CHENNAI: For 17-year-old Ashvika M, scoring 340 out of 600 in the Class 12 board examinations may appear to be just a pass mark. But for the teenager, who lost her mother when she was nine months old and later got abandoned by her father at the age of three, it marks a hard-fought milestone.
Behind her achievement stands her “Amma” – Saraswathi M (54) – her aunt (father’s elder brother’s wife) who took in Ashvika and her elder sister soon after their father left them.
Despite already raising three children of her own, Saraswathi brought up Ashvika and her sister in their small rented house at Indira Gandhi Nagar in Vyasarpadi. Though her own daughters and son discontinued their education after Class 10 and 8, Saraswathi remained determined that Ashvika and her sister should continue their studies.
“My daughters and son were not interested in studies and chose to discontinue. They are all married now. But these two were good at academics and wanted to pursue higher education. When children show such determination, it becomes our responsibility to support them. So, I decided that they should continue studying. After all, I have seen them as my own children since their birth,” said Saraswathi, who lost her husband to a heart attack two years ago.
Ashvika studied in a government-aided school until Class 10. However, after the death of her “Appa” – Saraswathi’s husband who had been supporting the family, financial difficulties forced her to shift to Chennai Corporation Girls Higher Secondary School on MH Road in Perambur.
Meanwhile, Saraswathi’s son, Kali Muthu, stepped in to support the family and ensured that Ashvika completed her schooling. Today, the family survives on the earnings of Muthu, a daily wage painter, and his wife Yamini, who earns around `10,000 a month working at a steel foundry.
“What my Amma has done for us is beyond words, and we will always remain grateful to her. The only thing we can do in return is study well, build a good career, and take care of our Amma,” Ashvika told TNIE.
She added that her teachers also played a great role. “Whenever I found it difficult to concentrate, I would go straight to the headmistress’s room and study there,” she said.
While her sister is pursuing a BA Tamil, Ashvika dreams of studying law.
