CHENNAI: Age, retirement and life’s responsibilities did not deter four scholars from pursuing higher learning as they received their PhD degrees at the University of Madras convocation on Thursday.
At 82, S Anantharaman is among the oldest scholars to earn a doctorate from the university. A former Geological Survey of India (GSI) officer, he enrolled for his PhD in 2017, long after retiring in 2004. His research in vertebrate palaeontology was driven by a desire to pass on decades of field experience to younger generations.
Inspired by him, his close friends and former GSI colleagues B Kanishkan (75) and P Kumaraguru (75) began their doctoral journeys in 2018. Kanishkan studied safety measures in commercial granite mining, while Kumaraguru focused on coal and lignite resources.
For 73-year-old Vimala, pursuing a doctorate was the fulfilment of her mother’s long-cherished dream. “My mother always wanted me to have a doctorate,” she recalled. Years as a school teacher kept her occupied, and after retirement she devoted herself entirely to caring for her ailing mother. Her mother passed away in 2016. A year later, in 2017, Vimala made a quiet but determined decision to enrol for a PhD. Her research in fish immunology marked a new chapter. “This PhD is for her,” she said.