Sometimes, even a name can invoke the feeling that they are different. On Monday, V S Swaha and V S Brahma proved this. But it wasn't their names, rather the teens' approach to life and their attitude towards the world that made them stand out from other kids their age.
The children made people sit up and take notice after they wrote a letter expressing their willingness to contribute their share of land, around one acre, set aside for their future by their parents M Shankaran and Vidhubala to the Chief Minister's Disaster Relief Fund (CMDRF)
In the letter, Swaha, a student of Class XI in Shenoy's Higher Secondary School, Kandankali, and her brother Brahma, a Class IX student in the same school, said they had got permission to donate the land to CMDRF from their father. They said they also wanted to do their bit in relief activities. They concluded by asking the authorities to tell them to what else needs to done to complete the procedures.
“I am really proud to be their father,” said Shankaran, a farmer. “This shows the way I brought them up is perfect. I am really happy they have a heart full of consideration for people who are suffering around them. That's what makes a person a real human being,” he said.
The plot Swaha wished to contribute to the CMDRF is situated near Korome Sree Narayana Engineering college and is estimated to have a market worth of nearly 50 lakh.
“I want my children to be different from others. That's why I gave them names like that. Now, my act was justified by their remarkable gesture,” Shankaran said.
Interestingly, both Swaha and Brahma joined regular schools only after they attained the appropriate age to be admitted to Class IX. Before that, they were homeschooled. They read books and newspapers and spent time with their parents who worked on farms.
Though the news of the children's generosity spread like wildfire through social media, 'Swargam', the family's house remained calm and serene as they didn't see this as something big. There has been some criticism, too.
“There are people who criticise the act as thoughtless. I don't care. I think what my children have done is quite right. Not many people can do such things, can they?” said Shankaran, not waiting for an answer.
