How I Taught My Grandmother
to Read.
By Sudha Murty. A lesson about literacy, dignity, determination, affection between generations, and the quiet power of learning at any age.
What you will learn.
This is the complete learning page. Read the explanation, listen to the summary, study the hard words, and use the linked textbook whenever you want to check the original text.
Retell the events in order and explain Krishtakka’s emotional change.
Connect the story of Kashi Yatre with the grandmother’s own life.
Use textual evidence to write about literacy, dignity, and lifelong learning.
Three languages.
One clear story.
Choose a language to begin listening. The player provides play, pause, and timeline seeking.
Two-minute lesson summaries.
Select a language to listen to its lesson summary.
The story, scene by scene.
Do not read these as disconnected notes. Notice the movement from a shared story to a personal decision, then from effort to independence.
A village in north Karnataka.
The narrator remembers staying with her grandparents when she was about twelve. Transport was poor, so newspapers arrived late and the weekly magazine came one day after publication. The family waited eagerly for the bus carrying papers, magazines, and post.
Kashi Yatre becomes a bond.
Triveni’s novel was appearing as a serial in Karmaveera. Its old woman protagonist longs to go to Kashi, but finally gives her savings to help an orphan girl marry. Krishtakka identifies with this old woman because she too never went to Kashi.
Dependence becomes painful.
When the narrator goes to a wedding and stays away for a week, the magazine arrives as usual. Krishtakka can see the picture but cannot understand the writing. She waits, feels embarrassed to ask someone else, and realises that money cannot give her independence.
A wish becomes a plan.
Krishtakka decides to learn the Kannada alphabet from the next day. She sets Saraswati Puja during Dassara as her deadline and wants to read a novel on her own. Her goal is specific, timed, and connected to self-respect.
The narrator laughs—and learns.
The twelve-year-old narrator laughs at the idea of a sixty-two-year-old woman learning the alphabet. She notices grey hair, wrinkled hands, spectacles, and household work. Krishtakka does not argue angrily; she simply says determination can overcome obstacles.
The student honours the teacher.
Krishtakka practises by reading, repeating, writing, and reciting. At the festival, she touches the narrator’s feet as a teacher, reads Kashi Yatre and the publisher’s name, and becomes independent. The narrator understands that knowledge deserves respect beyond age and gender.
What the chapter is really saying.
Literacy enables Krishtakka to access stories independently and participate in a world that was previously closed to her.
Her deadline and daily practice show that a good intention becomes meaningful only when supported by effort.
She does not want literacy for status. She wants the dignity of reading a story without having to request help.
The feet-touching scene reverses the usual age hierarchy and honours the narrator’s knowledge and teaching.
Words you must know.
Learn the meaning as it works inside this chapter. A board answer becomes stronger when important words are used accurately.
| Word / phrase | Meaning | Use in the lesson |
|---|---|---|
| protagonist | the main character in a story | The old woman is the protagonist of Kashi Yatre. |
| ardent | very eager or passionate | The old lady has an ardent desire to go to Kashi. |
| savouring | enjoying something fully | The children savour the freedom of the wedding days. |
| immensely | extremely; to a very great degree | The narrator loves her grandmother immensely. |
| dependent | needing support from another person | Krishtakka feels dependent when she cannot read. |
| helpless | unable to act or manage without help | The unread magazine makes her feel helpless. |
| determination | firmness of purpose | Her determination is visible in her regular practice. |
| obstacle | something that makes progress difficult | Age and lack of schooling are treated as obstacles, not excuses. |
| taken aback | surprised by something unexpected | The narrator is taken aback when Avva touches her feet. |
| irrespective | without considering; regardless of | A teacher should be respected irrespective of age and gender. |
| with flying colours | with outstanding success | The student passes with flying colours after achieving her goal. |
Past perfect: the grammar of sequence.
The chapter uses the past perfect to show which of two past actions happened first. Full practice is available on the Exercises page.
had + past participle. The same form is used with every subject.
She had finished. They had finished.Use it for the earlier action; use the simple past for the later action.
When I returned, she had opened the magazine.