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after losing her father (Dr. Lakshmi’s grandfather) at seven years of her age and
therefore had to struggle hard to continue her education and manage her family
of uneducated mother and little brother. She knew the importance of education.
And so, Dr. Lakshmi’s parents made sure she had the opportunity to pursue her
studies in a normal school.
Getting an admission in a normal school was an uphill task. Not just that, it
had to be repeated every 2-3 years, as the family was forced to move from one
place to another due to her father’s banking job.
Each time her parents undertook a long drawn cajoling process that included
stating the facts followed by an alternating pattern of demands of equality in all
forms and begging to give a chance.
Initially for 6 months in every school, life was a difficult as she saw no coop-
eration from her peers. The teachers were mostly dismissive of her problems,
as she was admitted to the school with a condition of performing on par with
other students as well as being well adjusted with them. Later after knowing her
and her capabilities, their perceptions used to get changed and she was given
the best treatment.
When asked about her strength of source in those challenging times she says,

My mother was the source of my strength. She never felt that

anything was going to be difficult. Whenever I went to her
with my problems, she would encourage me to fight it out.

Mother’s strong mind, determination and eye for detail gave her the self-
channelizing power to become independent. Father used to mentor her by
inculcating positive frame of thoughts and attitude.
Dr. Lakshmi Pradha was also encour-
aged by her parents to pursue music
when they found that skill set imbibed at
a tender age of 4. Thus, she could learn,
master, take part in several competitions,
win prizes and perform in various stages.
Dr. Lakshmi Pradha wanted to become
a doctor and after school she gave her
entrance exams. But to her disappoint-
ment, except for a medicine seat she got all
the other revered ones – engineering, com-
merce and so on. Nonetheless, her parents
supported her decision to prepare for med-
ical entrance at home for one year. Finally,

Learn Easy ♦ July 2018 19