A college in Kerala's Kottayam district made their International Women's Day celebrations memorable by honouring a blind woman, who regularly sells lottery tickets outside the institution's gate.
Like most institutions in the state, the School of Medical Education (SME) under the Centre for Professional and Advanced Studies (CPAS) at Gandhinagar, near the Medical College in Kottayam celebrated the Women's Day a day in advance due to a public holiday on March 8 on account of Shivaratri.
Unlike most places though, the Women Empowerment Cell of SME had a special guest, whom they found right outside their campus. Rosemary, a resident of Aymanam, is a blind lottery seller, who can be found regularly on a chair outside SME.
"When we decided to celebrate a day for women at our campus, we didn't have to look far beyond for a special guest. She (Rosemary) is a working woman who is guided by her inner light. We were proud to invite her," said Prof. Suma V Madhavan, Vice-Principal and co-ordinator of the Internal Quality Assurance Cell of SME.
Rosemary was nervous when she was guided down a steep road leading to the campus. Sreekala T S, Assistant Sub-Inspector of Gandhinagar Police Station, who was the chief guest, handed over a neatly wrapped gift to Rosemary. ASI Sreekala spoke about the various challenges faced by women and urged the female students and staff to be vigilant without compromising on their freedom.
Rosemary was nervous and hardly spoke, she had never been to the campus before though she sits outside it daily. The teachers and staff of SME had another surprise for her, they bought all the lottery tickets Rosemary had with her. She sold tickets for Rs 2,000 on the campus. "I don't know what to say, I'm really happy," said Rosemary, still overwhelmed by the love showered on her by fellow working women.