Instead of celebrations, an uncomfortable silence prevails at N.G. Rajeswari’s home in Mylapore.
Phone calls disrupt the silence, but Rajeswari handles every caller with patience, breaking down once in a while.
“It is barely four days since amma passed away. I cannot even think of feeling good about my result,” says the 17-year-old. With centum in four subjects, Rajeswari secured 1,187 marks in the class XII examinations that placed her third in the State.
She and her family, however, are yet to overcome the unexpected death of her mother, Lalitha, due to cardiac arrest last week. She was 60. “We went to Srirangam, Samayapuram and all temples in and around Tiruchi. My mother was extremely happy all through the trip but everything ended on Saturday,” says Rajeswari.
On their way back to Chennai, Lalitha complained of breathing trouble and was immediately rushed to a hospital, where she died after a heart attack. “It was totally unexpected because she never had a heart problem or any major ailment,” says Rajeswari. Her father V. Ganesamoorthy is a retired BSNL employee, while her brother Srinivasan is a management executive in a company here.
“All through my exam preparations, my mother was a pillar of support. She made me promise I would stay away from movies and TV until the exams were over. In fact, she made sure no one in the family switched on the TV at home for months.”
Rajeswari’s family lived in Tiruchi till 2011, after which they moved to Madurai because Srinivasan wanted to study management in Thiagarajar College. Last month, they rented a house in Mylapore because Srinivasan had begun working in the city and Rajeswari wanted to attend chartered accountancy classes.
“We decided to go on the trip because my mother said she wanted to visit Tiruchi, where she grew up and also brought us up. She wanted to go to the school she had taught in for many years, and pray for my results in Srirangam,” she says.
“She always asked me to be a teacher like her and I would tell her that no matter how much she forced me, I would not become one, because I wanted to be an auditor. I wanted to earn a lot of money and give her all luxuries and comfort,” says Rajeswari, wiping a tear.
