NAGAPATTINAM/VILLUPURAM: The raging pandemic and the steely resolve to fight this battle have encouraged many people, and even children, to part with their savings and pocket money and pour it into the Covid relief fund pool. Their contributions may seem small as compared to the big league of celebrities and industrialists.
Nevertheless, their noble intention has warmed many a heart. In this sea of humanity, three large-hearted couples, two of them newly-wed and the other in their twilight years, rowed with their oars of generosity, taking their boat upstream towards the Chief Minister’s Covid donation box.
On a cloudy Monday morning in Nagapattinam, S Sharinraj and V Surya exchanged rings and took their vows in Our Lady of Lourdes Church. After taking the blessings of their parents, they headed straight to the district collectorate in their wedding finery and handed over a cheque of Rs 50,000 to the collector Praveen P Nair towards the Chief Minister’s Covid-19 Relief Fund. Sharinraj, the groom from Manjakollai in Nagapattinam, said, “As we are getting married in the middle of such a global crisis, we thought we should contribute to the relief of patients.”
Sharinraj, the groom from Manjakollai, said “It is saddening to learn about people suffering due to Covid-19 every day. A few of our friends and relatives are among the survivors.”His 25-year-old bride, V Surya, a postgraduate in mathematics from Thiruthuraipoondi, said, “Both our families work in the education area. My husband and I were sure about contributing to the cause together.” Seeing the couple’s gesture, 10-year-old B Kularanjan from Kilvelur in Nagapattinam, district also gave his piggy bank, which had his two-year savings of about Rs 2,000 for Chief Minister’s Covid-19 Relief Fund. District Collector Praveen P Nair lauded the couple and the boy for their donations on Monday.
He said, “The willingness and the charity of the donors matter more than the amount of cash they are donating.”Over 188-km away, in a small town of Manampoondi in Villupuram, another newly-married couple tied the knot in a temple the same day. After exchanging garlands and participating in the rituals, they reached out to Higher Education Minister, K Ponmudy, at his residence in Thirukovilur, also in their wedding attire, to hand over Rs 51,000 in cash and sought his blessings, sources said.
When asked, the groom, Haribaskar said, “We had planned for a grand wedding, but due to the lockdown, we reduced it to a simple affair. We gave a portion of the money that we had saved for our grand wedding to the Chief Minister’s Covid Fund. It was our part in supporting the fight against the pandemic.”