Every year on 15th of September we celebrate National Engineer's Day to appreciate the contributions of Bharat Ratna awardee Mokshagundam Visvesvarayya as a tribute on his birth day. And I recently found out that annually we Indians produce more number of Engineers compared to the ones from US and China combinedly put together. I guess it is high time we declare ENGINEERING the National Education of our country. Just like we have a National Sport, National Bird, National Flower and National Anthem. Today, in #wisewednesdays I am bringing across to you someone who most of you might not have heard or known about despite being an Engineer yourself.
Born on 27th August 1919 in a Telugu family with four older and two younger siblings, she made history as the first woman Engineer (Electrical Engineering) of India.
She was married in 1934 at the age of 15 and continued to study post her marriage. Yes. Child marriages were still prevalent then.
She gave birth to a daughter in 1937 at the age of 18 and had to stop studying after receiving her SSLC (Secondary School Leaving Certificate) or the Xth board as we now popularly call it.
When her daughter was 4 months old, she lost her husband and her mother-in-law had lost her 16th child and was bent upon taking out all her frustration over her widowed daughter-in-law.
Despite these hardships, she completed her Intermediate studies.
When it was time to think about further study, she was sure she wanted to follow the same path as her Father and brothers did.
She started studying Electrical Engineering at College of Engineering, Guindy (CEG), University of Madras (now Chennai) where her father was an Electrical Engineering Professor.
She graduated as the First Woman Engineer of India in the year 1944. Apparently, CEG had to replace the word 'HE' from the Degree Certificates with 'SHE' when she graduated.
Later, during her tenure at the Associated Electrical Industries (AEI), in Calcutta (now Kolkata) she was a part of the notable project on Electrical Generators for the Bhakra Nangal Dam, the largest dam in India.
In 1953, the Council of the Institution of Electrical Engineers (CIEE), London elected her as an associate member.
She was the only Indian to be invited to the First International Conference of Women Engineers and Scientists (ICWES) in New York in the year 1964.
Two years after retirement, in 1979, at the age of 60 she passed away due to a brain aneurysm but not without leaving the legacy of women Electrical Engineers in India.
“Electrical Engineering runs in my blood. My father, four brothers, nephew and son-in-law are all Electrical Engineers.”
A LALITHA
She has proved it to us that we can all break the glass ceilings above us, all we need is courage and determination. A true inspiration.
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