Keerthika Govindhasamy, also known as Keerthi History, received the Best Storyteller Award from PM Modi at The National Creators Award. During the ceremony, when she respectfully approached the Prime Minister, he expressed his view that while reverence in the arts is different, he feels uncomfortable when daughters touch his feet.
Keerthi through her Instagram handle, wrote, “Something I never even dreamed of. I was 15 then. One night I heard my father crying because people in the village badmouthed me. All my life, they were ashamed of me. No, I didn’t have any boyfriend. I was very good at studies. Then what went wrong? I just wanted to do things on my own. I didn’t want to depend on the men in my family.”
She further wrote, “You know we girls weren’t allowed to go to the shop nearby. I’ll have to beg my brothers if I need anything. Once I went to the shop which is literally 100m away and I got slapped for that. I had to fight all my life even for basic things. All I wanted to do in my life was to become an archaeologist. That’s why I chose history for my graduation, so that I could do my masters in archaeology. But once I graduated, they said it was enough to get married. I still remember how I cried helplessly that day.”
“Then I started to do whatever work that comes in the way. I took tuition, did home tutoring, receptionist and what not. Even worked as an electrician. It took me almost 1.5 years to buy a second-hand laptop. My and father had not talked to each other for 6 whole years. That’s how much disappointed they were of me.”
“Don’t judge my parents, they did their best. In village it’s not just your parents who take decisions for you. Relatives play a major role. They tried their best to balance things. They tried their best to stand by me. I was a tough kid indeed. Now fast forward to 2024, I took them on a flight for the first time and they witnessed me getting an award from the Prime Minister of our country. I can’t explain this feeling man. They were on cloud nine when I saw them. The way they looked at me. Man, I won in life. I won in life.”
She summed up by saying, “Hope the path is filled with fewer thorns for the girls of upcoming generations. Hope they realise educating your girl doesn’t mean she will end up eloping with someone. Let them study. Let them have a life.”