ENARADA in converstion with Achiever
By C D Souza
At 80 when most people are unable to move their limbs freely octogenarian Shantha Bai wrote her MA in Sanskrit and came out with flying colours securing a first class with 62 per cent marks.
Naturally Shantha Bai attracted eyeballs from all those who attended the 13th convocation of the Karnataka State Open University recently and she was greeted with thunderous with ear-deafening applause when she appeared on the stage to receive her certificate.
It is her perseverance and single minded devotion that helped her to add another feather to her crowning glory of achievements considering her age which was often a hindrance for academic excellence.
With failing memory it wasn’t easy for her to by heart or memorize and reproduce in the exam. She would often forget very simple things during the exams due to failing memory. By-hearting the shlokas was the toughest of her tasks in her pursuit to get MA degree at her age. The younger generation should salute her for her indefatigable spirit and perseverance. She achieved this rare feet even when she had to fight diseases like diabetes, spondylitis, thyroid, back ache and other age related diseases.
“I always used to forget the shlokas and found it difficult to by-heart them. Even memorizing the shlokas was not my cup of tea though quoting them in the answers would have fetched me more marks in this exams”, she quips. However, it did not prevent her from getting the cash prize for securing the highest marks among the senior citizens during the recent convocation of the Karnataka State Open University.
Of course there was a little inspiration from her late mother who had a predilection and perseverance for completing the undertaken task efficiently, had a vital role in Shantha Bai’s illustrious achievements. “Many a time I wanted to give up but in was the constant memory of my mother that goaded me to continue and finally I am happy I have succeeded in my mission”, she says with pride.
Being a mathematics teacher always helped because she had no difficulty in writing. She points out that she always used to learn maths by writing and therefore had no difficulty in writing for the exam even at this age. “Being a maths teacher I cannot study anything without writing. Even for this exam I studied by writing and that helped”, she avers.
In this endeavor she was helped a great deal by her friend’s son Kumar. Her grandson who is working for HP also gave every possible help to Shantha Bai. It was their enthusiasm and support which played a quintessential role in Shantha Bai’s determination to complete her two-year degree. She attended the ten day contract class programme and easily mingled with other students decades younger to her.
Shantha Bai who hails from Kolar but lives in Bangalore now, always had a proclivity towards academics and marriage and motherhood also did not hamper her quest for higher studies. She started her career as a high school teacher after her BSc from Mysore University in 1952 and BEd from Osmania University. She then became a lecturer and was promoted to important positions in various departments of the state government. She was the Dy Director-in-charge of the DSERT’s computer literacy programme and in that capacity went to England for training. She also served as the Joint Director of mid-day meal programme introduced by the government.
Her retirement from active service in 1991 did not impact her activities. As a maths teacher she began to teach maths to needy students not for money but just to beat boredom. She was teaching maths to PUC, BCom and even BE students.
It was her desire to learn Sanskrit that compelled her to join the Vidyuth Uttama Alankara Course in Bangalore. Joining the institute rekindled her spirit to go further and with little prodding from her friends at the institute she enrolled herself for MA through Karnataka Open University.
Apart from her academics Shantha Bai has also learnt Veena though due to spondylitis she cannot practice it now. She also learnt French when she was posted in Chickmagalur from a retired Head Master who knew French. But somehow she felt that she was jack of all unlike her mother who had a penchant for doing things systematically. Her mother used to chide her often for doing things haphazardly because she learnt Veene and French but did not complete. “My mother’s words reverberated in my mind when I took up this course and when I wanted to give up. Today I am happy that I could complete it”, she says with a tone of complete satisfaction.
Granny Shantha Bai is an inspiration to today’s youngsters. She has only one advice to the present generation: “Do your work with diligence and with a sense of purpose and you can never fail whatever might be the impediments”.
(Posted on July 26, 2013 @ 7pm)
