At 10:30 pm, a classroom in a government school in Koramangala fills with helmets. Twenty-six delivery riders take their seats, phones face down, for ninety minutes of English conversation.
The night school was started by Farhan Qureshi, a former rider who now manages a fleet. "Customers would complain, and riders could not explain what happened," he says. "Not because they were wrong. Because they did not have the words."
Lessons built from real conversations
The syllabus is practical: explaining a delay, asking for directions, handling a wrong address, negotiating with a building guard. Volunteers from nearby offices teach in pairs, and every lesson ends with role play.
Riders say ratings have improved, but the bigger change is confidence. Several have used their new skills in interviews for warehouse supervisor and customer-support roles.
The first thing I learned to say was "please wait two minutes". Now I can explain anything.
The school runs on donated tea and borrowed chalk. A second batch starts in Indiranagar next month.
