When freedom fighter Valliappan Olaganathan Chidambaram Pillai, popularly known as Kappalottia Tamizhan VOC, was yoked to an oil press like a bullock during the freedom struggle, he would not have imagined that a brilliant but poor scion of his family would be knocking on every possible door in Independent India seeking help to continue her higher studies after scoring good marks in Plus Two examinations.
The face of the frail-looking V.Muthu Bramma Nayagi, which should glow in pride in view of her performance in the Plus Two examinations — she scored 1,130 out of 1,200 and stood first in Ottapidaram taluk — has lost all the natural happiness as poverty had cast a shadow on her ambition to continue her studies. Ms.Nayagi is the granddaughter of VOC’s niece, her family members say.
“My father E.Venkatachalam is a labourer, who gets some money only when he is engaged for work by someone and my mother Arumugavalli is a housewife. So I cannot think of continuing my studies beyond Plus Two,” Ms.Nayagi says.
Since Ms.Nayagi, a student of TMB Mcavoy Rural Higher Secondary School at Ottapidaram, has scored 197 in mathematics, 193 in physics, 199 in chemistry and 173 in biology, she has an aggregate of 196.50 for engineering. Her teachers helped her get application for engineering and medicine courses. However, the girl does not know whether she can participate in engineering counselling and get admission to a college.
Whenever functions are organised at VOC Memorial at Ottapidaram to commemorate the birth or death anniversaries of the martyr, Ms.Arumugavalli is asked to clean the entire premises, sprinkle water and draw a ‘kolam’ in front of the monument. “Though the government officials offer some money for this work, I never accepted it as I am doing this with pride,” Ms.Arumugavalli says.
Though the family is reluctant to seek help from others, Ms.Nayagi’s desire to continue her studies has forced her to approach some philanthropists in this regard. The girl can be contacted through Ms. Arumugavalli at 96005 67640.
