Mysuru:  Hailing from a remote hamlet in Chamarajanagar district, Chandrappa is now a doctorate holder. What makes him exceptional is the fact that he is the only Ph.D. holder from his village. Coming from a poor background, Chandrappa has conquered many odds including poverty to achieve this feat.  

Recently, University of Mysore (UoM) awarded Ph.D. Degree in Library and Information Science for his thesis titled ‘An Assessment of Cataloguing Quality in University Libraries in Karnataka’ under the guidance of Dr. N.S. Harinarayana. 

A native of remote Yellemaala village in Kollegal taluk of Chamarajanagar district, Chandrappa is now working as an Assistant Librarian, a UGC Cadre of Assistant Professor, in Indian Maritime University, Chennai since the past three years. Earlier, he had worked as an Assistant Librarian in Manasagangothri for six years. The journey of once shy and quiet boy from the rustic and non-descript village of Yellemaala in Kollegal is a story of courage and determination, more so because he hails from a humble rural background. 

At a time when many lecturers and research scholars who have done years of teaching and research fail to clear the UGC National Eligibility Test and Karnataka State Eligibility Test (K-SET) for Assistant Professors, Chandrappa has managed to pass the exam four times. “I appeared for the exam four times as for a lecturer, constantly updating his/ her knowledge is important and NET and K-SET gives that opportunity,” he says. 

Both his parents are still living in their native village. Chandrappa says he is thankful to get a guide and mentor like Dr. Harinarayana who encouraged and inspired him to take up and complete this arduous task. Now, Chandrappa plans to do research in his academic subject.