Chupke Chupke...Shhhh..

T A Kamala - My maternal grand aunt. I have grown up listening to her stories of how they caught forgery cases at the bank she worked and retired out of. I sort of imagined her like Sherlock Holmes trying to identify frauds and fakes. Sitting in the cabin, inspecting cheques and calling out and chasing and catching those who tried to pull a fast one on the bank! As I grew up, I realized it was not all that dramatic as it was in my head, however, the stories still showed me how attentive she had to be to get these detected. To me, she is a hero. In more ways than just these instances. I have always said that my family has so many women who have helped me shape who I have become. She is one of them. She probably does not know this (yet)! I never grew up thinking women don't work at offices. I never felt women were not as capable as men.  Many women in my family were working women. And even those women who stayed back home to raise a family were extremely resourceful ...

She started out at school as a history teacher.  She then went on to start teaching computer programming. She must have been under 5 ft and very tiny. She had a unique voice and would end up having a jet of chalk powder on her forehead at the end of every class. We started learning computer science with a programming language called BASIC.  I guess that is when I started my love for coding and programming languages. I am not a hardcore coder, but the mere thought process of structuring and logical thinking excites me. I then went on to learn C++, C, Java, Unix scripting, ABAP, and yet everything goes back to her and her teachings. Rajamani Miss. She has to be the absolute one person at school who had tremendous confidence in me. To the rest of the school, my over-achiever brother, Mr Goody-two-shoes was the apple of their eye. Okay, not really, but you get the point.  She told us during class, "You can pick up any programming language easily, and you should because it ...

The Hindu - Divyaguda I was sent this link by someone who is more protective of me than my own brother. The minute I read this, I was jumping in joy. The article is about a former collector in Adilabad and how Adivasis named their settlement "Divyaguda" after her. This is very unusual for them and that makes it even more special. Divya is my senior from school and my brother's classmate. Someone my brother initially did not consider a friend as she would sometimes score more marks than him(and now one of his closest friends). Strange how competitive he was during school days and how the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd rankers formed the best friendship ever while staying in different continents/states. Divya is a very silent, yet a determined person. She is even more refined and dignified now as an IAS officer than how I remember her during school days. I am in awe of women leaders like her who are so passionate and service-minded. If there is anyone who deserves such an ...