An inspirational story of Mrs Kanakam Sharma!

Recipient of  Stree Shakthi Award at 94

 Age is  no  barrier to realize one`s  dreams. The story of 94 years old Mrs Kanakam Sharma, is an outstanding example to prove this adage. She  started seriously writing short stories in Tamil at the age of 90 and had become a published author with her first book of short stories at the age of 93. Though she studied only up to 8^th standard, right from her child hood she was into creative pursuits.  Born into a family of music lovers she learnt to play violin  & and to sing at a very young age. She even received a ponnadai for a patriotic song she sang at a school function from  the legendary freedom fighter and respected  leader Shri Rajaji.

 She was also a voracious reader of Tamil stories & Novels.  Inspired by them she  wrote a couple of stories which got published in a magazine called Devi when she was only 15. But a marriage and arrival of five children in quick succession put an end to pursuing her passion for writing.  But she continued her interests in music by ensuring that all her three daughters were taught music or dance and ensured that they did well in their chosen creative fields. She now revels in the fact that her grandson, through her younger son based in USA,  has become an accomplished Carnatic musician giving performances in Chennai during the music season even while pursuing his higher education in USA

While she was very happy to see the accomplishments  of her children and grand children, she realized that she was not happy that she had not pursued her interests in writing. But then age is no barrier for pursuing one`s passions. Encouraged by her daughters, she started writing again when she turned  90. The stories were based on the characters she had come across in her long life. They were simple stories reflecting Mrs Sharma`s sense of observation and her memory for events that happened a long time ago When one of her stories appeared in the  Diwali Malar of Ladies Special magazine in 2018, her joy knew no bounds. This was soon followed by another story appearing in the prestigious Kalaimagal monthly. There was no stopping her. Helped by Prabha Rajan Talent Foundation she decided to self publish  a collection of her short stories. With professional inputs from Girija Ragahavan, the dynamic editor of Ladies Special magazine  who also wrote an  interesting  Foreword ,  the book titled `Ninaivugalin Thalattu` was released in  October,2020. This was soon followed by her being featured in Mrs Girija Raghavan`s ` Women stars ` programme – a zoom event in which Mrs Sharma`s spontaneous and bold responses to questions posed by Mrs Girija revealed another dimension of Mrs Sharma`s personality The Video on You tube has got more than 2500 views so far. A remarkable feat indeed!

This week  Mrs Kanakam Sharma has received  the Shree Shakthi Award instituted  by Ladies Special magazine in association with Rotary District 3232. A first ever award she received in her life. A well deserved  recognition for a person who is continuing to pursue her passion.

Mrs Sharma`s is a typical story of women of older generation, who suppressed their creative talents and sacrificed their dreams for the sake of the family, very often trying to fulfill their dreams through their children. Most of them remain unrecognized but by  deciding to pursue her passion in her early ninetees Mrs Sharma has become a role model and an inspiration for not only women of  her  generation but also women of all age groups.