This is a true story and I'll tell it exactly the way it was told to me. I'll not reveal the name of the person because he wants to be anonymous. Below are his words, when he was asked about his life.
I belong to one of least developed, highly stigmatic and conservative districts of our country. I am also an illegitimate child of a man who left my mother after impregnating her. After being outcasted from her village, my mother along with me inside her, moved to Madras (now Chennai), in the year 1989. She reached Koyambedu bus-stand (CMBT), and with the help of the Koyambedu market handler, she began working as a help to the stalls, by taking goods and loads that reached from different places to the market.
She was paid 5 rupees a day, and she stayed along with 20 other people who were also helpers like her. After 7 months of her reaching here, I was born without any trouble on a new year.
The earliest memories of our condition is when I still remember sleeping over rotten vegetable bags, with no meals for even once in a day. During those years, rogues and criminal elements in Madras were many in number, and I remember the worst sightings of my mother and other women who were along with us being harassed inappropriately and with wrong intentions.
After a scourge of incidents, my mother moved to Aminjikarai with the help of a lady, who was a money-lender to the stall-owners at the Koyambedu market. I was four years then. We stayed at a small portion belonging to that lady. And I was fortunate, the school I would get my full education was just behind the wall of the portion we lived. I joined the school from standard one. It was a government school, with many students coming from the local slum, and so there was no social difference till I completed my 12th standard.
Thanks be to Kamaraj, a former Chief Minister of Tamilnadu, my very first encounters with food in a plate began because of the Mid-day meal scheme that was in place. From the day I joined school, I had one complete meal all afternoons' except in holidays. Whenever there was heavy rains, we would shelter ourselves inside our school premises. The lady gave us a plate of whatever she cooked every night. From then for 23 years till I landed on a job, me nor my mother had breakfast.
My mother would return home after 9 p.m. when I would keep a piece of the food the landlord lady had give to me. Most of the days, when I used to ask what my mother had for her lunch, she would say, she drank tea. She was then earning 25 rupees a day, being the helper, and then one day she said, she will be working for 10 hours in construction and that she will get 30 rupees a day in addition. 30 rupees a day means, 900 a month. I wasn't much aware of an addition of 30 rupees at that time since I studied without paying fees till I completed 3rd standard. I had a slate of my own, and bought my first notebook when I entered the first day of 4th standard. I didn't own books, and I maintained average scores at school till 3rd. A small notebook costed ₹8 rupees when I was in 4th standard. I wore the same uniform from 1st standard till I completed 5th. I was relatively lean.
With the need to buy books, notes, pens, and stationery required for school, I began to understand the importance of education and money, I did compete with my own potential and I had this sudden interest to study well.
Till my 6th standard, I had to pay a term fees of 40 for 3 quarters. That was a fee of 120 rupees a year. My mother gifted me the first pen of my life, when I joined class 7. Since I was from the same school, and belong to a poor family, the school administration, helped me with uniforms, till I cleared school education till 12th standard. I had now to pay a fee of 50 rupees thrice a year, till 10th standard. I never defaulted in paying fees at school. I did improve in my scores, and performed well in Tamil.
The bitterest truth came to my ears, when one night, my mother told who we are, what we are, and why we are here. I came to know what all happened in the past that made my mother leave our village. After coming to know the truth about my birth, it was a shame, yet everyday was a same routine until one day, when my mother didn't return home. I didn't know what happened, I informed the landlord lady that mother hadn't reached yet. She said, she'll come and asked me to sleep without worrying. When I woke up, my mother wasn't there, I cried for the first time in my life, and with fear-filled heart, I informed the lady that mother hadn't come yet. After a few hours, the worst news of my life came when I heard that my mother had collapsed during working, and that she ceased.
From this incident, my life totally changed, because, poverty didn't strike me with its worst face till this day. After having no knowledge on what to, my mother was cremated by the people in the market, who were the only acquaintances we knew.
