EnglishCBSE Class 9 · How I Taught My Grandmother to Read

How I Taught My Grandmother to Read (Kaveri Unit 1): Avva's Decision and the Role Reversal

Updated 17 October 2026 · Fact-checked

In this story by Sudha Murty, Avva, the narrator's sixty-two-year-old grandmother, cannot read the new episode of her favourite serial while her granddaughter is away. Feeling dependent and helpless, she decides to learn the Kannada alphabet before Saraswati Puja. She learns well, honours her granddaughter as her teacher, and shows that learning has no age bar.

Notice how helplessness led to a decision, and how the roles swapped: the granddaughter became the teacher, showing learning has no age bar.

Illustration drawn for QuestionBuddy.

Understand How I Taught My Grandmother to Read: Avva's Decision and Why Learning Has No Age Bar

The setting. The narrator, about twelve, spends a summer with her grandparents in a village in north Karnataka. The weekly magazine Karmaveera comes a day late by bus and carries the serial Kashi Yatre by the Kannada writer Triveni. Every Wednesday the girl reads the new episode aloud to her grandmother, Krishtakka, whom she calls Avva. Avva has never been to school.

The turning point. When the girl returns after a week, she finds Avva crying, which she has never seen. On the terrace under a full moon Avva tells her life story: she lost her mother young, her busy father remarried, girls were not sent to school, and she was married young. She had always regretted not studying.

The decision. While the girl was away the magazine came, but Avva could not read a word. She rubbed her hands over the pages, was embarrassed to ask anyone else and felt "very dependent and helpless". She says that money is of no use if one cannot be independent. She decides to learn the Kannada alphabet from the next day and fixes Saraswati Puja during Dassara as her deadline.

The role reversal. The narrator laughs at the idea of learning at sixty-two. Avva replies that for a good cause, determination can overcome any obstacle, and that learning has no age bar. The granddaughter becomes the teacher and the grandmother the student.

The lessons and the gift. Avva reads, repeats, writes and recites. On Saraswati Puja day she gives the narrator frock material and touches her feet, saying she honours her teacher, not her granddaughter. The narrator touches her feet in return and gives her the novel Kashi Yatre. Avva at once reads out the title, author and publisher.

Epilogue. The narrator adds that she later became a Computer Science teacher with hundreds of students, but that Avva was her first.

Central idea. Education brings dignity and independence, and it is never too late to learn.

How I Taught My Grandmother to Read: Avva's Decision and Why Learning Has No Age Bar: key facts

Characters: Avva (Krishtakka) 62, never went to school
Narrator about 12
Triveni writer of Kashi Yatre; Names as in the text.
Sequence: Weekly serial
Avva's tears
Decision
Lessons
Saraswati Puja
Gift of the novel; Use in a story question.
Values: Determination
Independence
Respect for a teacher
Bond between generations; Choose two with proof.
Key sayings: Learning has no age bar | For a good cause determination overcomes any obstacle; Quote with context.

Avva (Krishtakka)	62, never went to school
Narrator	about 12
Triveni	writer of Kashi Yatre

How to answer How I Taught My Grandmother to Read: Avva's Decision and Why Learning Has No Age Bar questions

Use this for character or value questions.

1State who the character is and what she wants.
2Give the event that shows it.
3Quote a short line.
4Name the quality or value.
5Link to the central idea.

How I Taught My Grandmother to Read: Avva's Decision and Why Learning Has No Age Bar in real life

The idea, met in an everyday situation. Answer the question in your own words, then compare with the model answer. The one-line hook is what to remember.

Learning late

Suppose a grandfather, who has never learned to use a phone, asks his granddaughter to teach him to send a message so that he can write to his old friend.

What idea from the story does this show? Answer in 2 lines.

Try it first, then show the solutionSolution

He is old but wants to learn.
His granddaughter becomes the teacher.

Answer: It shows that learning has no age bar and that a young person can be the teacher of an older one, as in the story.

