SHARJAH: A year after their eldest son committed suicide in Sharjah, an Indian couple have started a charity in his name to sponsor the school fees of poor children in their home country.
Ambika and Sadasivan, parents of Abhimanyu, who hanged himself in their Abu Shagra apartment building last March, have set up a charity trust called Abhirox.
“Abhimanyu always called himself by this name. In my cellphone too he had saved his name as ‘Abhirox’,” said Ambika.
“He was a very ambitious child, but I don’t know what drove him to take his own life. He was only 16 and we had many hopes for him. I would always tell him we would do everything to ensure he gets a good education and future. But fate ordained otherwise.”
An 11th grader at the Indian High School in Dubai, Abhimanyu had skipped the maths exam and written a suicide note on the answer sheet of his chemistry paper a week before he took the extreme step.
Parting note
The note, which ran into several pages, spoke about the pressures of the school’s Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) syllabus.
Ambika said the thought of starting a trust in her son’s name came when the coaching centre where Abhimanyu was enrolled returned his tuition fee of Dh20,000.
“We decided to put it to good use by extending financial help to children in India who can’t afford to pay their school fees.
Abhimanyu’s father Sadasivan who is an artist said he is raising money for the charity by selling his paintings.
“Abhimanyu’s death has left a huge void in my life. He meant everything to us. When he died I tried to cope up with loss by painting. I have done over 20 paintings so far and plan to exhibit them soon. Half of the proceeds from the sale will go to Abhirox.”
The charity is registered in Sadasivan’s hometown Kochi in the Indian state of Kerala.
