ESSAY ON SUDHA MURTHY'S SHORT STORY "HOW I TAUGHT MY GRANDMOTHER TO READ"

 HOW I TAUGHT MY GRANDMOTHER TO READ -ESSAY

Sudha murthy is a prolific writer who is best known for immense contribution to Indian literature. She has a unique ability to tell a deep and meaningful stories through simple narrative that can easily engage the people of different age groups. In her short story “How I Taught My Grandmother To Read’, Sudha Murty describes the determined efforts of an illiterate old lady Krishtakka to make herself literate. The grandmother proved that there is no age bar for learning.

The narrator of our story was a girl of twelve years old .She used to stay in a village in north Karnataka with her grandparents. The narrator’s grandmother Krishtakka never went to school. Hence, she couldn’t read or write. But she is very much interested in the novel Kashi Yatre. It appeared as a serial in the magazine Karmaveera . Every Wednesday, the magazine Karmaveera would come. The grandmother would ask her twelve year old grand-daughter to read the next episode of the story to her. She would listen to her with the greatest concentration. During that time she would forget all her work. Later, she could repeat the entire text by heart. The grandmother too never went to Kashi. She identified herself with the heroine of the novel. After listening to the next episode of Kashi Yatre she would join her friends at the temple court. There she would discuss the latest episode with her friends.

Once the narrator went for a wedding with her cousins to a neighbouring village. She went for a couple of days but overstayed their for a week. When she came back to her village, she saw her grandmother in tears. She was shocked. She had never seen the old lady cry even in the most difficult circumstances. The old lady narrated her story to her granddaughter. She had lost her mother when she was just a young girl. There was nobody to look after and guide her. Her father married again. In those days nobody cared to give education to girls. So she never went to school. She got married very young and had children. Later she had grandchildren. 

The grandmother felt so much happiness in cooking and feeding all of her children. At times, she used to regret not going to school. She had leamt a lesson. So she made a strong decision to madeher children and grandchildren studied well. When the narrator was away, Karmaveera came as usual. She opened the magazine. She could not understand anything that was written there. For the first time she felt so much dependent and helpless.

The grandmother decided to learn the Kannada alphabet from the next day onwards. She decided to work very hard. She kept the Saraswati Pooja day during Dassara as the deadline. That day she would be able to read a novel on her own. She wanted to be independent. The narrator saw the determination on her face yet she laughed at the decision of her grandmother. She made fun of the old lady. But her grandmother just smiled and said nothing.

The next day onwards, the narrator started her tuition. The grandmother was a wonderful student. She did amazing homework. She would read, repeat, write and recite. The narrator was her only teacher. The grandmother was her first student.

The Dassara festival came as usual. The novel Kashi Yatre had been published by that time. The narrator secretly bought a copy of the novel. The grandmother called her granddaughter to the pooja place and made her sit down on a stool. She gave her a gift of a frock material. Then the grandmother did something unusual. She bent down and touched the feet of her granddaughter. The narrator was taken aback. The old lady gave an explanation. She told her that she was touching the feet of a teacher, not of her granddaughter. She taught her so well that she could read any novel confidently. A teacher should be respected, irrespective of the gender and age. Then she opened the novel and read the title Kashi Yatre by Triveni. Her sincere efforts and determination bore fruit. So She gave due respect to her ‘teacher’ who happened to be her twelve-year-old granddaughter.