This 40-year-old mother in Tamil Nadu is also the manager of a crematorium

The winner of this year's Kalpana Chawla Award for Courage and Daring Enterprise is a 40-year-old mother of twins. But Jayanthi is no naive homemaker. As an operator and manager of a crematorium in Namakkal, she has broken barriers of caste and gender.
After receiving the award from chief minister J Jayalalithaa, Jayanthi seemed thrilled as reporters made a beeline to interview her backstage. She answered patiently all media queries most of which were directed at her profession.

Admitting that it was a tough decision to take up the job of a crematorium operator, Jayanthi said it was after all another job, adding that her efforts may pave the way for more women to enter the profession.

In a hurried interview to TOI, Jayanthi recalled how she left her job as a caretaker at an orphanage to take up her present profession in August 2012. She was initially involved in cleaning but soon learned how to operate it.

"At first everybody in my town was against it. My husband was not happy about me taking up this work. But now he has accepted it," Jayanthi said. She said her mother too was apprehensive about her profession but finally gave in. "She passed away a few days ago knowing that I have been recognised by the state government for my grit," she said.

Jayanthi, whose father died in 2003, said among the reasons for the opposition could be her being born in a so-called upper caste family and the profession being looked as one reserved for those from the backward communities.