"During one of the debates that he used to have prior to his exams, some neighbourhood children had assembled at our house. It was pretty late when the session got over. So it was decided that the kids will sleep at our house itself and leave the following day.

"We used to live in a smaller house then. It was all that we could afford. The next morning we were unable to spot him. We frantically searched the house and the premises, but in vain. Suddenly, one of the kids came up and informed that Balakrishnan was sleeping under the cot. We remember that incident till date, because he gave us such a big scare," she recounts, as one of his daughters, K G Sudha, smiles in agreement.

Sudha chips in, "He was never really interested in sports. Studies were of prime importance to all us. Maybe that's because of the values instilled by the family. It was a different story that he (Balakrishnan) always want to take up the legal profession."

Justice Balakrishnan never faced the troubles that his late father, a clerk in the district court, had - the barriers of caste. In fact, his father had had to change his name to Kunjhakan Marcos to secure admission in a church-run school.

On the other hand, Balakrishnan never had to use reservation as a ladder for achieving his goals. For about three-and-a-half years, Balakrishnan walked about 4-5 km to school. Yet, academics never seemed a burden to him. His parents always wanted their children to get the best of education despite their limitations. Their efforts did not go in vain.

Image : Justice Balakrishnan's sister K G Sudha with mother K M Sarada.
Photograph: Vipin Vijayan

Back

|

Next