Daughter of street hawker bags 11 gold medals in MA Kannada from Bangalore University

Hemanth A.S.
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Prema.S., the daughter of a street hawker, has emerged as the Bangalore University topper by winning 11 gold medals in MA Kannada, while the son of an auto driver, Hemanth A.S., has won 7 gold medals and three cash prizes in Civil Engineering.

These achievers will be conferred with gold medals by the university during its 60th annual convocation ceremony, which will be held on October 8, 2025, at the Jnanajyothi Auditorium, Central College Campus.

Ms. Prema, who dedicates this achievement to her parents, dreams of doing a Ph.D in Kannada and becoming an assistant professor in the future. “I have completed MA Kannada at the Kannada Study Centre in Jnanabharati campus. I have been a Kannada medium student since class one, and Kannada is my favourite subject. That is why I did MA in Kannada ,” said Ms. Prema.

Hailing from Jakkalli village of Ron taluk of Gadag district, Ms. Prema’s parents have been living in Bengaluru for many years. “I was born and raised in Bengaluru and have been educated here since childhood. My father Sharanappa Mudiyappa Mukkannavar is a street hawker selling wrist watches at Jalahalli Cross. My mother Savitri works as a chappati maker in a unit that supplies chappatis to hotels. Due to poverty, my parents could not pursue education. But that poverty has never been a hindrance to my education,” she added.

Currently pursuing BEd in a private college at Rajajinagar, Ms. Prema expressed her desire to become an assistant professor in the future. “After my BEd course, I have a dream of completing PhD and becoming an assistant professor. In addition, I am also preparing for the Karnataka Administration Service (KAS) exam. But teaching is my passion,” she stated.

In undergraduate programmes, Hemanth A.S., a Civil Engineering graduate from the University of Visvesvaraya College of Engineering (UVCE), has bagged seven gold medals and three cash awards.

Hemanth, the son of an auto driver from Shivamogga district, said, “I come from a rural background and have studied up to SSLC in Kannada medium. Then, I completed my diploma in Sagara taluk of Shivamogga district and joined UVCE in 2022 through lateral entry in civil engineering. Engineering became easy for me because I had done my diploma and it helped me get good marks. Last year, I was selected as an engineer in a private company through campus selection. I want to join a government job in the future and am preparing for the Indian Engineering Services (IES exam).”

Of the seven gold medallists in Post Graduate programmes, six were girls. Even at the undergraduate level, three among the four toppers were girls.

Rufiya K.M., from Department of Physics and Vidhyashree B.S., from Department of Chemistry have got seven gold medals each and emerged as second toppers. Vidhyashree even got three cash awards.

Gowthami B.M., of Department of Zoology and Likitha Kumari R., of Department of Mathematics from Bangalore University bagged six medals each, and Vikas M., of Department of Economics and Harshitha A.N., Department of History will receive five gold medals each.

In BCom, S. Divya of Pinnacle Institute of Management and Science received six medals and four cash prizes. Rajath M., of Department of Mechanical engineering at the Bangalore University will receive five medals and one cash award. Sahana Jadav T., a student of RNS first grade college, will receive five gold medals for BBA course.

Honorary doctorate

The Bangalore University is conferring honorary doctorate to three people: Speaker of the Karnataka Legislative Assembly U.T. Khader, former member of the Legislative Council D. Made Gowda and T.B. Prasanna of J.P. Agri Genetics Pvt Ltd.

In this convocation, 159 gold medals will be awarded to undergraduate and postgraduate students and a total of 3,573 students will be receiving degrees.