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The young girl of 9, who discarded ornaments as a prelude to becoming a sanyasini, went on to become the managing director of an ayurvedic pharmacy that is now successfully marketing a variety of products in Kerala and outside.

Belonging to a rich household, Sreedevi however, felt the oppressiveness of family life.  The teenager, with close-cropped hair, who wandered all over India in search of a guru was the product of this disillusionment.  Simultaneously she pursued her studies.  After completing M.Sc in Zoology, she became a research scholar in Wildlife Biology department.

For 7 years, she lived in the forest among adivasis, learning from them the natural recipe for many an ailment.  After completion of Ph.D, Dr.Sreedevi went straight to an ashram.  However, soon she felt out of place there also.

The young woman who came back home was a recluse who hovered between suicide and ennui.  It was Sreenivasan, a friend, who prompted her to be a householder.  She soon wed Sreenivasan.  And when her politician-husband was busy outside, Dr.Sreedevi turned to the innate knowledge of herbs she had gathered.

She prepared a hairoil all by herself and gave to a neighbourhood beauty parlour.  Its immediate sellout prompted her to market the produce in a professional way.

Again her sankalpa did not materialize. And she thought of pursuing her studies.  However, on second thoughts she decided to give it another try.  This time the venture was a booming success.

Now the company Sree Bhagavathi Matom Ayurveda Niketanam markets about 20 products.

To her colleagues she is not the boss.  They call her “ji”.  Her son too calls her so.  She hasn’t thought of correcting him.  Perhaps she hasn’t been able to come down to the role of amma, she feels.

Courtesy: Vijeesh Gopinath (text), Vanitha, June 15-30, 2010
Contributed by: Administrator

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