Kannur: Every morning, after dropping Rinsha at school, Priya returned home not to rest, but to prepare. She studied the lessons herself, recorded them on her mobile phone and kept them ready. When her daughter came back, they would sit together as Rinsha listened to her mother’s recordings and learned.

Today, as K Rinsha prepares to step into the world of research after qualifying for the Junior Research Fellowship (JRF), it is Priya’s eyes that shine with pride.

For Rinsha of Kundathil House, in Kundathil near here, Priya is more than a mother. She has been her reader, her guide and her closest companion. When Rinsha was born visually impaired, Priya set aside her own career ambitions to dedicate herself to her daughter’s education. With her husband Ravindran working abroad at the time, it was Priya who took her for treatment, attended school meetings, and ensured that no opportunity slipped by.

From Providence School in Manalil to St Theresa’s School in Kannur and later the Government Higher Secondary School in Mayyil, Priya had always been by her side. It was while studying at St Theresa’s that Rinsha started learning Braille, under the guidance of teacher Balan, assigned by headmistress Lisa Jacob. 

As Rinsha moved on to pursue a BA in Sociology at Farook College, technology became her ally. A mobile application that converted text into audio made studying more accessible, allowing her to learn independently. After completing her postgraduate degree in Psychology from the Central University near Chennai, Rinsha qualified for the JRF examination. She now hopes to pursue doctoral research in Psychology at any of the central universities, with a long-term dream of becoming a counsellor.

Ravindran has since returned from abroad and runs a hardware store in Kambil town. Rinsha’s brother Ashil is a Plus Two student. Priya, a postgraduate in Commerce, also conducts tuition classes for children at home.