Key Note Address and meeting Prasad, an Old student

 On 1st November, 2018, delivered the Keynote Address, on Historical perspectives on status of women, at the National Seminar on, Status of women: Role of State and Civil society,organised by the Centre for Women's Studies at Andhra University. There were papers and participants  from Calcutta, Odhisa, Telengana, Madhya Pradesh and Andhra. The occassion was also combined with felicitation Prof. Ratna Kumari who retired after giving yowomen service to the Centre. I was peasantry surprised and very happy when a grown up gentleman came to me with a very bright smile and lot of joy in his face and said, Good morning  Mam. I am seeing you after twenty years. You will not remember but I was your student twenty years back. Indeed, I could not recollect how this  Prasad looked earlier. When I must have taught him.  I  am sure, he would have been a young boy, a little not too sure of himself, a little lost but eager to learn and enter into a new world of the University, but the Gentleman, I met was so confident, so sure of himself and it was such a pleasure to see our students mature. I could also reconnect with  few more from my University who are now teaching in History/  Political science in Yanam degree College. It is a great feeling that students think  of us and give value to what ever we taught them. I must write some times about the different discussions I have had with various  students , about the difficulties they face initially with English language, the University environment, the Urban culture and we expect so much from them in terms of reading, doing assignments, presenting in class, listening to our lectures, expecting them to read and understand Henry Pirenne, Marc Bloch, Perry Anderson, Louis Althusser and much more. But, I am glad these problems are only for the first year and by the time they come to the second year many of these issues are resolved.