In her late 70s, she had resigned to a life in her gutted one-room hut.
Being nothing but a bother to her five children for long, hope seemed non-existent. But, K.N. Paru didn’t count on the compassion of the students of the Cochin University of Science and Technology (Cusat) behind which stood her rundown house.
For generations of students in Cusat, she has been Paru Amma, the granny who unfailingly swept clean the campus. Moved, a few students of the School of Engineering decided to repay by refurbishing her home. And on Friday they did as the School of Engineering Principal, G. Madhu, gave her key of the renovated house.
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It all started after Nitin Vasanth, a final year B.Tech student, spotted the septuagenarian sweeping the campus on a rainy evening last November. “She told me her story and her attachment to our campus,” said Nitin who posted it on his Facebook page
Students undertake task on their own
As knocks at numerous doors went unanswered, the students decided to undertake the task on their own with the support of the principal and faculty members. But it was not easy. It took countless visits to local body offices to clear issues related to the 0.90 cent of plot and get the clearance.
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The students started with pulling down the gutted structure. They took turn to help masons. The truss work was done using welding machines at the mechanical lab. They braved cold December mornings to water the cement structures, painted the house during evenings after the classes and electrified the house. A contractor provided an earthmover for free to clean up the mess in the front yard.
Making up for her children's absence
Finally, when a tearful Paru Amma boiled the milk to mark the house warming they were all present as if to make up for the absence of her own children.