How I taught my

grandmother to read

Made by:Rinkal Rudrawad

How I Taught My Grandmother by Sudha Murty is a story about a twelve years old girl-the narrator, and her sixty-two years old grandmother, Avva, as she addresses herself. In the first person narrative, the story portrays emphatically the character of an old lady of sixty two who decides and learns the Kannada alphabet. If a person is strong willed, he/she can move mountains. The importance of being literate is described in the story. How a person despite having all worldly facilities, money, a nice home and a family, feels incomplete and remains dependent and helpless. The money is of no use when you do not know how to count the numbers. The grandmother proves in the story that there is no age bar for education.Avva, an illiterate woman has her life full with a blessed home and a lovely granddaughter. She enjoys cooking and feeding. She feels the jolt when following a series of episodes appearing in a weekly magazine she was not able to read one of the episodes on her own for her grand -daughter had gone off to a neighboring village to attend a marriage.

Story

She realizes the importance of the skill. She was not delivered duly in her childhood, for at that time education was not essential for girls. She realizes that the greatest treasure one can ever possess, which makes a person truly independent is education. The power to read and write is the greatest skill. She feels dependent and helpless due to her inability to read or write. All the money was of no use as she is not independent.She makes sure that her children and grand children are well educated. However, she feels miserable for her inability to read. When the author returns, her Avva cries and explains her grief to the young girl. She expresses her wish to learn the Kannada alphabet and tells her granddaughter that she wishes to learn it by Saraswati Pooja. The granddaughter first feels funny about why her grandmother at such an age of sixty-two wishes to learn the alphabet. However, she sees the determination in Avva and begins to teach her from the next day onwards. A great student, as the grandmother is, she learns with great zeal and does an amazing amount of homework. She accomplishes her mission by Saraswati Pooja and receives Kashi Yatre, the novel, as a gift from her granddaughter.

This chapter gives many messages.

On the one hand, it messages that there is no age for learning. If there is lot of interest and will, then we can learn at any age.On the other hand, it shows the Indian tradition of respecting teacher. Grandmother touches the feet of her grandchild. Because, she was her teacher irrespective of age. So, it was the duty of grandmother to touch the feet of teacher.

Message from the chapter

Sudha Murthy’s ‘How I Taught My Grandmother To Read’ is the story of transformation of her grandmother who depends upon the granddaughter for reading her favorite novel ‘Kashi Yatre’ to becoming an independent reader. Krishatkka is the grandmother who could not get education because of the death of her mother in her young age. Also, educating a girl was not considered essential. She accepted the fate and continued to be happy with the family. She adjusted herself with the circumstances. She likes kids and her family.Grandmother is a religious person. She goes to temple and shares the religious story ‘Kashi Yatre’ with her friends. She is also interested to go on a pilgrimage at Kashi. She is a very determined person. She decides to be an independent reader and also decides the deadline for her task. She is not money minded because she is not more concerned about money but about being independent. She is very emotional. When she could not find anyone to read Kashi Yatre, she cries a lot. She also cries when she talks with the writer about her inability to read the novel. Kshitakka is a good student as she can grasp the things very quickly. She also respect her teacher (her granddaughter) by touching her feet.

Character sketch of the grandmother

The central idea of the chapter is that there is no age for learning. Determination, hard work and urge to accomplish a dream can move mountains and lead a person to success just like the author's mother educated herself at that grand age.

Central idea of the chapter

About the author

Sudha Murthy (also spelled Sudha Murty; née Kulkarni born on 19 August 1950) is an Indian social worker and author. Murthy began her professional career as a computer scientist and engineer. She is the chairperson of the Infosys Foundation and a member of public health care initiatives of the Gates Foundation. She has founded several orphanages, participated in rural development efforts, supported the movement to provide all Karnataka government schools with computer and library facilities, and established the 'The Murthy Classical Library of India' at Harvard University.

Murthy initiated a bold move to introduce computer and library facilities in all schools in Karnataka & taught computer science. Murthy is best known for her social work and her plethora of stories. Dollar Sose (English: Dollar Daughter-in-Law), a novel originally authored by her in Kannada and later translated into English as Dollar Bahu, was adapted as a televised dramatic series by Zee TV in 2001. Murthy has also acted in Marathi film Pitruroon and Kannada film Prarthana.

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