How i taught my grandmother to read in hindi

The writer was twelve years old and she used to stay
with her grandparents in north Karnataka. Since there were
very few diversions, the entire family would eagerly wait
for a weekly magazine called Karamveera. This magazine
was publishing famous writer Triveni’s novel, ‘Kashi
Yatre’ as a serial. The novel dealt with the protagonist’s
struggle to visit Kashi. Since grandmother believed in
Kashi-Yatra as a pilgrimage, she could identify with the
trials and tribulations of the main characters. Every
Wednesday, the writer would read the next episode of the
story to her. The grandmother would not only listen with
great attention but also memorize it by heart. Later she
would discuss it with friends in the temple courtyard.

One day the writer had to go to the neighbouring
village for a cousin’s wedding and stayed back there for a
week. When she returned, she was surprised to see her
grandmother in tears. At night, the grandmother narrated
how her past life, feeding and bringing up children, kept
her busy, sparing no time for education of any kind.
Moreover, education for girls was not considered as
important in those days. Without the granddaughter, she
had a tough time trying to decipher and guess the next
episode of ‘Kashi Yatre’. She had felt very desperate and
helpless, mutely gazing at the pictures, unable to read a
single word.

This incident fanned the grandmother’s desire to learn
the Kannada alphabet and she vowed to learn it by
Dassera. The granddaughter’s pleas, her mockery of the
grandmother’s age, all fell on deaf ears. No wonder, the
grandmother proved to be an ideal student. In no time, she
could read, repeat and write Kannada. The writer presented
her with a copy of the novel ‘Kashi Yatre’ as a token of
appreciation and grandmother touched the feet of her
granddaughter, her teacher, as a befitting tribute.