Students writing the Board exams have several aspirations. Topping their school, getting a good aggregate, or at least scoring enough to help them secure college admission. But is that all? Neigh (pun intended), Krishna would say. She had a unique aspiration that you'd never guess - she wished to ride a horse to attend her Board exams.
The video of CA Krishna, who is from Mala, a town in Thrissur district, riding a horse to school for attending the SSLC examination has gone viral.
A student at the Holy Grace Academy, Mala, Krishna said that she rode the horse to school on the last day of her examination.
"I was nurturing the hope of riding the horse to attend the Board examination for quite some time. On the last day of exams, it was the Social Studies paper, and I chose to ride the horse to school on that day," Krishna says, speaking to TNM.
Not everyone thought this was a great idea, but Krishna would not be dissuaded.
This video clip from my #whatsappwonderbox shows how a girl student is going to write her Class X final exam in Thrissur district, Kerala. This story made my Sunday morning brew of @arakucoffeein taste better! After all, ARAKU coffee is about #cupofchange #GirlPower @NanhiKali pic.twitter.com/45zOeFEnwV
— Manoj Kumar (@manoj_naandi) April 7, 2019
"Many had said that it will be a risky affair to ride the horse on a Board exam day, considering the traffic and other issues. But I thought it was all right. I've been training in horse riding from the time I was studying in the seventh standard. I have gone to school riding the horse on some other occasions in the past. Last year also, I rode the horse to attend my ninth standard exam," she says.
Krishna is the only child of Ajay Kalindi and Indu. While the father works as a priest at the nearby Vishnu temple, her mother is a homemaker.
Krishna now has two horses at home - both of them gifts from her father. "I had gifted her the first horse on her 11th birthday, and the second one when she joined the 10th standard. She was keen to have horses at home, and we wanted to satisfy her wish," says Ajay Kalindi.
However, the indulgent father adds that he will not be buying his daughter more horses.
"I will not buy any more horses for her. We have a cow and a bullock, and we now have seven members at home including the two horses. Feeding the horses and cow and bullock is very expensive. Whatever I’m earning from my job as the temple priest, I’m spending it on those animals," says Ajay Kalindi
According to Krishna, she came to know about her video going viral after someone sent a clipping on WhatsApp.
Brilliant! Girls’ education is galloping ahead...A clip that deserves to go viral globally. This, too, is #IncredibleIndia https://t.co/y1A9wStf7X
— anand mahindra (@anandmahindra) April 7, 2019
"As I said, I had gone to school riding the horse earlier also, and it never created a sensation. Only the local people and fellow students at the school were watching with curiosity then. But this time, one of my trainers posted this video on social media and many started contacting me. The two trainers were following me on bike when I was riding the horse to school and they took this video," Krishna says.
One of the trainers, Dany Davis, rode the horse back home after Krishna got off at school.
Her father refuted the charge that riding a horse to school for exams was for the publicity.
"Who will take such a risk for publicity? My daughter was keen on riding the horse to school. I tried to tell her about the risks of riding a horse to attend a vital examination like the SSLC. But, she is very bold. We are not bothered about what people say," Ajay Kalindi says.