MA DEGREE FOR 80 YEARS OLD TP SHANTHABAI

MA DEGREE FOR 80 YEARS OLD

TP SHANTHABAI

T.P Shanthabai receives her degree.

Proving that age is only a number, T.P. Shanthabai, 80, has not only learnt Sanskrit over the last few years but also topped the subject among the senior citizens who did their MA in the language through the Karnataka State Open University.A former director of minorities institutions, Shanthabai decided to do her MA in Sanskrit at the age of 76 to overcome the agony of losing her only daughter. “Neither  age nor  illness can stop you from learning if you have the will to do it, and learning has made me feel younger,” she says.But  Shanthibai, who received her certificate at the Karnataka State Open University Convocation here on Tuesday, obviously believes in keeping abreast with the times too.  The woman, who lives in Chamarajpet in Bengaluru  participated in group discussions via Skype with her classmates, Haripriya and Jayashree who are half her age and admits this  helped her score the marks she did. “I have learnt to use the Internet from my grandson,”  she reveals.

The MA only adds to the many qualifications that Shanthabhai already has: a  Bsc from the  University of Mysore, a B.Ed from Usmania University and an MA in Mathematics from the Benaras Hindu University.  Starting her career as a high school teacher in  Bidar in 1953, she served in various capacities in the education department before retiring in 1991. “Although Sanskrit interested me while teaching my granddaughter, Shashirekha, it was only four years ago after my daughter Geetha passed away  that I decided to do the course  at Aksharam to overcome the agony of her death. I got a  first class marks and also a cash prize.  My mother Kamalamma’s advice never to  give up a task midway and the encouragement of my young friends inspired me,” she adds.But she is clearly game for more as  Shanthabai has now enrolled in the Sri ChamarajendraSanskrit College in Chamarajpet to study Vidwath Uttam. And while she she doesn’t intend to teach Sanskrit, she plans to make use of her knowledge of  French to “do translations on a small scale.”

Prof. John Kurakar