
One of the first buildings to catch your attention in the village is the office of the Kota Tribe Youth Welfare Association. The route to a good education and job for many youths in the village runs through this very office.
Born and brought up in the Kota village, Janani aspired to study medicine because of her father. One of the first men to get a job in a public sector bank, her father had died of a sudden heart attack. Janani was only seven. Ever since she wanted to be a doctor.
Unaware of the world outside school
Lonely and missing home, the only way Janani figured out to forget her woes was to study more, work harder. “My efforts paid off as I managed to score more marks than the cut-off required for medical admissions,” says Janani.
Stepping out of the comfort zone
Last year, Janani got married and moved to Bengaluru. Incidentally, her father-in-law, Varadarajan, happens to be the first doctor from Kota tribe. She is now practising in a private hospital in Bengaluru and also preparing for her post-graduation. “I want to specialise in general medicine and then in nephrology,” she tells us with a look that clearly says that the young, confident woman knows what she wants from life.
However, there is something that she is completely unaware of. When she finally comes to know that the DMK has made her the face of their campaign against the NEET, a flummoxed Janani seems unable to decide whether to celebrate her life or to worry about her achievements being politicised.