After two days of mourning, some man came searching for me. After inquiring if I was the son of the lady that died, the landlord lady confirmed yes and what brought him to this visit. The man revealed another devastating truth that, my mother had been borrowing money from him, and the reason she had given him was for medical expenses. Till that day, I never understood why my mother used to say, she had pains in the chest every night during her sleeps. Whenever she ached in pain, I used to wake up and ask her what happened, she would relax me and say that, she had a dream that she was suffering in pain. This happened regularly for about a year before her demise. Now, I had to return money which was to the tune of 2000 rupees.
I dropped from school, and from that year, 2002 to next 3 years, I was working under this man to whom I owed 2000 rupees. I was taken to his shed where he had transport vehicles. My first day began with cleaning, and I turned a cleaner and remained one till the end of 3 years. Now, I was deprived of lunch, and the only meal I had was in nights, when other cleaners had to sit and booze. They shared with me their food, and I began drinking, without knowing what it is. At the end of 3 years, the owner had changed his place, and said, you don't need to come anymore, and asked me if he needed any help.
Now, I was drinking alcohol instead of water, and I almost forgot schools. So, I asked him if I could continue work and if he could allow me to join my old school. Since, I was still in the same location, I was lucky because, the lady had known me, and the school administration recognized me and they agreed to enroll me in 7th standard once again.
Without no family, I had already earned the identity of orphan by others. So everybody looked upon me with sympathy which made me feel different. So I developed inferiority, and everyday went hard. After 3 years of a different lifestyle, I found it hard to adapt to school, and then go back to the new shed at nights. However, I stopped drinking alcohol, after learning what it is. Now, I had daily lunch once again and a small meal every night. Along with the shed to stay and fees for school, my owner gave me 5 rupees a day, and 50 rupees at the beginning of every month in 2006, and by the end of 10th standard in 2009, my monthly earnings rose to 100 rupees which he gave as 50 rupees twice in a month. After spending 3 years with old books from teachers, cleaning vehicles at the shed, and completely no entertainment, I finished 10th standard and I had scored 63% marks and I wanted to continue studies with all troubles I had.
At, 11th and 12th standard the fees were high, and I had a fear to ask the owner for help. So, I borrowed a cycle, and became a paper boy every mornings. I was given 250 rupees for delivering paper in Anna Nagar. From then on, I stopped borrowing fee money from my owner. I developed interest in Computer Sciences and English within one year, because I had it in syllabus only in 11th standard. I developed the habit of reading newspapers, and since there was a paper mart near our cleaning shed, there were also magazines, so during free times I used to read them.
With 2 weeks for 12th board examinations, I had suffered from Malaria, and my condition really went worse. However with little medications, I took the exam, and did well. By God's grace I had got 81% in my 12th board exams, and my school administration on the result day, gave me ₹200 rupees for all students who had more than 80% marks. With one percentage of marks, I earned 200 rupees. That was the first day, I had seen the 100 rupees denomination in my hands.
Now, I had interest in English, but during 2011, an IT job paid more compared to literature. With confusions on whether to resort to money or interest, I had none other to choose but money. Ambattur India Land was my heaven, where I arranged myself to a BPO job, they paid me ₹4000 rupees in 2011. Hearing money in thousands for the first time. Now, social differences, was the new ingredient that came to make my life worse. With no proper dresses to wear, and almost finding hard to befriend people, I worked for a year and 5 months for the only reason which was money. With the same old lifestyle, and earning 4000 a month, I left the job with a savings of ₹60,000. I learned that different roles in IT field paid much higher salaries. But now, I had no proper address, and I wanted a bank account, so I had my owners shed address and opened an account. I had my school certificate, which was the only evidence that I existed. I had to join college.
With 4 months of tedious hardships, begging and falling on feets, I earned myself a first graduate certificate from the government. I told the authorities I was an orphan, and had no money to give them what they expect, and at last an employee at Ambattur corporation office helped me, after only I bribed him 500 rupees.
Now, I had 60000 already and also had everything set to enroll college. For my percentage, I got a very good college, through TN Engineering Counsellings, in 2013, with an annual tuition fees of ₹25000. I opted for Electronics and Communication, I went to my owner and said, if he could give me 500 rupees a month since I had my B.Tech to be taken care of. After seeing my passion for studies and loyalty with which I was working for him, he extended my request for 1000 rupees. This one moment was my greatest blessings because, I had got something within few minutes of placing the request with two-fold. After learning I had enrolled in Engineering, my owner said that the college I was to join was a very good college, and I will have to meet people from the higher social strata. I didn't have one proper dress for my counselling day, two days later, my owner gifted me 3 sets of dresses.
