CUDDALORE: For J Chandra, a 75-year-old retired private schoolteacher of Chidambaram whose entire life was spent in illuminating the lives of thousands of students, help came at her darkest hour from her own students — in the form a new home.
As the teacher landed in bad times after the death of her husband and relatives, and poor health affected her ability to teach, she had to wage a lonely battle for survival inside a crumbling hut. All this changed when N Manikandan, one of her former students from 35 years ago who couldn’t bear to see her troubles, reached out to his classmates to give their history teacher a helping hand.
On Friday (June 13) morning, Chandra stepped into the new home built by her students at a cost of Rs 3.5 lakh at Kavarappalayam Street in Bhuvanagiri. It took six months to finish the construction work but the smile on Chandra’s face, when her former students handed over the key to their beloved teacher, made it all worthwhile.
Ex-student shares Chandra’s ordeal on WhatsApp, helps raise Rs 3.5 lakh
Manikandan, who had studied under her at Mangalam Matriculation School in Perumathur over 35 years ago, decided to take a leap of faith when he collected the contact details of his classmates, shared the teachers’ ordeal on WhatsApp, and sought their response.
“She (Chandra) has been living in poverty for all these years, and was unable to build a house even under government housing schemes, owing to financial constraints. After learning about her condition, many of my batch mates pitched in, and helped raise Rs 3.5 lakh. My friend V Prem Kumar, who lives in London, played a key role in coordinating three batches, including ours, to make this possible,” said Manikandan, who currently resides in Bhuvanagiri.
“We had initially planned for a concrete-roof house, but she requested a simpler one, considering her age. So, we built a house with a hall, kitchen, and toilet on a portion of the 2.75 cents of land she owns, spending Rs 3.5 lakh,” he added.
Chandra’s former students, including Robert, Prem Anand, Balasubramanian, Gnanavel, Karthikeyan, Senthil, Murugadas, Deepa, Sridevi, Sugandhi, Balamurugan, Venkatesan, Muralidharan, Ilamparithi, Satheesh, Arivalagan, Raja, Jayaraj, and Vettrichelvan, were present at the ceremony. A feast was also arranged as part of the celebration.
For most of her students, Chandra was a teacher who vouched for children’s all-round development and prioritised nurturing individual talents. She had worked in Mangalam Matriculation School for around 12 years (1981-1993), and later shifted to other institutions. She doesn’t have children.
“I had stopped going to school a decade ago. Until five years back, I used to take tuition for students, but eventually had to stop it due to my age, and the poor condition of my hut. After my husband’s death, I lived with my mother and her sister. I have been living alone since their death,” Chandra told TNIE.
Chandra, who had completed her undergraduation in History in the early 1990s, took up a teaching job since she was unable to continue her studies due to her family’s poor financial condition. Though the management of the private school, where she was employed, offered to sponsor her teacher training course in the mid-1990s, she could not accept the offer due to personal commitments. Later, she completed postgraduation in History through correspondence.
Stating that some of her relatives and former students have been supporting her daily needs, Chandra said, “I also have some savings in the bank, with which I make both ends meet. I had applied for a house and old-age pension, but did not get anything. Officials kept asking me to go from one office to another, so I gave up.”
Local residents commended the students for honouring their teacher. The students are also planning to support her further in the coming days.