Seventeen-year-old girl’s excellence gets PM’s appreciation
SHIVAMOGGA: Seventeen-year-old Rishpa has received a rather belated congratulatory note for her excellent performance in Kannada and Sanskrit — scoring centum in both — in her class 10 exams last year. What makes it special is that this student from Tirthahalli has received this letter from Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
In his letter dated November 10, which the family received on November 24, the Prime Minister has promised to send her two gifts — copies of the Bhagavad Geeta and Quran. Daughter of Syed Aleem, a businessman, and Shakeela Banu, a housewife, she says it was her teacher B.K. Vishwamitra in Sahyadri School in Tirthahalli who motivated her to opt for Sanskrit as first language and pursue it seriously.
Like any beginner, initially, I too found it difficult to learn Sanskrit language. By adopting the bi-lingual method of teaching, Mr. Vishwamitra used to teach the lessons by translating them into Kannada. Later, I began to like Sanskrit language, she said. So much so, she spent her holidays reading works of Sanskrit writers Bhaasa and Bhavabhuti.
Her passion for Kannada is equally strong.
The works of Kannada writers Kuvempu, Shivaram Karanth, and K.S. Nisar Ahmed who advocated liberal values have become my favourites, she said.
She has scored 96.32 percent marks in SSLC exams. She is pursuing her first year Pre-University course in the science stream at the Government Junior College in Tirthahalli town.
Her mother had written to Prime Minister Narendra Modi on September 4 about the achievement.
Mr. Modi has written back to the family appreciating the performance of the girl. Rishpa is fluent in Arabic also. She had won a prize in a Qawwali event conducted by Department of Public Instruction as part of Pratibha Karanji.
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