The story of a famous mechanic from Vizag

Ravi is a mechanic by choice and his chapped hands have ensured multiple bikes cruise past the streets easily in Vizag. Teja Kovvali brings his story.

“After completing my 5-year training period in 1989, I set up this shop here at Madhuranagar and it has been 28 years since then. In addition to my initial training, I even keep equipping myself with the latest technologies to be able to handle different types of bikes. As compared to earlier times, work has considerably slowed down now. Competition and rampant exchange offers, in the market, have brought down the prices of the vehicles being sold. This has made it feasible for many people to purchase newer bikes which are indirectly affecting our trade. Also, the rapid pace of automation in the automobile sector seems to be poised to render us jobless in the near future.

My work timings are from 9 in the morning to 9:30 in the night. Some bright days see around 5-6 bikes getting serviced at my shop while the dull ones accommodate as low as one or two bikes for the entire day. Such fluctuations make my monthly income vary between Rs.25000 to Rs.35000. Coming to the other nitty-gritty of my business, I get the majority of my tools from Chennai and Bengaluru. Also, I have been able to maintain a regular customer-base of 180-200 customers over the past 20 years.

My wife is a retired school teacher. My son is pursuing his third year of engineering and my daughter is in the Intermediate second year. I prefer to spend most of my spare time with my family. We go to movies, restaurants, shopping malls, and functions, and try to be happy with whatever we possess. I have plans on expanding my business. Even though I have incurred a loss in a recent venture, I am determined to make it big this time around. Setting up a bigger shop, similar to a company showroom, is what I currently dream of.”

As Ravi said, automation has certainly started worrying innumerable mechanics like him. However, given the expertise and aspirations he possesses, we wish he continues to take major strides in his life.