In the middle of the ongoing pandemic situation, inspiring stories of selfless people have been pouring in. One such inspiring story is of Mohan and his 13-year-old daughter M. Nethra who is an IAS aspirant and currently studying in eighth-grade.
Mohan, a Madurai-based salon owner from Tamil Nadu’s Ramanathapuram, started his salon 20 years ago. Out of his daily earning, he makes a profit if Rs.600 which he saves towards his daughter’s education.
“I earn around Rs 1,500 a day of which Rs.600 would be my profit. I saved every penny I could to provide a good education to my daughter, who aspires to become an IAS officer,” Mohan told New Indian Express.
When the lockdown started, the families in and around Madurai became helpless due to the economical crisis. It was then that the 13-YO Nethra asked his father to use his savings to help the needy. Though Mohan was reluctant to spend that fund which was for his daughter’s education, he could no more resist her consistent persuasion. Mohan finally decided to spend his life savings of Rs.5 Lakh to serve the needy people, distressed due to the prolonged lockdown, in his locality.
They supplied a kit each containing 5kg rice, vegetables, groceries, and cooking oil to more than 600 families in Madurai. Nethra told her father that helping these poor people is the first priority right now. If it is destined, she will become an IAS officer anyway. Assistant Commissioner of Police, Lilly Grace, had handed over the relief materials.
“I thought there is still time to save for my only daughter’s future. So I withdrew the money from the bank to help these people,” he shared while speaking to TOI.
It is for the selfless deeds of the father-daughter duo that Mohan and his family’s acts are mentioned in Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s ‘Mann ki Baat’ speech, the monthly radio program addressing the nation.
“There are innumerable people who are willing to give everything they have for serving others. One such gentleman is C Mohan of Tamil Nadu. Mohan runs a salon in Madurai. Through sheer hard work, he had saved Rs.5 lakh for his daughter’s education. But he spent the entire amount for serving the needy and the underprivileged in these difficult times,” said the Prime Minister on 31 May, admiring Mohan’s efforts.
For an overwhelmed Mohan, it was nothing less than a surprise of life, as he exclaimed with elation, “How the word on my service came to the knowledge of the Prime Minister?”.
On 6 June, the United Nations Association for Development and Peace (UNADAP) declared the 13-YO Nethra as the ‘Goodwill Ambassador to the Poor‘.
“Nethra will be given the opportunity to speak at the UN Civil Society Organisation conferences in New York and in Geneva,” UNADAP officials confirmed. It is a definite moment of pride for this 13-YO IAS aspirant as not even every IAS officer gets a chance to represent the UN.
Calling her ‘the pride of Madurai’, Minister Sellur Raju of the state praised Nethra’s gesture urging her to be bestowed with the prestigious Jayalalithaa Award.
It is one of the country’s moments of pride that the pandemic crisis is bringing the best of people’s kindness. In the end, it does not matter exactly how rich one is if the intentions are rightly placed. The willingness and motivation to serve people reflect your humility and generosity. Even if the beginning is humble, all it matters is how that is steered and nurtured.