An 11-year-old ardent Rajinikanth fan donated his savings, which he had kept to present a shawl to the actor on the latter's birthday, to the people affected in cyclone Gaja, on Friday.

S Sushanth, a class 7 student of a private school in Katpadi, handed over his six-month savings of Rs 9,300 to officials at the Collectorate in Vellore on Friday. He began saving the money to offer his favourite actor a shawl on December 12. While he was eagerly waiting to present the shawl to Rajinikanth, he came to know of the onslaught of cyclone Gaja through newspapers and television channels.

"I was shocked to hear about the trail of destructions left by cyclone Gaja. I saw farmers and kids of my age suffering from the loss of their livelihoods in news channels. The plight of the families is far greater than what I wish to donate. So, I thought that the amount donated would be of some use to the people affected by the cyclone," Sushanth told Express.

However, Sushanth stands firm on his decision to gift Rajinikanth a shawl. "I would at least buy a cotton shawl and gift it to my favourite actor on his birthday," he said.

The correspondent of a nursery and primary school in Katpadi, Sushanth's mother S Priya said, "We told our students about cyclone Gaja and the destruction it brought upon the lives of many farmers and their families. The students understood the plight of the people and pitched in their donations. We would soon send the donations to places where huge destructions took place."