No knitting needles and rocking chair for this great-granny. A computer will do just as nicely for Rosakutty, who at 106 is probably the world’s oldest cyber geek and Kerala’s very own e-granny.
Rosakutty may be the world’s oldest computer student but few young people would be able to match her appetite for knowledge. And she is unfazed by the sniggers and cursory glances some of her classmates — who would probably be her great-grandchildren’s age — throw her way.
Rosakutty’s dream of becoming computer savvy came true when ‘Akashaya’, the stateside e-literacy campaign, set shop in the sleepy village of Kadamakudi in Ernakulam. When she walked into the classroom on Sunday to enroll herself, she didn’t get too much encouragement from the teachers there. But in just two days, she proved them wrong. Taking to the mouse and keyboard like a fish to water, the hour-long class has now become too short for her. And she’s ready to take on big, computer games.
Dressed in a chatta and mundu, Rosakutty gets to class on time each day. “An avid listener, she asks brilliant questions. She is enjoying every bit of it,” says her trainer.
{{/usCountry}}Dressed in a chatta and mundu, Rosakutty gets to class on time each day. “An avid listener, she asks brilliant questions. She is enjoying every bit of it,” says her trainer.
{{/usCountry}}The head of a 56-member family, computers aren’t exactly alien to Rosakutty, having seen her grandchildren and great-grandchildren work with them.
Ever since Akashaya became a runaway success in Malappuram, which was declared the first fully e-literate district two years back, the state government has decided to extend the programme to the remaining 13 districts of the state. It recently roped in south Indian superstar Mammooty as its goodwill ambassador.