Memory hook: Never too old to learn.

Tricks to remember How I Taught My Grandmother to Read: Avva's Decision and Why Learning Has No Age Bar

Short memory aids. Say each one aloud once, then use it on a question the same day.

I-D-T
Illiterate, Determined, Triumphant: Avva's three stages.
Use it when: Character arc.
62 and Dassara
She was 62 and set Saraswati Puja during Dassara as the deadline.
Use it when: Facts.
Feet touch
Both touch each other's feet: respect for a teacher.
Use it when: Final scene.

How I Taught My Grandmother to Read: Avva's Decision and Why Learning Has No Age Bar: solved examples

Ordered from board level to HOTS. Try each one before you open the solution.

Example 1: Name of the serial · 1 mark · MCQBoard level

The serial that Avva loved was
(a) Karmaveera (b) Kashi Yatre (c) Saraswati (d) Dassara

Try it first, then show the solutionSolution

Karmaveera is the magazine; Kashi Yatre is the serial.

Answer: (b) Kashi Yatre

Example 2: Why Avva cried · 2 marks · Short answerBoard level

Why was Avva in tears when the narrator returned? Answer in 40-50 words.

Try it first, then show the solutionSolution

She could not read the new episode (1).
She felt dependent and helpless (1).

Answer: While the narrator was away, the new issue of Karmaveera came, but Avva could not read a word. She was too embarrassed to ask anyone else and felt dependent and helpless. Her tears showed her regret at never having been to school.

Example 3: Money and independence · 3 marks · Short answerHarder board level

Avva says that money is of no use if one cannot be independent. What does she mean? Answer in 40-50 words.

Try it first, then show the solutionSolution

They are well-off (1).
But she depends on others for reading (1).
Literacy is independence (1).

Answer: Avva means that although her family is well-off, she must depend on others to read her serial. Money cannot buy the ability to read for oneself. She sees that independence comes from education, and her helplessness makes her decide to learn the alphabet.

Example 4: Role reversal · 3 marks · Short answerHarder board level

How does the story reverse the usual roles of teacher and student? Answer in 40-50 words.

Try it first, then show the solutionSolution

Granddaughter teaches (1).
Grandmother learns (1).
Avva honours her teacher (1).

Answer: The narrator, a girl of about twelve, becomes the teacher, while her sixty-two-year-old grandmother becomes the student. On Saraswati Puja day Avva touches the girl's feet, saying that she honours her teacher and not her granddaughter. Age does not decide who should be respected.

Example 5: Message · 6 marks · Long answerHOTS / competency

"For learning there is no age bar." How does the story prove this? Answer in 100-120 words.

Try it first, then show the solutionSolution

Avva's situation (1).
Her decision and effort (2).
The result (2).
Expression (1).

Answer: The story proves this through Avva. She is sixty-two and has never gone to school, yet when she feels dependent and helpless she decides to learn the Kannada alphabet. Her granddaughter laughs at first, but Avva says that determination can overcome any obstacle. She works hard, reading, repeating, writing and reciting, and she finishes before Saraswati Puja. On that day she reads aloud the title, author and publisher of the novel Kashi Yatre. Her success shows that age is not a barrier to learning if the desire is strong. She also shows respect for her teacher, which proves that the learner's humility matters as much as age.

Where students lose marks in How I Taught My Grandmother to Read: Avva's Decision and Why Learning Has No Age Bar

The slips examiners see most often, and what to write instead.

