3 days ago
- General
- New Indian Express
Love for Malayalam literature motivates 70-year-old's return to world of letters
THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Bhageerathi Amma was 105 years old and Karthyayani Amma was 96 when they became poster women of the state's literacy movement by passing its examinations with top marks. Their stories have inspired many elderly persons in the state to return to the world of letters after decades. Chandramani C is one such senior citizen.
At the age of 70, she has passed the Class X and also the Class XII equivalency exams with flying colours and going a step further, has also found wings to her literary ambitions.
A native of Mampazhakkara in Neyyatinkara taluk of Thiruvananthapuram, Chandramani came to know of the State Literacy Mission's Class X equivalency programme five years ago through her former ward councilor Jaya Dali. Though hesitant at first, it was the firm backing of her husband Sudarshanan K, a daily wage labourer, that prompted the reticent homemaker to give it another try at academics.
'I failed in my SSLC exam when I was 15. This was soon after my mother's death. In those days, failure in Class X exam means a full stop to your academic dreams,' Chandramani said.
Her love for Malayalam literature and stories of veterans like Bhageerathi Amma and Karthyayani Amma ignited the fire within her to study again. Though taunted occasionally by members of her age group, Chandramani did not step back.
