5 women and a retiree hog varsity medals

The top medal grossers at the 92nd convocation of University of Mysore have two things in common - they returned to study after a long break and they have families to care for.

Meet Manasa J (12 gold medals and three cash prizes in MSc Chemistry), Hotapeti Jeevandhar Kumar Kuberappa (eight gold in MA Jainology) and Suguna Saravanan (seven gold and a cash prize in MA Mass Communication and Journalism), Sindhu G M (six gold and three cash prizes in MSc Botany) and Shah Mayuri Ramesh (six gold in MSc Biotechnology).

An elated Manasa was all humility attributing her success to support from her husband and parents. 

Hailing from a village, T Bettalli, near Mudukuthore in T Narsipura taluk in the district, she earned BSc in education from Regional Institute of Education (RIE) in Mysore and taught at Gurukul Vidyashala in Hyderabad.

Her return to academics was motivated by the desire to achieve something big, says Manasa. She cleared NET exam twice and has enrolled for her PhD. Her father Jagannath is a head constable with RPF and mother Rekha, a housewife.

Hotapeti Jeevandhar Kumar Kuberappa joins the growing tribe of senior citizens whose desire for higher education still remains young.

A retired professor in History, he now has a masters in another subject. At 66, he is also the eldest among the medallists. After retirement, he shifted to Mysore for the sake of studying Jainology in regular classes. His son and daughter-in-law are MBA holders and work in Bangalore. That his classmates were young enough to be his children did not deter him, but motivated him to study harder, says Kuberappa.

Boredom with house chores drove Suguna Saravanan to take up higher studies. She shifted from her hometown, Ooty in Tamil Nadu, to Mysore three years ago, when her husband, a Wing Commander was transferred here.

“I had ample time to spend at home, after my husband left for work and daughter for school. It was then that I decided to do something fruitful and joined the PG course”, recalls Suguna.

The mother of a nine-year-old girl had a degree in BSc, but her flair for writing landed her in journalism course. She wants to do a PhD in journalism and is not in a hurry to enter the profession.

After winning laurels, G M Sindhu’s aim is to work for the welfare of farmers “who have been resorting to suicide, unable to face the travails in agriculture”. She comes from a farming family from G Maralli in Nanjangud taluk in the district.

As for Shah Mayuri Ramesh, she comes from a family of businessmen in Sangli, Maharashtra.

Most of her family members are MBA holders and she is the only one to fall in love with Science. She wants to take up research.