PERCHED on a hill above Aravankadu in the Nilgiris is the home of an exceptional woman, Akkamma Devi. She was the first woman from the Badaga community to graduate from college. Akkamma Devi was determined to share the value of this experience and devoted her life to social work. Wearing the pristine white shawl traditionally worn by Badaga women, she greets us with great enthusiasm and warmth on our arrival at the house she has lived in since she married in 1943. Akkamma Devi, with her charming smile and cheerful demeanour, quickly puts us at ease. She immediately recalls meeting my friend Manoharan in 1965.