Class XII rank-holder has decided what to do — Discontinue studies

With a first class in Class X and a State rank in XII, what is Veerapandian planning to do? Discontinue studies and become a full-time `parotta’ master. Well, he does not have a choice. But he still dreams of doing law and later becoming an IAS officer.

He belongs to a poor Dalit family of five. His father R Ganesan sells vessels along the street and they live in the slums of SMP Colony in Annanagar. His mother Perumalakka was a sweeper in the Aravind Eye Hospital, his younger brother works in an advertisement agency as an office boy. The only daughter in the family is in Class X.

Veerapandian earns Rs 30 per day for his part-time job in the makeshift restaurant and helps his father run the household. He has experiences of being sent out of school for more than a month for not paying the tuition fee. He pulled along thanks to DMK Councillor Subbulakshmi and Aravind Eye Hospital. They sponsored his books and provided tuition fee for him.

The driving force behind Veerapandian is his geography teacher Anbuselvan who identified six poor students in Class XII and trained them. All of them did well in the exams.

"My parents are illiterate and can hardly understand anything in my books. My father earns just enough for the daily food. My brother and I contribute for the other expenditure. Even the loss of a day’s income affects our life and things worsen when one earning member of the family falls sick," Veerapandyan says.

As he turns around a parotta on the frying pan, he asks: "Will the Chief Minister help me continue my studies?"