N Keerthana, a student from Chennai, who was evicted from her house on the Cooum river banks and shifted to a resettlement site at Perumbakkam, has made her mark in the CBSE XII examinations.
When they were shifted to the resettlement a couple of years ago, Keerthana had just passed tenth standard. Her parents had lost their jobs and had to start afresh.
They started a small grocery store within the premises of the settlement, while Keerthana was taking care of the household chores. She had to cook dinner on week days and all three meals on weekends.
Despite that, Keerthana never let her guard down in studies. In the recently announced CBSE XII results, she scored 492 out of 600.
She said to The New Indian Express that she was sure of getting a good score as she was always a good student. Before moving to Perumbakkam, her father was handling accounts in a small private company and her mother ran a tailoring shop, making close to Rs 40000 per month together. Since they moved here, it has gone down to half the amount.
“When we moved here, they decided to open a shop because both of them were without jobs. They go to the shop at 5:30 am and come back at 10 pm. So after I return from school, I make dinner before they come. On Sundays, I cook all meals,” Keerthana said.
Aspiring to be a chartered accountant, she said, “But they’re never at home so I get the whole house to myself. I use this time to study.”
