69. A scholarship foregone

After Ammulu had lost her husband, her son Kannan was her only solace.

When Ammulu's husband was killed in a road accident while he was driving a truck, Kannan was only three  years old. 

Ammulu received a paltry sum as compensation for the accident. She kept that money in a fixed deposit in a bank. 

She was eking out a living using the interest from the fixed deposit and her income from working as a maid in a couple of houses.

After Kannan completed his schooling, Ammulu got him admitted in an Engineering college. The high scores earned by Kannan in his higher secondary examination helped him get admission in a government college, where the fees were low. 

Ammulu was confident that she would manage to pay Kannan's college fees for the four years of his Engineering education. She was hoping that the hard work put in by her all these years to bring up her son and educate him would come to fruition when he landed a job after completing his education.

When Kannan was studying in the second year, he told Ammulu about a scholarship instituted by a trust. Based on the scores obtained by the students in the first year examination, eight students from his class would get a scholarship, he said. 

If he got that scholarship, there would be no need to pay any fee to the college for the remaining years. The fees would be paid by the trust directly to the college.

Kannan told his mother that since he was among the top eight scorers in his college, he was likely to be selected to receive the scholarship.

On hearing this, Ammulu felt very happy and relieved. Though the fees charged by Kannan's college was low, Ammulu had been struggling to mobilize the money to pay the fees. She took a loan from the houses she was working and paid the fees. The loan taken by her was being deducted from her salary every month, in installments.

By the time the loan taken for the fee payable for the first semester was repaid, the fees for the second semester had become due and she had to take a loan again.

Ammulu felt relieved that there would be no more need for this process and that she would have enough money to meet the household expenses.

After about a month, Kannan told his mother, "I didn't get that scholarship, Mom. I missed it by one rank. I thought I was among the top eight. But it turned out that I was in the ninth position.

Kannan felt overwhelmed to observe hat his mother took this disappointing news without getting upset.

After a few days, Kannan told Ammulu, "Mom, I want to tell you  something."

"What is it?" asked Ammulu, feeling a little concerned that he was going to tell her that she was in love with someone. After all, an Indian mother would like her son to marry a girl chosen by her!

"I lied to you!"

"About what?" asked Ammulu, unable to believe that her son would have found it necessary to lie to her.

"I told you that I didn't get the scholarship. Actually, I didn't apply for it. If I had applied for it, I would have got it."

"Why didn't you? Don't you know how I have been toiling to earn a paltry sum of money, which is hardly sufficient to feed the two of us? Didn't you realize what a dramatic improvement your getting the scholarship would have brought to the state of our finances, apart from easing my burden?" asked Ammulu, in anger and frustration.

"I know, Mom. I know very well. I was in the eighth position and I would have got the scholarship, if I had applied for it. But I didn't apply because I wanted a student who was next to me in the line, in the ninth position, to get the scholarship. His father is a drunkard. Whatever money his mother earns, his father grabs it from her and uses it for drinking. She had borrowed money to pay the fees. He took away that money also. So, I thought that if that boy got the scholarship, his education won't be disrupted due to his father's irresponsible ways. I know that you also struggle a lot to pay my fees. But I thought that that boy was in a worse situation than us and needed help more than we do. But you should also get some relief. I will take up a part time job and earn some money. I understand that a supermarket near our house has an opening for a salesman to work in the evenings. I am going there for an interview this evening."

Kannan expected Ammulu to burst out in anger for having given away an opportunity that presented itself before him, an opportunity that would have eased their financial position to a great extent. But Ammulu looked at him with tears in her eyes. She couldn't speak for a few seconds. The she said amidst sobs:

"My prince! What an extraordinary thing you have done! How many people will have the heart to sacrifice something valuable for the sake of  helping someone who has been suffering even more than us? No amount of education can inculcate such an altruistic attitude. I am proud of you. You don't have to take up a part time job. I will support your education for the next few years, the way I have been supporting in the past. Three years will fly away. Your noble deed will keep me inspired and give me the strength and energy to work and earn."

Ammulu hugged her son and kissed him on his cheeks, as if he was a newborn baby.

Thirukkural

Section 1
The Path of Virtue

Chapter 7
The Boon of Having Children

Verse 69 (In Tamil)

InRa pozhudhin peridhuvakkum than maganaich
chAnROn enak kEtta thAy.

Meaning:

A mother will feel more happy when she learns that her son has done a noble deed than she did when she gave birth to him.

(This is the English version of the Tamil story 'udhavith thogai' by the same author)

Verse 70
Verse 68