Meet Bharati Devi, 40, who has put aside all the qualms that usually pull one down, to write the Secondary examination at the Sunitibala Sadar Girls High School in the North Bengal district as an external candidate. Bharati who is employed at a child education centre in the district town, has secured special permission from her employers to appear the examination. “It’s  unusual to see mother-daughter duo sitting for the same exam simultaneously and incidentally they have been allotted the same room,” the school headmistress Aparna Bagchi said. Her daughter Sanchita who got married a couple of years back, found it extremely pleasant to have her mother at her side, not as a mentor though, but just a co-examinee.

Bharati managed to take her time out daily to study after fulfilling her responsibilities at home. “Very often, Bharati turned Sanchita’s student. Even Bharati’s husband has been very supportive of her efforts,” she said. Bharati, who got  married when she was in the tenth standard, was compelled to quit studies.