The truly "rich"

Deep in the forests of Kallar in Kerala, closer to Thiruvanthapuram, lives a legend. She is a tribal woman, Lakshmikutty, aged 75 years.

She is known as the Grandmother of the Forest as she has in memory, some 500 herbal remedies for various ailments.  She is recognized for her cure for poisonous bites from snakes and insects, with many trekking miles to get a cure.

Having had the courage to defy all tribal norms, she walked 10 kms every day to get to school and got herself educated till 8^th class. She is literate and writes satirical poems and stories. The Kerala Govt has conferred various awards upon and is conducting the very important task of getting down all that she has in memory into books.

Though she has received immense recognition and has often traveled outside the forest, she says she is most happy and content only in the forest, in her humble thatched roof hut.

There are so many men and women like these, who lead a completely normal life despite having found some fame. We city folks unfortunately worship and follow stars and idols who have clay feet and no real ideals to talk about. It is people like Lakshmikutty who are rich and endowed and not us, who have mere material riches.