educator who has received India’s senior-most MBA, Usha has refused to let age define her limits. Her quiet desire to learn something new has turned into a national (and international) inspiration, and consolidating that determination can carry a person across any barrier.
For decades, Usha built her life around education. After completing an M.Sc. in zoology during the 1960s and later achieving a degree in education, teaching became her identity, a profession she carried with pride throughout her teaching career in England, Yemen, and her home city, Lucknow. Even after her retirement in 2009, Usha continued contributing to the hospital her family runs, now serving as the CEO of Lovee Shubh Hospital in Gomtinagar. However, with time, the urge to challenge herself called out to her again.
That moment arrived in 2023, when she realised that most job applicants she interviewed held MBAs. Her curiosity turned into a commitment. At 77, she enrolled for an MBA in Hospital and Healthcare Management at Dr D. Y. Patil Vidyapeeth Centre for Online Learning in Pune. However, the daunting part wasn’t the coursework but technology. She barely knew how to operate a laptop. But she bought one, learnt the basics, attended online classes, took digital exams, and recorded lectures.
Despite the steep learning curve, she embraced the challenge with the same discipline that defined her years as a teacher. After returning from work around 4 pm, she would spend her evenings studying. Some nights she woke at 3 am to revise, determined not to fall behind. “Age was not in my favour. Memory was not in my favour,” she says. However, her exam results revealed a different story, as she achieved a score of over 80 per cent.
Her perseverance makes sense once viewed against her life story. A two-time cancer survivor, Usha fought stage-four chest cancer in 2003 while working in Yemen. The disease returned during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, yet both times, she emerged stronger. These battles reinforced her conviction that while challenges may arise, the determination to overcome them remains unwavering. “If I can triumph over this disease, I can win any battle on this planet,” she says.
Her mission to achieve an MBA carried that same ethos. She never doubted herself, approaching every subject with the mindset of a student who still finds joy in learning. In completing her final semester exams soon after turning 80, she stood as the oldest woman in India to finish an MBA. Her success has already inspired hundreds, including university staff who invited her to speak at webinars and even offered her a chance to pursue a PhD, which she declined with a laugh, saying, “An MBA is enough.”
Her outlook remains rooted in teaching. Whether she’s guiding hospital staff, interacting with patients, or mentoring young professionals, she still feels she’s in a classroom; only the subject has changed. She now hopes to start a training institute for nurses, believing that her experience in education can help fill vital gaps in healthcare staffing.
What makes Usha’s story inspiring is not simply the degree but her view of life. She believes each day offers an opportunity to add “one feather to the cap”. She continues to discover joy in everyday work, in reading, and in staying mentally active. She draws inspiration from figures like Amitabh Bachchan, whose confidence and grace she has admired for decades.
To young people, her message is simple but powerful: “Do what interests you. There are so many distractions today. The key is focus. You can’t cross a river sitting in two boats at the same time.” Her words carry the weight of experience, earned through years spent in classrooms, hospital corridors, and personal experiences
