A small gesture in 2007 by J Jayalalithaa, when she was not the Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu, changed the life of Selvam Saravanan, son of a farmhand in Mayilambadi, a remote village in Erode District, who is now set to become an IAS officer. This kindness in the past could be the answer to her critics, who allege that she is the most inaccessible person in the country.
When Saravanan, who scored 1,130 out of 1,200 marks in the Plus Two examination, was selected in the coveted aeronautical engineering course of the Anna University and MBBS course of Madras Medical College in 2007, uncertainty was staring at him as his poor parents were not in a position to afford the fees and other expenses for his education.
In normal circumstances, Saravanan would have ended up as yet another farmhand in his village. But the 17-year-old remembered the day he passed the tenth standard in 2005 as the topper among the Scheduled Caste students in Tamil Nadu. The then Chief Minister Jayalalithaa had honoured him with a cash prize of Rs10,000 and a certificate of merit for his feat, which was his seed money for the Plus Two course.
With no hope of getting help from any sources, Saravanan was on the verge of breaking down. "I tore down a sheet of paper from my scrap book and wrote a letter to the AIADMK supremo, who was then the leader of the Opposition. Since I was not sure of her address, I walked 10 km the next day to the nearest browsing centre and found out her address. I was not aware that she was no more the Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu," Saravanan told The Pioneer.
Saravanan does not know whether he forgot about the letter or not. But within a couple of days he received a letter from Jayalalithaa herself, who assured him of all help for his higher education. This enabled him to join the Madras Institute of Technology, Chennai and pursue the aeronautical engineering course.
Every year on the founding day of the AIADMK, Saravanan and many other students like him were handed over the financial assistance meant for that particular academic year by Jayalalithaa herself.
"On the first occasion, while handing over the cheque to me, Amma told me to work hard and emerge as the best student," said Saravanan.
In 2011 he passed out of MIT with flying colours and took up job as a software engineer in a private firm. But he had set his eyes on the Civil Services as he wanted to help and motivate other youngsters. In the Civil Services examination of 2015 held by the UPSC, 26-year-old Saravanan was ranked 366 and was selected for the IAS.
Chances are that he may be allotted the Tamil Nadu cadre.
This year's meeting turned out to be a unique event for Saravanan as well as the AIADMK. Saravanan was invited by Jayalalithaa, following his letter to her seeking her blessings. "She offered me best wishes and told me to work with dedication and devotion. I hope I'll be allotted to Tamil Nadu cadre so that I can work under her guidance," said a beaming Saravavan.
Well, we have a politician in Jayalalithaa, who walks the talk. How many politicians are there in the country, who offer a helping hand to such needy students and youngstersIJ
Caption: Saravanan (right) and his parents call on Jayalalithaa to thank her.