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| Geetha, Headmistress, Upputhara Panchayat LP School, Idukki |
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For her it had become a necessity. When private bus and taxi jeep stopped their services to the school where she worked, Geetha learned driving, bought a jeep and started driving along the 7 km of ramshackle road to the school. And in the bargain she is setting an example to her own pupils at the Upputhara Panchayat LP School, Idukki on self-reliance and how will power overcomes all obstacles.
For the past 1 year she has been driving the jeep along the dilapidated estate road to the school where she was posted in 1995. At that time, a lone bus used to ply a single trip along the route during morning. And walking was the only alternative to reach home in the evening. When the nearby estate closed, the bus too stopped its services. Then for sometime, taxi jeeps used to ply along the route, whenever there were enough passengers. When even this uncertain service came to a halt, she had to rely on walking both ways.
It was then that she thought of learning driving. And so during a summer vacation, 40-year-old Geetha learned driving and then practiced her skills in the strenuous Idukki-Moolamattam route. And at the beginning of the new academic year, two gifts awaited her: the post of headmistress at school and a jeep to put an end to her 14km walk per day.
Now she drives along the semblance of road with confidence born of constant practice. If the drive was initially lonely, she has now half-a-dozen of her pupils as companions along the way.
Geetha’s husband, Rajappan Pillai, a U.D.Clerk in Social Welfare Department, Kattappana, has been a loving and reassuring presence in her achievements. Their children are Ameya Raj and Amal Raj.
Courtesy: Aneesh Anikkad, Sree, Malayala Manorama, September 5, 2004
Contributed by: Administrator
