The 13th convocation of Karnataka State Open University gave enough reasons for some candidates to be joyous and happy.
Nagendra Prasad A M with three gold medals at the convocation could hardly hide his joy. He received the Silver Jubilee Endowment Gold Medal, State Bank of India, Mysore, Endowment Gold Medal and S Shivaram Endowment Gold Medal for securing first rank in M A Kannada.
Nagendra had earlier completed his M A in History from the University of Mysore, a few years ago. Currently, he is employed as a shirasthedar at the district court. “After I got appointed at the court, I felt that I should study more. Fortunately, my attempt turned out to be such a success,” he said.
After his success in M A examination at KSOU, he plans to take up the Karnataka Public Service Commission examinations soon. He also recalled the encouragement received from his colleagues and family members to pursue his studies.
Long wait
The recipient of Abdul Gaffar Shariff endowment gold medal for securing highest marks among women candidates in MA Urdu, had a different story.
Shirin Banu Hirekumbi, who won the prize is employed as a Urdu teacher in a Government School at Hubli. Despite her intentions to pursue post graduation in Urdu, she had to wait for nine years for her dreams to be finally realised.
“I could not enrol myself to a PG course in Urdu due to some family problems. I was soon married off and started working as a teacher too. But, completing my MA in Urdu with a gold medal has relieved me. I am very happy,” she said.
Keshav Chandra Melnad, a winner of two gold medals in Sanskrit, too had a woeful story to narrate. He was orphaned when he was ten years old. Due to the assistance of well-wishers and relatives, and after undergoing several hardships, he completed his BSc with the help of a scholarship. His interest in Vedas and other religious texts had helped him learn enough Sanskrit. He was advised by one of his teachers to appear for MA in Sanskrit examination at KSOU, which turned out to be a successful affair for Keshav.
All the recipients of endowment awards had some stories to narrate. However, the joy of completion of a degree and a satisfaction of achievement was visible among each of them.
Interestingly, yester year cine actress Bharathi Vishnuvardhan participated in the convocation, as an endowment award instituted in memory of her late husband Dr Vishnuvardhan was presented at the ceremony. The Dr Vishnuvardhana Endowment Gold medal for securing highest marks in M A (Mass Communication and Journalism) was bagged by Prakash Lobo.