Just a few days after she was born, M Pavithra's mother passed away. Her father did not want to have anything to do with her either but no, she did not grow up as an orphan. Pavithra's 'periamma', her mother's older sister became both her mother and father and this is why the very mention of her name brings tears to Pavithra's eyes.
With the support and help of her aunt, Pavithra has managed to score 887 in her Plus Two board exams, "My father has never wanted to even see me and my aunt's husband died many years ago. So it has only been the two of us all these years," said the 17-year-old from Perulampet in Chennai.
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Her aunt, Leela, works as a domestic help in houses as well as offices, "All her earnings have gone towards my well-being," Pavithra said. Over the last three years, Pavithra has also been getting some financial support from the Goodness Foundation, "They help with my fees and other school supplies that I may need but for everything else I have to thank my aunt," she said. Pavithra said that she didn't even know till very recently that her aunt wasn't her mother, "She never let me feel that I did not have enough- of materials or love," she added.
The teenager will be applying to do a degree in commerce and is then hoping to pursue CA, "I want to find a good job and then I want to build a house for my aunt," she said tearing up uncontrollably. "I want her to have her own house. She's a great woman and I want to be able to do at least this much for her," she explained.
What is the one thing that she has learned from her aunt? "Confidence," comes the swift reply. "The fact that she accepted to raise me without a single doubt in her mind really inspires me. She was so confident that she would be able to do it, come what may. I want to develop that same sort of confidence," she said.
"Whatever I've done, even if I make a mistake, she has never scolded me or been rude to me. She always ensures she explains it to me in the kindest way possible. She's a very good woman, no one is like her and that's why I want to do something for her when I grow up," Pavithra said.
