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Kathmandu Sunday December 23, 2001 Paush 08, 2058.
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Meet Adhikari, 65, first year
Bachelor’s student
By Perina Pathak
KATHMANDU – Sada Raj Adhikari is of 65
years old, but that doesn’t stop him from attending the same college that his
grandchild goes to.
He is old and still is a bundle of energy.
Most of his life he has been fascinated by the English language, and so recently the
grandfather to twelve enrolled as a Bachelor’s student in English Literature at Ratna
Rajya Laxmi College.
When this reporter asked him the reason for
joining up at such a late age, this is what Adhikari had to say: "I don’t mind
learning along with students more than half of my age. My ultimate goal is to get a Ph D
in English literature. I also want to translate the four Vedas into English."
Adhikari has also been a social worker and
politician.
Adhikari is still not fluent in English, but
thinks finally he will make it as a good translator. "There are lots of Nepali
translations of the Western philosophy, so I have to translate the Eastern philosophy into
English."
Adhikari began his student life late. At 32,
he gave the SLC (School Leaving Certificate) exam, and at 39 he finished with his
Intermediate. All along, he was sharing the classroom benches with students young enough
to be his children. Now at 65, 26 years after the Intermediate degree, Adhikari is sharing
benches with students young enough to be his grandchildren.
"I have always been studying with
juniors," says Adhikari. "Though I started with my studies very late, I have
always received encouragement from my friends some of whom have now retired from their
government jobs."
The love for education is in Adhikari’s
genes. He is the grandchild of Bala Guru Shadananda, the first man to open a private
school in Nepal. The school at Dingla was called Sadananda Sanskrit Secondary School,
which now goes under the name of Dingla Sanskrit Pathshala.
But Adhikari is not too pleased with the
environment at his new college. "The classroom is so packed that some students even
have to stand up throughout a period. It indeed is very hard to catch what the teacher is
teaching," says Adhikari.
Adhikari finds himself weak in English
vocabulary and grammar. He says while reading he can understand the meaning but he finds
it difficult to explain in his own language. "It would be very easy for me if a tutor
guides me in my studies," he says.
But his family has been supportive and not
dismissive at all that he is pursuing studies at such a late age. His daughter-in-law,
Nirmala Adhikari, is proud of him. She says, "My father has to complete an MA in
English literature, then he will be an example of how age is no bar to become a
student."
Adhikari lives with his two sons, Purna
Chandra Adhikari, DSP, and Narayan Adhikari, businessman.
As we parted, these were his final words: "The only
thing left for me is to do or die."
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