Lucknow: A Muslim girl hailing from Lucknow has been conferred with the best Sanskrit scholar award back in November last year.
Dean Of Arts Professor Shashi Shukla handed over the gold medals to her during a faculty-level medal distribution ceremony on 10 February.
The girl's name is Gazala and she happens to be the daughter of a daily wager. Unfortunately, things turned from bad to worse after her father passed away due to cancer and the family's economic situation deteriorated as a result.
Her two younger brother and an elder sister had to endure huge sacrifices in the form of giving up their studies so that Gazala could pursue her education.
This is truly an inspiring story and the sacrifices made by Gazala's siblings did not go in vain.
Gazala has been reciting Sanskrit shlokas, the Gayatri Mantra and Saraswati Vandana at cultural events in the University.
She lives in a tiny one-room house which is located in the narrow lanes of Nishatganj. 23 year old Gazala's day begins at 5 am in the morning everyday and she starts her day by offering namaz.
Thereafter, she does her household task and then studies Sanskrit for a continuous stretch of 7 hours to acquire in-depth knowledge of the subject.
Gazala aspires to become a Sanskrit professor and she already has five gold medals under her belt for being the best student of MA (Sanskrit) at Lucknow University.
"These medals are won not by me but by my brothers Shadab and Nayab who left school and began working in a garage at the age of 13 and 10 years respectively so that I could study," said Gazala.
Her elder sister Yasmeen began working in a utensil shop while her mother Nasreen Bano took care of all of Gazala's needs and ensured that she did not lack anything.
"Bhashasu mukhya madhura divya girvan bharti. Satrapi kavyam madhuram tasmadpu subhashitam (Of all the languages, God's own language Sanskrit is the mother: divine, and most lyrical. In Sanskrit, poetry is more melodious wherein good verses hold prime position)," she said when asked about her reason to be a sanskrit professor.
"My Sanskrit knowledge and interest often surprise people who ask me how being a Muslim I developed a love for the language. They ask me what I will do with it, but my family always supported me," said Gazala.
Gazala now wants to pursue a PhD in Vedic literature. Her ultimate goal is to become a civil servant.
Also read: Industrialist Rahul Bajaj Passes Away At 83
Also watch: