How I Taught My Grandmother to Read Summary

Study Notes

The Grandmother's Story

The narrator's grandmother never attended school and couldn't read or write.
Every Wednesday, she would ask her 12-year-old granddaughter to read the next episode of the story from the magazine Karmaveera.
She would listen with great concentration and could repeat the entire text by heart afterward.

The Grandmother's Passion for Kashi Yatre

The grandmother identified with the heroine of the novel Kashi Yatre and would discuss the latest episode with her friends at the temple courtyard.
She had never been to Kashi, but the story resonated with her.

The Grandmother's Past

The grandmother lost her mother at a young age and didn't receive an education because nobody cared to educate girls during that time.
She got married young, had children, and later grandchildren.

The Grandmother's Regret

The grandmother regretted not going to school and made sure her children and grandchildren studied well.
When the narrator was away, the grandmother felt helpless and dependent when she couldn't understand the magazine.

The Grandmother's Decision

The grandmother decided to learn the Kannada alphabet and set the deadline for the Saraswati Pooja day during Dassara.
She practiced hard and was a wonderful student, reading, repeating, writing, and reciting with the narrator as her teacher.

The Grandmother's Achievement

The grandmother achieved her goal and read the novel Kashi Yatre on her own at the age of 62.
She proved that there is no age bar for learning.

Kashi Yatre, the Novel

Kashi Yatre was a novel by Triveni, a popular writer in the Kannada language.
The story was about an old lady who wanted to go to Kashi to worship Lord Vishweshwara, but ended up helping an orphan girl instead.

Description

Explore a summary of 'How I Taught My Grandmother To Read' by Sudha Murty, where an illiterate grandmother named Krishtakka sets out to learn how to read by herself. With the help of her granddaughter, she achieves the remarkable feat of reading a novel in Kannada at the age of sixty-two.