Inspired by Karthyayani Amma, who passed the literacy examination at the ripe old age of 96, chef Vikas Khanna has directed Barefoot Empress, a film tracing her journey. He also aims to help educate five million girls in India
In 2018, Karthyayani Amma hailing from Kerala wrote the Aksharalaksham literacy examination conducted by the Kerala State Literacy Mission Authority. She scored an impressive 98 out 100- bagging the first rank, and shot to national fame. What is so impressive about scoring 98 when students score 100 on 100 all the time, you ask? Karthyayani Amma was 96 years old when she took the test! A widow “who had never gone to school and used to work as a domestic help and cleaning staff, her determination and perseverance was duly acknowledged. On International Women’s Day in 2020, she was awarded the Union government’s Nari Shakti Puraskar.
And, to this day, she continues to inspire people. Among them is Michelin Star Chef Vikas Khanna. He has directed Barefoot Empress, a 15-minute short film, produced by Oscar-nominated Doug Roland. It chronicles her remarkable journey, displaying tremendous courage and resilience “when she joins a first grade class at the age of 96”. The chef highlights that Barefoot Empress a “love letter to never giving up on your dreams” while also shining a light on the lack of educational opportunity for girls in certain parts of India. It has been garnering critical acclaim globally and won the Biogen Award for Best Short Film at Tokyo’s prestigious Short Shorts Film Festival this year.
He’s not stopping with just the film, though. Vikas Khanna is now focussed on setting in motion a movement that involves rehabilitating classrooms for better educational environment, improving nutrition by providing healthy meals, providing basic educational supplies in partnership with non-profit organisation Leap to Shine, and training girls in culinary skills to be financially independent. Inspired by Barefoot Empress, Leap to Shine has named Amma a global ambassador and pledged to educate five million girls in India.
For Khanna and his team, the “mission around Barefoot Empress is focussed around starting a movement to bring girls back to school while impacting education and livelihood skills. Our goal is to deliver this for five million girls”. The movement to bring five million girls back to school in three years will include rehabilitating and renovating classrooms and creating an enabling learning environment. While 18 classrooms were renovated recently, the plan is to rehabilitate 25 classrooms in phase one. The movement also aims to focus on nutrition, the lack of which leads to school drop outs. Khanna’s team estimates that it takes 10 dollars to support and provide meals to a girl child for one year and they plan to serve 1,00,000 meals. Under the initiative, school bags, pencils, books and tablets are being distributed to girls in marginalised schools to bridge the educational and digital divide.
He hopes that the one step that Amma took at the age of 96 towards a school will herald in hope and possibilities for millions of young girls in India and beyond to fulfil a similar dream that Amma nurtured for decades – that of a good education.
- Barefoot Empress, a 15-minute short film, is a “love letter to never giving up on your dreams” while also shining a light on the lack of educational opportunity for girls in certain parts of India.
- The “mission around Barefoot Empress is focussed around starting a movement to bring girls back to school while impacting education and livelihood skills. Our goal is to deliver this for five million girls”, says Vikas Khaana.
Picture Credit : Google
