From Rekhaben to Dr. Madam, this is an incredible journey of Dr. Rekhaben Kalubhai Parmar, who broke all the stereotypes. In today’s world where maximum Indians are taking interest in foreign languages and flaunting about being master of the same, Rekhaben focused on the ancient most language in India, Sanskrit.
Rekhaben was born in Chuda town, Sundarnagar, Gujrat in Parmar family. A third child after a brother and a sister. A few years after the birth, she moved to Ahmedabad with her parents and a younger sister where she completed her schooling up to 10th std. After 10th std when her family moved to Lambha village, she took a break of one year, as the better colleges were not available near the village. When she insisted on studying further unlike other girls of her community, her parents supported her and took admission in the junior college away from the village. Rekhaben being a brilliant student, scored 71% in 12th std, and easily got the admission in St. Xavier’s college, Gujrat for BA under her brother’s guidance.
She started studying Sanskrit during the graduation years as it is considered as a scoring subject but as the professors who taught her were amazing, she developed interest in the language and completed her graduation in Sanskrit. Further she went to Gujrat University, where she pursued M.A, MPhil and B.Ed in Sanskrit.
This was not enough for Rekhaben. Being ambitious and extremely interested in the subject, she decided to take admission for PhD. in Sanskrit. Her parents supported her throughout.
Initially she started her PhD with a subject, Swapnavasavadatta, but couldn’t develop enough interest. While trying to figure out about it, she met her guide Dr. Atul Kumar Unagar, who asked her to pursue her PhD. in the topic “Sanskrit Vangmay Bal-charit Varnanam Ekam Adhyayanam”. Soon Rekhaben developed interest in the life stories of these young personalities from Ved, Upanishada and Purana and completed her PhD in the same.
Currently she is teaching in Gujrat University, and also preparing for the GPSE exam. When asked about her future plans, she said “I want kids of India to know about these interesting stories from Sanskrit Vangmay”. To do so, she is planning to make small videos, which will be available on platforms like YouTube for free.
Coming from a simple family background, pursuing a career in entirely different field, Rekhaben is a true inspiration to everyone.
Narrated by Chinmayee.