My first day in college was the hardest day, for the fear of looking down, and I found it hard to deal with my peers. With Engineering demanding more money for pursuing, I now have managed to complete 4 semesters with a CGPA of 8.2.
Yet, I have found it really hard to manage my classmates owing to my condition, when I had lied I come from a different place, and my parents are at our village. When I see my classmates flashing high-end phones, laptops and branded dresses, I have developed a great tact to fake that I have no problems in life, that poverty is my care-taker. I bought a new dress during my 2nd year. And its really hard for a student in a Tier 1 city Engineering College, to attend classes with 4 dresses. To add to that, there's difference, in skin color. And without proper nutrition, a person with a body like me easily looked down upon or not taken seriously.
Poverty and being extremely poor is not only the lack of money. With lack of money, comes lack of good health, lack of meeting amenities that we require. With lack of money comes no confidence and inferiority. Without money, I find it hard to befriend. Lack of money has made me a liar. To deal youngsters who have affluent background, whose pocket money is 500 rupees a day, I fear of being discriminated. When someone asks me why I don't own a phone, I say, I am already busy with getting better.
Luckily, I won 5000 rupees at a fest recently, and bought the Government Laptop through my owner.
Extremely poor also means learning the habit of saving. My entertainment is walking down and up of Ampa Skywalk, and I read newspapers every morning after delivering them without having to pay 5 or 6 rupees. I rent books from my college library. When my classmates laugh at me reading only Foreign Author books, I pretend myself smarter, especially with 8+ CGPA, they tend to believe it, but the truth is I can't afford books that cost 500 rupees each.
I don't know what I have in the years to come, but I have managed myself with God's grace. Yet, I fear the day, when people who don't know the real me find my true identity. Poverty compels people in doing crimes. In my case, its lying. And I am ashamed of it. I wait for one person whom I will meet, and the day I shall share with them my story directly.
I belong to one of least developed, highly stigmatic and conservative districts of our country. I am also an illegitimate child of a man who left my mother after impregnating her. After being outcasted from her village, my mother along with me inside her, moved to Madras (now Chennai), in the year 1989. She reached Koyambedu bus-stand (CMBT), and with the help of the Koyambedu market handler, she began working as a help to the stalls, by taking goods and loads that reached from different places to the market.
She was paid 5 rupees a day, and she stayed along with 20 other people who were also helpers like her. After 7 months of her reaching here, I was born without any trouble on a new year.
The earliest memories of our condition is when I still remember sleeping over rotten vegetable bags, with no meals for even once in a day. During those years, rogues and criminal elements in Madras were many in number, and I remember the worst sightings of my mother and other women who were along with us being harassed inappropriately and with wrong intentions.
After a scourge of incidents, my mother moved to Aminjikarai with the help of a lady, who was a money-lender to the stall-owners at the Koyambedu market. I was four years then. We stayed at a small portion belonging to that lady. And I was fortunate, the school I would get my full education was just behind the wall of the portion we lived. I joined the school from standard one. It was a government school, with many students coming from the local slum, and so there was no social difference till I completed my 12th standard.
Thanks be to Kamaraj, a former Chief Minister of Tamilnadu, my very first encounters with food in a plate began because of the Mid-day meal scheme that was in place. From the day I joined school, I had one complete meal all afternoons' except in holidays. Whenever there was heavy rains, we would shelter ourselves inside our school premises. The lady gave us a plate of whatever she cooked every night. From then for 23 years till I landed on a job, me nor my mother had breakfast.
