Padma’s
progressive parents allowed her to make decisions. Right from a tender age, they made her a part
of financial decision- making in the family, listened to her with rapt
attention, discussed her point of view and she, Soma and Shakti took unanimous
decisions later.
Padma was a bright girl.
She was good at all subjects, but had a special interest in
History. She was also exceptionally fond
of mathematics, but loathed Science, mainly because of non-inspiring teachers,
both at home and in school. This was a
contradiction of sorts, because traditionally the best teachers in schools
belonged to the Science or Mathematics or Literature streams, whereas it was
commonly opined that people whose career options were closed ended up as
teachers of humanities. Then how did
Padma nurture her fondness for History?
She found the social studies teacher more boring than those who taught
Science. That was because of her aunt
Lakshmi, who made stories out of Asoka’s renouncement of war post- Kalinga, the
crusade of Rajah Ram Mohan Roy against Sati, the efforts of Iswara Chandra
Vidyasagar towards women’s education and widow remarriage, Mahatma Gandhi’s
weapon of non-violence, so on and so forth.
Plus, Padma was herself a voracious reader of the Amar Chitra
Katha. She had read enough of them to
fall in love with History.
