“Education is the soul of a society as it passes from one generation to another,” said a renowned author. This granny from Kerala has stood to the above saying, setting inspiration for generations to come. Striding against giving up at the ripe age of 105 years, Bhageerathi Amma appeared for the fourth standard equivalency examination conducted by the state literacy mission. Defying the age and the ailments, this granny has challenged the destiny to fulfil her dream to study and gain knowledge. While she took the exam from her home in Kollam, she set new records as the oldest ‘equivalency learner’ in the Kerala State Literacy Mission programme till date.
When probed into her personal life, Bhageerathi shared her heart-wrenching past which back then closed all the possible ways to get educated. Her mother passed away leaving the responsibility of her younger siblings to her. By the time she and her husband set everything well for their family, the later too passed away while Bhageerathi was at the age of 30. From then the entire responsibility of bringing up her six children fell on her shoulders.
Mission Director, PS Srikala said that she has a sharp memory, has no problems relating to eyesight. “She was the oldest candidate who appeared for the ‘Aksharalaksham’, a flagship programme of the state-run Kerala State Literacy Mission Authority, and scored 98 marks out of 100. Above all she sings very well at this age also,” she added.
