<p>There are several rags to riches stories of children of humble backgrounds making it big, in spite of a broken system. </p><p>Decades ago, my mother, who was suffering from empty nest syndrome, took it upon herself to teach her domestic help’s three little children. Her Nepalese maid, the wife of a watchman working with the Karnataka Housing Board, was very ambitious where her kids were concerned. Aspiring for a bright future for them, she had enrolled them in an English medium school - one of the many that have mushroomed in residential localities. But neither she nor her husband had even a rudimentary knowledge of the language. She could not afford to enrol her children for tuitions. This is where my mother stepped in.</p><p>My mother with her pleasant demeanour and patience turned out to be an excellent teacher and mentor to the kids. The children were also very diligent and enthusiastic about learning. Even during summer vacation, they used to plead with my mom to make time for them though she used to be occupied with her children and grandchildren visiting her.</p><p>The children studied very hard and did well in their Class 10 board exams. My parents guided them to a non-government organisation that awarded scholarship to deserving under-privileged students to pursue their academic goals. All three of her children did very well. The eldest completed her Masters degree in the science stream and is employed in a prestigious science institution in Bengaluru. The younger two are engineers. The youngest is with Deolitte and worked onsite in Toronto for a couple of years. She has now bought a flat and stays there comfortably with her proud parents. It has been quite a journey for the parents - watchman’s shed to an apartment.</p><p>The other case is more recent. I had called the carpenter for some minor repairs. He proudly showed me his iPhone 11 and told me his daughter in London gifted it to him. He told me his daughter and son in law are infotech engineers living in London. I started chatting with him so he showed me photos of the couple’s house in London. He said his younger daughter is in India with Ernst & Young. She took a loan and modernised their house. He went on to add that his daughters were more than sons and could not understand why many are obsessed with a male child. He has no formal education. He told me his daughters ask him to stop working. He proudly added that his carpentry helped him in educating his daughters.</p><p>Hats off to such youngsters and their parents!</p>
<p>There are several rags to riches stories of children of humble backgrounds making it big, in spite of a broken system. </p><p>Decades ago, my mother, who was suffering from empty nest syndrome, took it upon herself to teach her domestic help’s three little children. Her Nepalese maid, the wife of a watchman working with the Karnataka Housing Board, was very ambitious where her kids were concerned. Aspiring for a bright future for them, she had enrolled them in an English medium school - one of the many that have mushroomed in residential localities. But neither she nor her husband had even a rudimentary knowledge of the language. She could not afford to enrol her children for tuitions. This is where my mother stepped in.</p><p>My mother with her pleasant demeanour and patience turned out to be an excellent teacher and mentor to the kids. The children were also very diligent and enthusiastic about learning. Even during summer vacation, they used to plead with my mom to make time for them though she used to be occupied with her children and grandchildren visiting her.</p><p>The children studied very hard and did well in their Class 10 board exams. My parents guided them to a non-government organisation that awarded scholarship to deserving under-privileged students to pursue their academic goals. All three of her children did very well. The eldest completed her Masters degree in the science stream and is employed in a prestigious science institution in Bengaluru. The younger two are engineers. The youngest is with Deolitte and worked onsite in Toronto for a couple of years. She has now bought a flat and stays there comfortably with her proud parents. It has been quite a journey for the parents - watchman’s shed to an apartment.</p><p>The other case is more recent. I had called the carpenter for some minor repairs. He proudly showed me his iPhone 11 and told me his daughter in London gifted it to him. He told me his daughter and son in law are infotech engineers living in London. I started chatting with him so he showed me photos of the couple’s house in London. He said his younger daughter is in India with Ernst & Young. She took a loan and modernised their house. He went on to add that his daughters were more than sons and could not understand why many are obsessed with a male child. He has no formal education. He told me his daughters ask him to stop working. He proudly added that his carpentry helped him in educating his daughters.</p><p>Hats off to such youngsters and their parents!</p>
