Anantapur: A 'paper cutting' buried in a cow dung heap meant to make 'Pidakalu' (cow dung cakes), bearing an advertisement calling for admissions for Doctor of Philosophy from a private institution, re-ignited the passion of Sake Bharathi to earn her PhD, a dream she had put on the backburner being bogged down by circumstances.
Bharathi, a daily wage earner woman from Andhra Pradesh who juggled between studies and household chores, has become the toast of her locality and elsewhere in the state. Bharathi's husband, Sivaprasad, who spotted the paper cutting encouraged her to pursue her education like before. Sivaprasad who is also the maternal uncle of Bharathi got her enrolled in the PhD programme, and saw her through until she received her convocation on Monday.
Bharathi hails from Nagulagudem of Singanamala Mandal has never been stranger to adversities, which only emboldened her spirt to overcome all odds. The 'dream big' woman now aspires to become a professor. Bharathi, who now has a child, never lost focus and continued to persevere to inch closer to her her most cherished academic dream - PhD.
"I am a housewife of a poor family at Nagulagudem village. I studied while working as a labourer. My desire is to complete my PhD and become a professor. With the support of my husband and family members, I completed my PhD at SKU. On Monday, I received the title of Doctor along with the PhD degree from the hands of the state governor," Bharathi says with a contagious smile, while adding that she will be able to realise her dream of becoming a Professor if she is sponsored by the government or anyone who deems it fit.
At Sivaprasad's insistence, she applied for PhD. Sri Krishnadevaraya University (SKU) admitted her in the chemistry department. Bharathi was led by her Doctoral Guide Acharya Shubha. As a research student, she chose chemistry. She studied hard day and night to make her dream come true despite adversities. Bharathi received her doctorate in Chemistry with research on 'Binary Liquid Mixtures' from Sri Krishnadevaraya University at the 11th convocation of the institution. Bharathi is the eldest among three siblings. She began working with her mother since she was a child. She always scored well. In Class X, she was a school topper.
"My parents are still poor. We are three sisters. My grandfather played an important role in my life. I stood first in my school in class 10 exams. After marriage, I had no option but to work as a labourer but I had resolved to not leave my studies," Bharathi said while recalling her monetary struggles.
Bharathi completed her inter-education at Pamidi Government Junior College. She completed her B.Sc and M.Sc from SSBN College, Anantapur. For seven years, she went to work on one day and went to college the other day to complete her graduation and post-graduation. Earlier, her faculty at SSBN noticed her talent and hard work, and suggested her to pursue the PhD, which she did not do citing her financial woes.
