A Kerala schoolgirl has been extolled as “Wonderwoman” on social media after riding a horse to her Class X board exam.
A short video of C.A. Krishna’s act, filmed by her trainers, has gone viral and attracted laudatory comments, including one from Mahindra Group chairman Anand Mahindra.
“Does anyone in Thrissur know this girl? I want a picture of her and her horse as my screen saver,” Mahindra tweeted on Sunday.
“She’s my hero… The sight of her charging to school filled me with optimism for the future.”
Krishna is a student of Holy Grace Academy in Mala, Thrissur. The video showing her riding the horse, Ranakrish, was filmed on the last day of her board exams.
“I always wanted to ride a horse to my board exam. I decided to go riding on the last day of the exams as the paper was social studies,” she told a Malayalam channel, implying it was a rather easy paper.
She said that many well-wishers had advised her against the venture, saying it was too risky on an exam day. “But I thought it would be fine since I have been training from Class VII,” she said.
Besides, “I did ride to school a few times before, too, once during a Class IX exam.”
It was different this time, with two of her trainers following her on a motorbike and filming her riding away in her school uniform.
Krishna said she wanted to participate in international equestrian events in future.
The schoolgirl, the only child of temple priest Ajay Kalindi and his wife Indu, owns two horses. To encourage her interest in riding, Kalindi had gifted her one horse on her 11th birthday and the other when she was promoted to Class X.
She’s unlikely to get any more horses, though, because of the animals’ high maintenance costs, her father told the Malayalam channel. The family also owns a cow and a bullock.
Many social media users praised Krishna’s courage and poise. “Wonderwoman and the real horsepower. This is Women Empowerment at its best,” a man named Syed Rivi tweeted.
“Bravo, girl. God bless,” tweeted Maj. Yogesh Dahiya.