December 2, 2022

In 2018, Karthyayani Amma scored 98 out of 100 in an exam on reading, writing, and mathematics. The results of the exam, conducted by the literacy board in Kerala, India, enabled Amma to move up to the fourth grade.

“I’m not ashamed to be sitting in a classroom with students of my great-grandchildren’s age,” Amma says in Barefoot Empress, a documentary about her made by Vikas Khanna. Amma, who was then 96, was helped in her studies by her six grandchildren and seven great-grandchildren. She finished at the top of the 43,300 students taking the exam.  

“I want to study at least up to 10th standard” to finish high school and learn to use a computer, according to Telegraph India. Earlier, since the age of 39 following her husband’s death, Amma worked as a laborer, including sweeping the streets outside a temple, to support her family. Only two of her six children survived.

The documentary, released earlier this year, was made by Vikas Khanna, a chef based in New York. Proceeds from the film has already funded the setting up eleven classrooms for women in India. Khanna’s book with the same title will be available this month in the U.S. and other countries; it was released in India last month.

Khanna, 51-years-old, was inspired to write the book and make the documentary by his grandmother who did not have an opportunity to go to school. Khanna was teased as a child for his clubfoot and could not run till he was 13.  He has a scar on his face from being beaten by bullies in school.

His flagship restaurant Kinara (edge) is based in Dubai. It has gotten an overall five star rating from nearly 600 customers who reviewed it on TripAdvisor. His plans to open one in New York was delayed by the pandemic.

Khanna has cooked for the Pope, the Dalai Lama and President Barack Obama, among others. Earlier, while he was the executive chef at Junoon (passion) in New York., the restaurant received a Michelin star seven years in a row. A Michelin star is a rarity for restaurants, especially Indian restaurants, around the globe. This year, under a different executive chef, Junoon is not among the 19 restaurants in New York to be awarded a Michelin star.

After he moved to New York in 2000, Khanna began by working as a dishwasher, delivery man and waiter. One Christmas in the early 2000s, with no job and only $3, he ate and slept at the New York City Rescue mission, a city-run shelter for the homeless. The staff said, "Welcome, and merry Christmas," offering him space to sit, rest and breathe. As a reminder, Khanna continues to celebrate Christmas at the Rescue Mission.

In 2019, Bhageerathi Amma passed the Fourth-Grade examination at the age of 105. Also from Kerala, she passed away last year while preparing for her seventh-grade exam. Kerala has the highest literacy rate – 96% - among the states in India; the overall average for India is 77%.  

Karthyayani Amma started her education journey after meeting a teacher who enrolled her in school. "I am willing to learn if you are willing to teach me," she told the teacher. Amma was inspired by her then 60-year-old daughter Ammini who had recently passed the literacy exam.

Barefoot Empress has been selected for the short list for the 2022 Oscar awards for documentary films. Last month, Khanna took on Deepak Chopra, a physician and author of 92 books who gets extensive media coverage in the U.S., as the executive producer of the documentary. Chopra told Variety that the film “carries a universal message of hope and perseverance that has the power to move viewers, and the momentum to impact the lives of thousands of girls in India.”

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