My mother would return home after 9 p.m. when I would keep a piece of the food the landlord lady had give to me. Most of the days, when I used to ask what my mother had for her lunch, she would say, she drank tea. She was then earning 25 rupees a day, being the helper, and then one day she said, she will be working for 10 hours in construction and that she will get 30 rupees a day in addition. 30 rupees a day means, 900 a month. I wasn't much aware of an addition of 30 rupees at that time since I studied without paying fees till I completed 3rd standard. I had a slate of my own, and bought my first notebook when I entered the first day of 4th standard. I didn't own books, and I maintained average scores at school till 3rd. A small notebook costed ₹8 rupees when I was in 4th standard. I wore the same uniform from 1st standard till I completed 5th. I was relatively lean.
With the need to buy books, notes, pens, and stationery required for school, I began to understand the importance of education and money, I did compete with my own potential and I had this sudden interest to study well.
Till my 6th standard, I had to pay a term fees of 40 for 3 quarters. That was a fee of 120 rupees a year. My mother gifted me the first pen of my life, when I joined class 7. Since I was from the same school, and belong to a poor family, the school administration, helped me with uniforms, till I cleared school education till 12th standard. I had now to pay a fee of 50 rupees thrice a year, till 10th standard. I never defaulted in paying fees at school. I did improve in my scores, and performed well in Tamil.
The bitterest truth came to my ears, when one night, my mother told who we are, what we are, and why we are here. I came to know what all happened in the past that made my mother leave our village. After coming to know the truth about my birth, it was a shame, yet everyday was a same routine until one day, when my mother didn't return home. I didn't know what happened, I informed the landlord lady that mother hadn't reached yet. She said, she'll come and asked me to sleep without worrying. When I woke up, my mother wasn't there, I cried for the first time in my life, and with fear-filled heart, I informed the lady that mother hadn't come yet. After a few hours, the worst news of my life came when I heard that my mother had collapsed during working, and that she ceased.
From this incident, my life totally changed, because, poverty didn't strike me with its worst face till this day. After having no knowledge on what to, my mother was cremated by the people in the market, who were the only acquaintances we knew.
After two days of mourning, some man came searching for me. After inquiring if I was the son of the lady that died, the landlord lady confirmed yes and what brought him to this visit. The man revealed another devastating truth that, my mother had been borrowing money from him, and the reason she had given him was for medical expenses. Till that day, I never understood why my mother used to say, she had pains in the chest every night during her sleeps. Whenever she ached in pain, I used to wake up and ask her what happened, she would relax me and say that, she had a dream that she was suffering in pain. This happened regularly for about a year before her demise. Now, I had to return money which was to the tune of 2000 rupees.
I dropped from school, and from that year, 2002 to next 3 years, I was working under this man to whom I owed 2000 rupees. I was taken to his shed where he had transport vehicles. My first day began with cleaning, and I turned a cleaner and remained one till the end of 3 years. Now, I was deprived of lunch, and the only meal I had was in nights, when other cleaners had to sit and booze. They shared with me their food, and I began drinking, without knowing what it is. At the end of 3 years, the owner had changed his place, and said, you don't need to come anymore, and asked me if he needed any help.
Now, I was drinking alcohol instead of water, and I almost forgot schools. So, I asked him if I could continue work and if he could allow me to join my old school. Since, I was still in the same location, I was lucky because, the lady had known me, and the school administration recognized me and they agreed to enroll me in 7th standard once again.
Without no family, I had already earned the identity of orphan by others. So everybody looked upon me with sympathy which made me feel different. So I developed inferiority, and everyday went hard. After 3 years of a different lifestyle, I found it hard to adapt to school, and then go back to the new shed at nights. However, I stopped drinking alcohol, after learning what it is. Now, I had daily lunch once again and a small meal every night. Along with the shed to stay and fees for school, my owner gave me 5 rupees a day, and 50 rupees at the beginning of every month in 2006, and by the end of 10th standard in 2009, my monthly earnings rose to 100 rupees which he gave as 50 rupees twice in a month. After spending 3 years with old books from teachers, cleaning vehicles at the shed, and completely no entertainment, I finished 10th standard and I had scored 63% marks and I wanted to continue studies with all troubles I had.
At, 11th and 12th standard the fees were high, and I had a fear to ask the owner for help. So, I borrowed a cycle, and became a paper boy every mornings. I was given 250 rupees for delivering paper in Anna Nagar. From then on, I stopped borrowing fee money from my owner. I developed interest in Computer Sciences and English within one year, because I had it in syllabus only in 11th standard. I developed the habit of reading newspapers, and since there was a paper mart near our cleaning shed, there were also magazines, so during free times I used to read them.
