At 46, this Kerala homemaker gets a law degree, enrolls as advocate: ‘I realised education gives dignity in society’

Abika’s enrolling herself as an advocate marked a new phase of her life: having been married by 18 and a mother of two by the time she was 22 years old, Ambika enrolled herself in the state’s continuing education programme and completed Class 10 equivalency in 2009 and Class 12 equivalency in 2018 finally enrolling herself into a five-year LLB course in 2019 at the age of 40.

Last year she secured her degree after passing her exam with 60 percent marks.

For Ambika, becoming an advocate marks an end of a long journey, where the odds were seemingly stacked against her right from the start: having lost both her parents when she was young – mother when she was age 1 and father at 8 – she was raised by a grandmother who fell ill, forcing her to rely on her older sister, a sweeper with the Indian Railways.

“While a high school student, I was put in a hostel at Ottapalam. I was previously a brilliant student but being an orphan shattered me. Soon, I lost interest in studies and failed the Class 10 exam in 1994,” she says.

At age 18, Ambika was married to N V Ayyappan, a native of Mannambetta village in Thrissur who ran a cassette shop and a telephone booth. With him she had two children – a son and a daughter – and was happy.

“But our happy days were short-lived. The daughter, the youngest child, had multiple health issues. She was partially hearing impaired. We went to several hospitals in Kerala and outside for her treatment. Our entire savings was used up in her treatment,” she says.

After enrolling their daughter in a special school, Ambika and Ayyappan began working at a firm that made polymarble idols of deities.

In 2009, Ambika met literacy promoter Omana Thankappan at a local panchayat reading room in Thrissur. This chance meeting changed her life.

Omana says: “The literacy classes were held at the reading room and I asked her to join the Class 10 equivalency programme. She was reluctant because of her daughter’s health issues but I encouraged her to join the programme”.

By then, Ambika was eager for more. “It rekindled my old dream to excel in life. I wanted to study further and my husband kept encouraging me,” she says.

But she had to wait until 2017 for the state to start the Class 12 equivalency programme at Mannambetta village. “While attending Class 12 programme classes, I kept away from work. My husband wanted me to focus on my education although classes were held only Sundays. In 2018, I passed the Class 12 exam with a high score. I wanted to continue my studies and decided to join a five-year LLB course,” she says.

After a short entrance coaching programme in Thrissur, Ambika managed to get into the law programme at the Al Ameen Engineering College in Palakkad’s Kulappully.

“When I joined the class, I was 40. I sat among students who were my children’s age. It was a remarkable experience. The students saw me as an older sister and cleared all my doubts,” she says.

Despite this, college was another battle. Not only did she have to complete her chores and undertake an hour-and-a-half’s train journey to college each day, she also had her daughter.

She also frequently faced the scorn of neighbours, who wondered why she wanted to study “at this age”.

“At home, I did not have time to study. I could open books only after she fell asleep. So, I studied on the train,” she says.

But there were also perks. For one thing, by this time, her son Ananthu – a postgraduate student in English – could help with her academics. “During his school days, I would have his doubts cleared. But when I was studying law, our roles reversed and he helped me,” she says.

For another, her husband continued to support and encourage her to finish her education. “On many occasions, he became a mother to my daughter. He also took over the running of the family to help me achieve the dream,” she says.