What my Grandfather Taught me about Lifelong Learning

Lifelong learning is not just an ideal, it is a way of living. My grandfather, an agricultural scientist who served at the Central Tobacco Research Institute, has always placed learning above all else. His curiosity, paired with an incredible openness to new ideas, is something I deeply admire. Even after retirement, he never stopped being a student of life.

I still remember the day my dad and I were trying to explain social media to him. Within fifteen minutes, he had created an account and sent my dad a friend request. We were amused and amazed at the same time. That moment, though simple, perfectly captured his spirit. Fueled by genuine curiosity, he later decided to learn programming languages like C and C++, just because he kept hearing about their growing importance. This was during a time when computers were still rare, and most people in his field had never even seen one. Yet he became the only person in his entire office who could confidently use one.

My grandfather is, to me, the perfect example of what it means to keep learning throughout life. Not because it is expected, but because the desire to grow never fades, and I hope to carry forward his spirit—learning not just for success, but for the joy of understanding life more deeply. I look up to my grandfather not just as a family elder, but as a guiding light. His love for learning has shaped the way I think.

He taught me that lifelong learning does not always require formal classrooms or certifications. Sometimes it is about reading a new book, having a deep conversation, or simply being open to unfamiliar ideas. It is the quiet, continuous decision to evolve.

Shamita Jagarlamudi