With 2 weeks for 12th board examinations, I had suffered from Malaria, and my condition really went worse. However with little medications, I took the exam, and did well. By God's grace I had got 81% in my 12th board exams, and my school administration on the result day, gave me ₹200 rupees for all students who had more than 80% marks. With one percentage of marks, I earned 200 rupees. That was the first day, I had seen the 100 rupees denomination in my hands.
Now, I had interest in English, but during 2011, an IT job paid more compared to literature. With confusions on whether to resort to money or interest, I had none other to choose but money. Ambattur India Land was my heaven, where I arranged myself to a BPO job, they paid me ₹4000 rupees in 2011. Hearing money in thousands for the first time. Now, social differences, was the new ingredient that came to make my life worse. With no proper dresses to wear, and almost finding hard to befriend people, I worked for a year and 5 months for the only reason which was money. With the same old lifestyle, and earning 4000 a month, I left the job with a savings of ₹60,000. I learned that different roles in IT field paid much higher salaries. But now, I had no proper address, and I wanted a bank account, so I had my owners shed address and opened an account. I had my school certificate, which was the only evidence that I existed. I had to join college.
With 4 months of tedious hardships, begging and falling on feets, I earned myself a first graduate certificate from the government. I told the authorities I was an orphan, and had no money to give them what they expect, and at last an employee at Ambattur corporation office helped me, after only I bribed him 500 rupees.
Now, I had 60000 already and also had everything set to enroll college. For my percentage, I got a very good college, through TN Engineering Counsellings, in 2013, with an annual tuition fees of ₹25000. I opted for Electronics and Communication, I went to my owner and said, if he could give me 500 rupees a month since I had my B.Tech to be taken care of. After seeing my passion for studies and loyalty with which I was working for him, he extended my request for 1000 rupees. This one moment was my greatest blessings because, I had got something within few minutes of placing the request with two-fold. After learning I had enrolled in Engineering, my owner said that the college I was to join was a very good college, and I will have to meet people from the higher social strata. I didn't have one proper dress for my counselling day, two days later, my owner gifted me 3 sets of dresses.
My first day in college was the hardest day, for the fear of looking down, and I found it hard to deal with my peers. With Engineering demanding more money for pursuing, I now have managed to complete 4 semesters with a CGPA of 8.2.
Yet, I have found it really hard to manage my classmates owing to my condition, when I had lied I come from a different place, and my parents are at our village. When I see my classmates flashing high-end phones, laptops and branded dresses, I have developed a great tact to fake that I have no problems in life, that poverty is my care-taker. I bought a new dress during my 2nd year. And its really hard for a student in a Tier 1 city Engineering College, to attend classes with 4 dresses. To add to that, there's difference, in skin color. And without proper nutrition, a person with a body like me easily looked down upon or not taken seriously.
Poverty and being extremely poor is not only the lack of money. With lack of money, comes lack of good health, lack of meeting amenities that we require. With lack of money comes no confidence and inferiority. Without money, I find it hard to befriend. Lack of money has made me a liar. To deal youngsters who have affluent background, whose pocket money is 500 rupees a day, I fear of being discriminated. When someone asks me why I don't own a phone, I say, I am already busy with getting better.
Luckily, I won 5000 rupees at a fest recently, and bought the Government Laptop through my owner.
Extremely poor also means learning the habit of saving. My entertainment is walking down and up of Ampa Skywalk, and I read newspapers every morning after delivering them without having to pay 5 or 6 rupees. I rent books from my college library. When my classmates laugh at me reading only Foreign Author books, I pretend myself smarter, especially with 8+ CGPA, they tend to believe it, but the truth is I can't afford books that cost 500 rupees each.
I don't know what I have in the years to come, but I have managed myself with God's grace. Yet, I fear the day, when people who don't know the real me find my true identity. Poverty compels people in doing crimes. In my case, its lying. And I am ashamed of it. I wait for one person whom I will meet, and the day I shall share with them my story directly.
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