CHENNAI: It is true that the hand that rocks the cradle rules the world. The proof of it can be seen in the way daughters of a few resilient single mothers have performed against all odds in Class 10 exams, the results of which were declared on Wednesday.
Having lost her father at the age of four and raised by a single mother working as a domestic help, Anandhi M, a student of a Greater Chennai Corporation school at MMDA Colony near Arumbakkam, secured 494 marks out of 500 in the Class 10 board exams, emerging as the second topper among corporation school students in the city, just one mark behind the topper Kirathi Maya Sree G, who secured 495 marks. Kirathi too is the daughter of a single parent.
M Durga, Anandhi’s mother, earns Rs 12,000 per month working as domestic help, but nearly Rs 8,000 goes towards house rent. Her financial struggles, however, never deterred her from educating her children.
When TNIE asked Durga to share her feelings at the moment, she teared up and said, “As a single mother with no support, it is not easy to educate children. I studied only up to Class V, and even my family never encouraged me to continue my studies. After my husband died, within three days, I took my children, Anandhi and her elder brother M Raghavan, to school to ensure they studied well. On the eighth day, I started working as a domestic help and continue to do the same even today.”
Durga said she knows tailoring, but years of labour-intensive work weakened her veins, leaving her unable to continue stitching work. “My only goal in life is to educate my children. That’s because they should never suffer like me,” she added.
Anandhi’s brother had joined BBA at Loyola College but discontinued midway due to financial difficulties and is currently working as a Swiggy delivery executive.
Anandhi said heated arguments would often erupt at home between her mother and brother over his discontinuing studies. “My mother insists that he continue his studies. During such exchanges, I couldn’t concentrate and would go to a nearby Perumal temple to study,” Anandhi added.
She attributed her success to her mother, teachers, and school. “My only wish is to keep my mother happy forever,” Anandhi said.
Anandhi has decided to take up computer science in higher secondary school. Though she dreams of becoming an IAS officer, she plans to first pursue computer science engineering, secure an IT job to support her family, and later prepare for the UPSC civil services examination.
The topper, Kirathi, is a student of the corporation school at MH Road in Perambur. She too plans to opt for the computer science group for her higher secondary education. After her father passed away due to heart attack two years ago, it is her brother, a motion graphics designer, who has been taking care of the family and her education expenses. Her mother is a homemaker.
The third position was shared by Oviya S from CHSS Maduvinkarai and Dhachinamoorthy S from CHS Kilpauk, who secured 489 out of 500 marks.
Dhachinamoorthy’s father, G Singaravel (50), said, “I work in a medical agency earning just Rs 12,000 a month, while my wife works as a domestic help. We live in a rented house. To manage expenses, I take up gardening, car washing, and other similar jobs on Sundays. It gives us immense happiness that my son secured third place. He never attended any tuition classes. It is entirely because of his teachers’ guidance and his self-study.”