Educationist & Musician, Multi-Talented, Ninety Five Years Young, Our Very Own Sweet Neighbour

Meenaskhi Prakash In An interview with Padma Ranganathan(N28,Saket)

Born in 1920, Padma Ranganathan lost her mother at the tender age of two. Her grandparents raised and supported her from the age of 3 to 15( married at age 16 to a Defence  personnel), in their small village  Mannargudi, with no water supply or a railway station. But then she received a god's gift as her second mother later, with whom she nurtured a relation of respect, love and understanding. She could not attend a proper school till the age of ten, due to non- availability of a girls school and transport.
Even after starting her life with such a difficult educational atmosphere, she later achieved many high standards of educational degrees. She started her literary journey with being an only girl in an all boys class, and even after doing Master in Philosophy, from Kanpur, B.Ed and M.Ed levels from Delhi University and bagging a  British Council Scholarship at Leeds University for a year in 1961, her enthusiasm for learning was not over. As she has no Age or Field bar in her mind, it's the willingness to learn which she feels is most important. She learned semi- classical music from Jamia Milia University and enjoyed learning Tango & Ball Room dance too. Her husband always supported her desire to learn, whom she lost in 1996. She has four well settled and successful daughters who make a proud mom.

She used to give tuitions in English Creative Writing  and is a performing Ghazal singing artist in Sham- E- Ghazal Society.
She also lays great emphasis on having sincere friends around you  who share your views and can console you in need, to have a better and cheerful life. Full of life and energy, Padma Ranganathan’s life experiences and teachings were well worth learning. Her motto, “One has to depend on oneself alone”.
A lady with a positive approach, it was an honour to meet her alongwith Anindita Roy and we enjoyed talking and interacting with her on a lovely September evening.