureshi said.

In the Mumbai Metropolitan Region's Mira-Bhayandar area, 38-year-old auto-rickshaw driver Sahruddin Hassan Khan has adopted a different approach.

A native of Uttar Pradesh, Khan has spent the last 20 years driving an auto-rickshaw in the predominantly Hindi-speaking Mira-Bhayandar belt. Concerned about the new rule, he now buys a Marathi newspaper every day, watches Marathi tutorials on YouTube and saves screenshots of language-learning videos on his phone.

"We have been told that we can continue working only if we know Marathi. If I want to keep earning, I have to learn," Khan said.

Having studied Hindi up to Class 9, he finds reading Marathi easier because both languages use the Devanagari script. Whenever he encounters unfamiliar words, he searches for their meanings online and tries to memorise them.

Khan also attended a Marathi language workshop organised by the state government in Mira Road, where transport minister Pratap Sarnaik encouraged drivers to learn basic conversational Marathi. The Regional Transport Office distributed booklets containing commonly used phrases and dialogues between drivers and passengers.

To improve his speaking skills, Khan now requests customers and friends to converse with him in Marathi whenever possible.

"We share Marathi language videos and practise greetings with each other," he said.

Despite their enthusiasm, many drivers remain anxious about meeting the Aug 15 deadline while managing demanding work schedules and family responsibilities.

Another auto-rickshaw driver, Ramji Gupta, voiced a concern shared by many.

"Students spend years studying a subject in school. With all the responsibilities and pressures of adult life, how can we learn a language in such a short period?" he asked.

For now, however, thousands of drivers across Maharashtra are attempting exactly that — balancing long hours on the road with a renewed journey back to learning.