ALAPPUZHA : Like in A J Cronin’s celebrated short story Two Gentlemen of Verona, in which two little brothers work hard to save the life of their sister during the World War II, three brothers in Alappuzha municipality are striving to save their father’s life in these difficult times of Covid.
Adithyan, Abhimanyu and Adwaidh — aged 14, 11 and 9 respectively — have been selling vegetables on the Koipilly-Thottathodu road in the Karalakam ward over the past two months to save Shelvan, a heart patient.
Their mother, Sindhu, told TNIE that Shelvan, an autorickshaw driver, had undergone angioplasty to clear a block in his heart, but two remain. “He suffered chest pain a year ago. Angiogram at the Alappuzha Medical College Hospital revealed three heart blockst. The doctors cleared one and said the rest can be cleared after a few months,” she said.
However, the Covid-19 outbreak shattered their plans for further angioplasty. Two months ago, the blood clotted in Shelvan’s artery and he was admitted to the hospital. “The doctors discharged him after giving medicines citing a lack of facilities to carry out angioplasty as the number of Covid patients had increased. But his condition deteriorated and he underwent an angiogram at the MCH again on Thursday,” Sindhu said.
The income earned by Shelvan was the sole means of livelihood for the five-member family. As an autorickshaw driver, his chief source of revenue came from transporting schoolkids. But Covid forced closure of schools. His fragile condition meant he was unable to go for another job. And that forced the children to arrange a makeshift stall on the roadside.
Initially, Shelvan himself brought vegetables from the market in his auto. The children would open the stall at 7am and take turns at sales according to the schedules of their virtual classes, till 7.30pm. Adithyan is in Class 9 while Abhimanyu is in Class 6, both students of SDV Boys HS. Adwaidh, the youngest, is a Class 3 student of St Antony’s HS.
Adithyan, the eldest, said: “We decided to run the shop as our father is unable to work. In the beginning, he brought the items from the market. After he was admitted to the hospital, his brother is now bringing vegetables.” The family lives in a rented house at Karalakam, the rent for which is pending for the past eight months. “The house owner has shown mercy on us, and that’s a huge gesture,” Adithyan said.