Her love for alma mater, born out of six decades of association, is so high that she has never missed a chance to conduct induction programme for freshers even today, 18 years after her retirement!
At 77 years, D.M. Premavathy, a retired reader in Telugu, not only rejoices at her association with Sri Padmavathi Women’s (SPW) College, but also feels content in being able to render fruitful service to the college that shaped her up. There are several lecturers who graduated, secured employment and even retired from this campus, feeling an inseparable bonding with the college and get fascinated by this brand ‘SPW.’
As the TTD-run college completed 66 years of existence this weekend, its old students passionately recall anecdotes, even as the present generation watches them with awe. Not many know that the college, established on August 11, 1952, is older than Sri Venkateswara University, which came into existence a couple of years later.
Brainchild of TTD official
SPW was the brainchild of the then TTD Executive Officer C. Anna Rao, who walked the extra mile to meet the higher education needs of women in the backward Rayalaseema. The design for the imposing college building was the first of its kind by that time in Tirupati, which was later replicated by other educational institutions.
It was during the tenure of Dr. K. Rajeswari Murthy, a nonagenarian now settled in the USA, as the principal that the college grew by leaps and bounds. Considered the architect of the college, she developed SPW as a brand during her stint of 18 years. Her successor Dr. Kamala Menon, who served as Principal for 19 years, continued the legacy. The college attained global fame when it was recognised in 1965 by the United States India Educational Foundation (USIEF), under which the teachers were sent to the USA and several places in India to get student service training. “This is a continuous process and the college students benefited a lot,” Dr. Premavathy said.
When older institutions are wilting due to heavy competition from corporate colleges, SPW is still the preferred institute. The fact that several applicants had to be turned back after all the seats were filled up this academic year is testimony to the institution’s prominence.
