Height no bar to be lawyer

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Kochi: He’s just over 90 cm tall and is perhaps one of the tiniest men in the state. But that short fact did not deter K. Sivasankara Pillai from taking giant strides in life even at the age of 56.
Pillai, who is also physically disabled, was the cynosure of all eyes when he successfully enrolled as a lawyer at the Kerala high court auditorium on Sunday.
The long applause from the audience right from the time he started moving towards the dais and after and the flashing cameras all along, were a testimony to his tall achievement.
“I never considered dwarfism as a shortcoming. My weapons were my intelligence and confidence. The fact that I was associated with the court during a career spanning over three decades, gave me immense courage and motivation to attain my goal of becoming an advocate. So far, I had only watched the proceedings from the sidelines, now I can actually be part of the judiciary”, said an elated Pillai, a native of Chadayamangalam in Kollam.
Pillai was a candidate of the 81-83 batch of the Thiruvananthapuram Govt Law College.
Giant leap for this tiny man
Soon after obtaining an LLB degree, he got a job as a clerk in the Punalur Judicial First Class Court. He retired as superintendent clerk last March.
“I always wanted to be a good advocate. I got the time after my retirement and I pursued my ambition. I’d love to handle both civil and criminal cases. I plan to practise under one of the many noted advocates whom I’d met during my career”, he said.
Among the over 300 successful candidates include Deepti, a relative of cine actor Mala Aravindan, Nikhi, daughter of A.K.Balan, AIYF state president G.Krishnaprasad and JYS state general secretary B.Gopakumar.