QUEEN'S ROAD: Breaking gender stereotypes and struggling against all odds, Sunanda S, the proud mother of Abhilash A S who bagged seven gold medals and secured the first rank in BE Electrical and Electronics Engineering from VTU, epitomises motherhood.
“She is my driving force. Without her motivation and moral support, I wouldn’t have achieved what I have today,” said Abhilash, who is now an Assistant Engineer at BESCOM.
Having been raised by a humble family with limited resources, Sunanda realised the value of education early in life.
“I can read a bit of Kannada as I studied till SSLC while also working in my village. But even to fill up a form, we needed someone’s help. It hurt. Had I been educated, we wouldn’t have had to depend on anyone,” she recalls.
Her family of five lived in a single room of 15x20 feet in Doddamavalli near Lalbagh. “There was hardly enough space for us to sit, let alone sleep comfortably. Both my sons used to study in the public library during the day and come home at night,”recounts Sunanda, who has now shifted to a much bigger space in Indiranagar with her three children.
Supporting the family financially was a challenge. Her husband Shivakumar worked as an attendant in St Joseph’s PU College for nearly 30 years. Sunanda made garlands out of nearly 10 kg of flowers every day and sold them to vendors after the children went to school. She often worked late into the night, using the light from the street lamps to save electricity.
However, once Sunanda came down with a bout of chikungunya, her sons asked her to stop straining herself. The nature of her work also led to other health issues like poor eyesight and high blood pressure.
When Shivakumar was diagnosed with lung cancer, their eldest son Nagarjuna took charge of the situation and started working as an Academic Coordinator at the Civil Services Coaching Institute (a Government of Karnataka project) in 2011.
“We had no money. Abhilash and I had to look after his father, taking him to the hospital for chemotherapy and radiation,” recalls Sunanda. In 2014, three months before Abhilash’s results were announced, Shivakumar passed away.
Irrespective of the difficulties the family was facing, the kids were always motivated to excel in their fields.
“I told Abhilash that lakhs of engineers graduate every year. There is no point in being one among them. Work hard so that there is no one else like you, I told him. And he has done it,” exclaims Nagarjuna, who holds an MSc in Mathematics from Central College.
“I have faced a lot of difficulties in life. But I never let my pain deter my children’s education,” says Sunanda.
A progressive woman, she wants her daughter Rashmi to study as much as she wants to. “She is just as important as my sons. She should become a strong independent woman,” Sunanda says. Rashmi is currently pursuing her BA in History and Psychology at Vasavi Degree College in Basavanagudi.
How did she afford the books for her children’s education? “Their father used to take advances and loans to buy books. I had to sell my jewellery to be able to pay their college fees,” she says. The family has cleared debts worth Rs 12 lakh over the years.
Any regrets? “I wish their father was alive. He struggled to look after us. He would have been elated to know of Abhilash becoming a gazetted officer today,” she says.
“My mother never forced me to take up a job that I was not happy with, even when I got offers from Infosys and Wipro,” shares Abhilash, who studied on a government scholarship.
Both brothers now aim to make it big on the national stage and become IAS officers.
Sunanda says it’s her turn to rest now. “I am very happy that my children are doing so well. God has been with us through all our hardships. I am truly blessed for all that we have today,” she says with a smile.
As the reporter is about to leave, a reading table and chair are delivered. “This is the first time we have a table in the house,” beams Nagarjuna.