Mistake: Mixing up serial and magazine
The text names both.
Wrong working
Karmaveera is the serial.
Right working
Karmaveera is the magazine; Kashi Yatre is the serial.
Do this: Learn the two names.
Usually costs: 1 mark
Mistake: Saying the story is fiction by another author
The author is Sudha Murty.
Wrong working
The author is Triveni.
Right working
Sudha Murty wrote the story; Triveni wrote the serial.
Do this: Check the author and the serial's writer.
Usually costs: 1 mark
Mistake: Giving the wrong age
Numbers must be exact.
Wrong working
Avva is seventy-five.
Right working
Avva is sixty-two.
Do this: Mark numbers while reading.
Usually costs: 1 mark
Mistake: Leaving out respect for the teacher
It is a key value.
Wrong working
Only determination.
Right working
Avva also honours her teacher by touching her feet.
Do this: Mention both values.
Usually costs: 1 to 2 marks

Exam tips

Name Avva (Krishtakka) and the narrator correctly.
Quote "no age bar" with the context.
Use the sequence: serial, tears, decision, lessons, gift.
Mention respect for a teacher in value questions.
Give numbers exactly: sixty-two, twelve.

Practice questions on How I Taught My Grandmother to Read: Avva's Decision and Why Learning Has No Age Bar

Write each answer on paper first. Open the hint only if you are stuck, and the answer only when you have finished.

Q1 · 1 mark · MCQBoard level
Where does the narrator spend the summer in the story?
(a) a village in north Karnataka (b) Mysuru city (c) Kashi (d) Bengaluru
Hint
The text names a village.
Answer
(a) a village in north Karnataka
Q2 · 2 marks · Short answerHarder board level
Why did the narrator laugh at Avva's plan? Answer in 40-50 words.
Hint
Think of age and school.
Answer
The narrator laughed because it seemed unusual that a woman of sixty-two, who had never been to school, should begin to learn the alphabet. She had not expected such a plan from her grandmother. Avva's reply that there is no age bar for learning changed her view.
Q3 · 3 marks · Short answerHarder board level
Avva says she is honouring her teacher and not her granddaughter. What lesson about teachers does this give us? Answer in 40-50 words.
Hint
Think of age and respect.
Answer
Avva's words show that a teacher deserves respect whatever his or her age. She touches the feet of a girl of about twelve because that girl has taught her to read. The scene teaches us to honour those who give us knowledge, and not to judge them by their age.
Q4 · 3 marks · Short answerHarder board level
How does the narrator's final gift connect the beginning and end of the story? Answer in 40-50 words.
Hint
The serial Kashi Yatre.
Answer
The story begins with Avva depending on the narrator to read Kashi Yatre. It ends with the narrator giving her the novel Kashi Yatre and Avva reading its title, author and publisher at once. The gift shows how far Avva has come, from helplessness to independence.
Q5 · 6 marks · Long answerHOTS / competency
Suppose you wish to teach an elderly neighbour to read. Describe your plan in 100-120 words, using lessons from the story.
Hint
Use respect, patience and a deadline.
Answer
I would begin by treating my neighbour with respect, as an equal who has the wish to learn. Like Avva, she could set a target, perhaps a festival, so that she works with a goal. I would teach the alphabet in small steps, ask her to read, repeat and write each letter, and praise every success. I would choose reading material that she loves, as Avva loved her serial, so that she feels the use of reading. Above all, I would be patient and never laugh at a mistake. When she reads her first book on her own, we would celebrate, because the story reminds us that learning has no age bar.

Test your recall

Answer in your head or on paper first, then open the card. Pulling an answer out of memory makes it stick far better than re-reading.

1.Who wrote the story?Show answer
Sudha Murty.
2.What does the narrator call her grandmother?Show answer
Avva.
3.What is the serial?Show answer
Kashi Yatre.
4.How old is Avva?Show answer
Sixty-two.
5.What deadline does Avva set?Show answer
Saraswati Puja during Dassara.
6.What did the narrator later become?Show answer
A Computer Science teacher.

How I Taught My Grandmother to Read: Avva's Decision and Why Learning Has No Age Bar: frequently asked questions

What is the message of the story?

Learning has no age bar; education brings independence and a teacher deserves respect at any age.

Why does Avva want to learn?

She felt dependent and helpless when she could not read the serial.

Who is the serial's writer?

Triveni.

What type of text is it?

A true-life story (prose) from Unit 1.