The Hindu Business Line : She has a dream...

IN Panjalapuram, a hamlet near Silver Beach in Devanampattinam, Cuddalore, Kasinathan and his wife, Mannangati, whose thatched house and all its contents were washed away by the tsunami, have an obsession that at first appears strange. They are not mourning the loss of their house with the clothes, furniture, almirah and utensils.

Mannangati is, of course, sad that the Rs 5,000 in cash — "the hard earned money of my daughter, Velvizhi, which she had kept in the house, was taken away by the sea." But both of them are devastated that the waves washed away their 22-yer-old daughter Velvizhi's B.A. Certificate, books as well as other papers that established her identity as a II-year M.A. student doing her post-graduation through correspondence.

With great care Kasinathan pulls out a polythene bag which contains a few notebooks, a conduct certificate from the Government Girls High School and an English question paper that he, obviously, cannot read. "This is all that remains of our daughter who had reached II M.A. after putting in such hard work," says the heartbroken mother.

When we assure her that duplicate copies of the certificate and other reading material can always be obtained, she shakes her head, saying, "You don't understand. We had paid Rs 2,000 for the study material and Rs 1,000 as examination fees; who is going to allow her to write the exam because the receipt is gone, and how will she study without the reading material?"

The daughter is the couple's only hope for their uncertain future. They encouraged her to study and gave her financial support to do so, because their 20-year-old son, Venkatesan, "was never interested in studying," and hence was pressed into service a few years ago to help his father in fishing. Velvizhi herself dismisses her brother as a "total waste. He never gives a paisa to my mother."

The mother nods silently in agreement while seated in the 10 by 15 ft tent that is her house now, and describes how during the last two years Velvizhi has been working at a factory as well as an STD booth to help the family make ends meet as well as pay for her education. "She would study in the evenings. She had saved Rs 5,000 which had to be paid to the moneylender," says her mother.

Like most families in this belt, this family too has borrowed Rs 10,000 at a staggering 60-per cent interest, which makes it almost impossible to repay the capital. But against the despair of the parents, bright-eyed and intelligent Velivizhi, who is dressed in an uncharacteristic skirt and blouse that she describes with a smile as "tsunami tuni" (tsunami clothes), is certain that if she gets "an immediate help of Rs 5,000 to buy the books and pay exam fees, I'm sure I can pass the exam this year and get a good job." She explains that she requires the additional Rs 2,000 to do a computer course. "Wherever I go for a job they ask me: Do you know how to use a computer? So I want to learn that too."

Unfortunately, because she did not report to work for a week after the tsunami destruction, she has lost her part-time job at the STD booth that used to fetch her Rs 800. She gave up the factory job because it involved handling "chemicals that gave me a rash all the time."

On why the PG degree means so much to her she says, "That is the only way that I can have a life that is different from my mother's. From childhood I've seen my mother suffer ... . If my father earns Rs 100, only Rs 25 comes for the house, the rest goes into drinking. My brother never gives any money at home. I do not want to be dependent on anybody, least of all a man, to have a decent life. And only education can give me that life."

Will her dream come true?

Response may be sent to rasheeda@thehindu.co.in

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She has a dream...