<p>The mobile phones at the household of barber C Mohan in Madurai have not stopped ringing since May 31. And since then, there is a steady stream of visitors to the humble dwelling in which Mohan, his wife Pandiselvi and 13-year-old daughter Nethra are living.</p>.<p>The family deserves the new-found fame as it spent over Rs 5 lakhs that Mohan has been saving for Nethra’s higher education to help the needy and feed the poor during the over two-month lockdown to contain the spread of novel coronavirus. And the idea of spending the savings to help the poor came from none other than Nethra herself.</p>.<p>“She is my only daughter and I had been saving small amounts of money which rose to Rs 5 lakhs. And when my daughter asked me to donate the entire savings to alleviate the sufferings of fellow human beings, I could not say no,” Mohan, who runs a barber shop in Madurai, told DH.</p>.<p>The family’s Nobel act came to light after Prime Minister Narendra Modi spoke about Mohan’s “good work” in his Mann Ki Baat radio address on May 31. Not just visits by locals and friends, Nethra and Mohan have been inundated with congratulatory calls for the past one week from politicians and celebrities alike.</p>.<p>“A lot of my school friends have come home in the past one week to congratulate me. And it is a very good feeling. We did not expect the Prime Minister to mention about our good deeds in his address,” Nethra told DH.</p>.<p>Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Edappadi K Palaniswami too pitched on Saturday and announced that the state government will take care of the educational expenses of Nethra, who has also been appointed as 'Goodwill Ambassador (GWA) for the Poor' by an NGO, United Nations Association for Development and Peace (UNADAP).</p>.<p>Nethra said she asked her father to spend the money meant for her higher education as she “knows the pain of being hungry” and “left with nothing.” In 2013, the family lost all the money they had as her father’s friends “cheated him” and came onto the street literally, she said. </p>.<p>“I know what it means to be hungry as our family struggled to get three-square meals a day back in 2013. I did not want people to go hungry and suffer like us. That is why I asked my father to spend the money to help the needy. We should help when people are in distress,” Nethra added.</p>.<p>Nethra, who wants to pursue civil services and join the Indian Administrative Service (IAS), is clear that the new-found fame and glory will not bring any change to her “helping tendency”.</p>.<p>“I have been taught not to forget the past. I will continue to help people in whatever way I can. I am also resolute in my dream to pursue IAS and make myself available to the people,” she said.</p>.<p>Mohan said people should pitch in to help the needy with whatever they can during such times. “We saw people suffering because of the lockdown and my daughter asked me to help them. Likewise, if people who can afford to help others pitch in, we can light up several lives,” Mohan said.</p>
<p>The mobile phones at the household of barber C Mohan in Madurai have not stopped ringing since May 31. And since then, there is a steady stream of visitors to the humble dwelling in which Mohan, his wife Pandiselvi and 13-year-old daughter Nethra are living.</p>.<p>The family deserves the new-found fame as it spent over Rs 5 lakhs that Mohan has been saving for Nethra’s higher education to help the needy and feed the poor during the over two-month lockdown to contain the spread of novel coronavirus. And the idea of spending the savings to help the poor came from none other than Nethra herself.</p>.<p>“She is my only daughter and I had been saving small amounts of money which rose to Rs 5 lakhs. And when my daughter asked me to donate the entire savings to alleviate the sufferings of fellow human beings, I could not say no,” Mohan, who runs a barber shop in Madurai, told DH.</p>.<p>The family’s Nobel act came to light after Prime Minister Narendra Modi spoke about Mohan’s “good work” in his Mann Ki Baat radio address on May 31. Not just visits by locals and friends, Nethra and Mohan have been inundated with congratulatory calls for the past one week from politicians and celebrities alike.</p>.<p>“A lot of my school friends have come home in the past one week to congratulate me. And it is a very good feeling. We did not expect the Prime Minister to mention about our good deeds in his address,” Nethra told DH.</p>.<p>Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Edappadi K Palaniswami too pitched on Saturday and announced that the state government will take care of the educational expenses of Nethra, who has also been appointed as 'Goodwill Ambassador (GWA) for the Poor' by an NGO, United Nations Association for Development and Peace (UNADAP).</p>.<p>Nethra said she asked her father to spend the money meant for her higher education as she “knows the pain of being hungry” and “left with nothing.” In 2013, the family lost all the money they had as her father’s friends “cheated him” and came onto the street literally, she said. </p>.<p>“I know what it means to be hungry as our family struggled to get three-square meals a day back in 2013. I did not want people to go hungry and suffer like us. That is why I asked my father to spend the money to help the needy. We should help when people are in distress,” Nethra added.</p>.<p>Nethra, who wants to pursue civil services and join the Indian Administrative Service (IAS), is clear that the new-found fame and glory will not bring any change to her “helping tendency”.</p>.<p>“I have been taught not to forget the past. I will continue to help people in whatever way I can. I am also resolute in my dream to pursue IAS and make myself available to the people,” she said.</p>.<p>Mohan said people should pitch in to help the needy with whatever they can during such times. “We saw people suffering because of the lockdown and my daughter asked me to help them. Likewise, if people who can afford to help others pitch in, we can light up several lives,” Mohan said.</p>
