Salwar kameez-clad, an earpiece resting around her neck, K. Bhuvaneshwari greets viewers on her Instagram videos with a familiar refrain “Hello, makalle” before launching into a piece of advice.

This captain, a term used for the driver of a bike taxi for ride hailing platform Rapido, is only two months old in Instagram. Through her videos, she encourages women to be financially independent and explore livelihood opportunities.

On her Instagram handle named happy_livinghub, almost every video is about how she has benefitted from becoming a gig worker and how one can use their driving skills to enter the workforce.

A single mother, Bhuvaneshwari has switched many jobs in the last two decades. She has had stints in a web designing firm as Search Engine Optimisation executive, dabbled in marketing and sales jobs, worked with an import and export firm and also in a housing and properties company.

With Zomato, she worked for nearly six years. “Gig jobs are best for women, there is so much flexility and each workplace has given me a new experience,” says the 39-year-old who recently completed a course in three and four-wheeler driving from ANEW in Anna Nagar.

If it was her mother who motivated her to try out new things; the nudge to post videos on Instagram came from her daughter studying in college.

“It was she who taught me to edit videos and today I am well-versed in it,” says the resident of Ramapuram.

In one of her most popular posts, she talks about earning ₹55,000 a month. “That video got 26,000 views and I keep getting calls from women on how to make use of their driving skills.” Bhuvaneshwari says 49 rides a day is her highest count.

Through referrals, Bhuvaneshwari has earned ₹ 60,000 in the last two years.

“A mobile and a vehicle are enough for women to be financially independent. I always tell people not to depend on anyone else,” she says.

Bhuvaneshwari has learnt classical dance and also plays volleyball. “Five years ago, I gave a Bharatanatyam performance and am looking for more platforms to showcase my talent along with my daughter,” she adds.