Either marry or join in nearby nondescript college: Future bleak for Tamil Nadu girl who passed class 12 with flying colors
There is no excitement on the face of Mahalakshmi, the topper of Mahakavi Bharathiyar Higher Secondary School at Pakkam in Tiruvallur district.
Published: 17th May 2018 05:52 AM |
By Samuel Merigala
Express News Service
There is no excitement on the face of Mahalakshmi, the topper of Mahakavi Bharathiyar Higher Secondary School at Pakkam in Tiruvallur district. Despite scoring 1,141/1,200 and 198/200 in both accountancy and commerce, there was no twinkle in her eye, on the day the Class 12 Board exam results were announced.
Maybe the lack of excitement is because this slender 17-year-old with long plaited hair knows only two ‘acceptable’ options are ahead of her - either marry a much-older, barely educated relative or study in a nondescript college near her house in Pattabiram.
Mahalakshmi says she doesn’t know what she wants to become. “I just want to study and hopefully pass on what I learn,” she said, clarifying that she didn’t mean to say she wants to become a teacher.
With her mother unable to do daily wage work because of regular bouts of fits and her father having to travel to the city to find work as a construction worker, it seems like Mahalakshmi has shut out some words from her life.
When I mentioned colleges such as ‘Ethiraj’, ‘Stella’ and ‘WCC’, her eyes lit up but she said nothing. Even with the Sevalaya organisation which runs the school offering to cover her college costs, Mahalakshmi’s mother Vimala is apprehensive. A few of Mahalakshmi’s teachers feel that she is forced to mask her confidence. “She looks down a lot but when you talk to her, she booms with confidence and once the conversation ends she goes back to being timid,” said one of her teachers.
There is no excitement on the face of Mahalakshmi, the topper of Mahakavi Bharathiyar Higher Secondary School at Pakkam in Tiruvallur district. Published: 17th May 2018 05:52 AM |
By Samuel Merigala
Express News Service
There is no excitement on the face of Mahalakshmi, the topper of Mahakavi Bharathiyar Higher Secondary School at Pakkam in Tiruvallur district. Despite scoring 1,141/1,200 and 198/200 in both accountancy and commerce, there was no twinkle in her eye, on the day the Class 12 Board exam results were announced.
Maybe the lack of excitement is because this slender 17-year-old with long plaited hair knows only two ‘acceptable’ options are ahead of her - either marry a much-older, barely educated relative or study in a nondescript college near her house in Pattabiram.
Mahalakshmi says she doesn’t know what she wants to become. “I just want to study and hopefully pass on what I learn,” she said, clarifying that she didn’t mean to say she wants to become a teacher.
With her mother unable to do daily wage work because of regular bouts of fits and her father having to travel to the city to find work as a construction worker, it seems like Mahalakshmi has shut out some words from her life.
When I mentioned colleges such as ‘Ethiraj’, ‘Stella’ and ‘WCC’, her eyes lit up but she said nothing. Even with the Sevalaya organisation which runs the school offering to cover her college costs, Mahalakshmi’s mother Vimala is apprehensive. A few of Mahalakshmi’s teachers feel that she is forced to mask her confidence. “She looks down a lot but when you talk to her, she booms with confidence and once the conversation ends she goes back to being timid,” said one of her teachers.
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