An unforgettable meeting with Vidya Seva Ratna Dr Santha Ramakrishnan
When most of us do not want to do any serious reading after our college, it is indeed surprising that a lady has done her Doctorate at the age of 72 and she is still working on her next post doctoral work. I would not have believed it myself but I met such a wonderful person myself on 21st March ie ugadi day.
A group of us were on some official work in Chennai and we decided to take the day off and it was suggested that we should visit Kancheepuram as it is a one hour drive from Adyar where we were staying. Mr R. Sitaraman who worked in Administration Department of the the IT company where we were spendng most of the time in that week agreed to be the guide. The word "guide" is very loosely used here as he was the planner, organiser and trouble shooter all combined for the trip.
After visiting Kamakshi temple, Sitaraman took us to his house near the temple and told that we would have a stop for ten minutes as his mother would like to meet us. We agreed and climbed a narrow stair case in a building which almost was invisible from the main road having been built on an empty plot at the back of the main house. I was expecting a routine visit with the customary south Indian coffee and the mandatory questions on our spouses and children.
I was ushered into a room 10 by 10 with a low table and a chair in which Sitaraman's mother Mrs Santha was seated. we were told she was 72 years but she greeted us with the energy of a 30 year old housewife. As the chairs were brought from the next house and tea getting made, the atmosphere was just right for some conversation. In a moment, she was telling us about the work which got her Doctorate . She said that her doctoral work was on Shakespeare' writings and Ramanuja's philosophy. This was something of a surprise to me as I have not heard that such a comparison was possible at all. The surprise turned into amazement when she said that she was actually teaching English in the local High school by name Soma sundara Kanya Vidyalaya and after retirement turned to the subject to do research.
She took Portia's speech about mercy in "Merchant of Venice' and quoted the concept of Dhaya from Ramanuja. I mentioned about " As you like it" as a good book to extend the ideas of philosophy. She started speaking about caliban and questioned the very concept of beauty as understood by us. She said that ugliness can also be beautiful if you learn to look that way. Soon, "King Lear" and "Othello" followed.
The conversation extended and all of us were absolutely astonished at her erudition and the innovative way in which she was interpreting every idea. Then I noticed. The room had no TV, no computer and not even a Radio. It had only books and note books and some medicines ostensibly for her eye ailments. I could see a photo showing Kanchi Sankaracharya bestowing on her the title "Vidya Seva Ratna" for her services in the filed of education.
During the course of her conversation, she said that she was keen to find out how Kalidasa would compare with Shakespeare when it came to giving examples from masculine and feminine gender. None of us could contribute there and we had to be content with a few nods.
It was time for us to leave. Mrs Dr. Santha Ramakrishnan (that is her full name) presented us with a small booklet "Gayathri Ramayanam" as a memento. (We had tea, of course). We came out of the house and found one young person waiting outside. We presumed that the young man must be a student taking tuitions, Sitaraman clarified about the person.that he is not a student but is actually the Sanskrit teacher as her sanskrit class starts at 9 every day.
So many magazines write about so many people but why no magazine in Tamil has covered this unique lady who achieved what thousands of people have never even dared to try ?
Soon, we were on our way to Saravana Bhavan but we were not hungry as we have had our souls filled with satisfaction.
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