We met up with this unique mother-daughter duo, aged 40 and 25 respectively, at the end of which we were confused who we were here to interview, the mother or the daughter! Both complimented each other saying that the counterpart was their role model. They pulled each other’s leg like best buddies. They laughed with a full heart. Their eyes held sparks, in spite of the few occasional tears that rolled from their eyes. A few coffee sips and numerous heart-warming tales later, we realized that we were dealing with a duo who are living examples of how to beat all odds to live in an unhelpful society. Meet this pair of wonderful ladies, who promote and practice feminism and women empowerment in a true sense, who prefer being disowned by family to embracing needy people from all castes, who run an NGO by the name of ‘Prerepana’- Sumana Rao and Akshatha Rao. [Do Read Sumana Rao and Akshatha Rao Biography]
Being a Mother is an Attitude, not a Biological Relation
Sumana: As soon as I finished my class 10, I was married, thanks to the orthodox Brahmin family I was born in! He passed away when I was pregnant, after which my in-laws abandoned me, and so I moved into my dad’s home. Soon, he passed away as well, after which my relatives disowned me and my daughter as well, forcing us to hit the streets. I even tried committing suicide, unable to handle the situation. But somehow I survived, and that’s when I realized that I had to live and fight for my life and for my daughter’s life. I didn’t want to join an orphanage, because that required my daughter and me to stay separately, and I wanted to bring up my daughter. So I started taking up odd jobs starting from a mere 10 INR a day. I sold flowers, took up hawker jobs, served as a maid, worked in a garment industry, learnt a beautician course, opened a boutique, did home tuitions, and tried various other means to make ends meet.
Meanwhile, my daughter was growing and was really good at studies. We begged and borrowed, and accepted donations from various people. She still has those covers that mention the date and amount that she received. She became a gold medalist in Diploma, and graduated with Bachelors of Engineering in 2012. She aspires to get into administration. She is my role model!
If You can’t go back to Your Mother’s Womb, You’d Better Learn to be a Good Fighter
Akshatha: I have seen and know what my mom has gone through since I was born. She smiles even in the deepest of despairs. She has spent many days just eating a Parle-G pack, and walked all the way from Koramangala to Banshankari to save the little or no money we had. I encouraged my mom to pursue graduation when she was 35. Today she proudly holds a M.A degree. She counsels parents, students, deals with all sorts of people in society so that others don’t go through what she has been through. We have been forbidden from all our family functions since we gave shelter to a Dalit student who had secured 89% in class 10. But we still constantly smile even in the worst of scenarios, be it emotional or financial, and look at each other for inspiration.
I have given my mom to the society. I don’t remember celebrating any festivals or even my birthday as I grew up, since we try and save every penny to add to the fund of Prerepana, the NGO that my mother started. She works untiringly from 9am to 11pm every day for the betterment of economically backward students, whichever caste or religion they belong to, who are the real future of our country. She is my role model!
We leave it to our readers to figure out who is whose role model, and who is your role model!
Prerepana- Backing Economically Backward Students to Succeed
Sumana: Prerepana- Shramik Vidyadhaan was started to provide scholarship for poor, but meritorious and under-privileged children for higher education. In addition to scholarships, we at Prerepana provide training classes, books, and other academic support as well. Prerepana arranges training through learning centres located in different places of Bangalore, Gowribidanur, Hosakote, Hassan, Koppal, Kolar, and Anekal. We do career counselling, and visit slums, teach them spoken English, educate them with health and hygiene, celebrate birthdays, and bring a smile to their faces.
A Jewish proverb says, “What the daughter does, the mother did”. We at KYS wish Sumana Rao and Akshatha Rao much more success with the mission they have undertaken, and have decided to support two students from Prerepana completely for a year, to do our bit to help this wonderful and noble cause. This is with a hope that more hands join with us to help Prerepana! We envisage young India to be filled with people that Prerepana nurtures- hardworking, living for others, empowering education, fighting pseudo-feminism, inspiring, and smiling with grit. Women like Sumana are bringing out the true meaning of women empowerment and feminism to life. Hoping to cover many more success stories from this duo in the near future.