I became a monorail captain by chance

One of Mumbai’s inspiring pathbreakers, monorail captain Juilee Sameer Bhandare talks about what inspires her and her journey
At 23, Juilee Sameer Bhandare helms one of the monorails in Mumbai as a female captain. She’s used to being called as cool and inspiring, with her taking up this challenging profession. But, Juilee admits that her becoming a captain was completely by chance.
“I got to know that there were interviews going on, since the monorail was starting in Mumbai, and I went to try my luck. I cleared all the rounds, including the technical round. When I reached the last round of interviews with the HR, they asked me whether I would be interested in becoming a train captain. I thought to myself that this would be a new experience, an interesting challenge. So, I decided to accept that offer. In that way, you could actually say that I became a monorail captain by chance,” says Juilee.
Though, Juilee admits that she was always interested in automobiles. “While I never had ambitions of becoming a pilot or a captain while growing up, I always was facinated by automobiles. Even during the training, I was very keen on observing how people were maneuvering the vehicle. Our training included a lot of theoretical and practical observations before we got to learning it on the job. It was all step by step, first we were taught communications, then trouble-shooting, followed by code words and other procedures over two months,” she says.
Juilee believes that women’s equality is something that exists everywhere and is a reality in India today. “Take my example, working in the public sector, there are indeed limitations being a woman, but if you work with caution, there’s no stopping you. Eventually, everything is in the head. Equality is something that is in one’s mind and once you believe that, you’re empowered yourself to take on anything.
Look at me, most of my colleagues are men, but I never have felt that I’m a minority being a female captain. Instead, they help me and I help them. It is all about how you approach your job. If you’re confident of what you are up to in life, then you’re the master of it,” she explains.
Quiz her if she has had any inspirations or role models and she says, “I have never looked up to any particular woman as an idol or role model. Instead, for me, it is my mother and family who have always been the support system, encouraging me to believe I can achieve anything.”