Begging for a living, teenager dreams of becoming a teacher

Thiruvananthapuram: The ambition of 17-year-old Shravana, a native of Ananthapur in Andhra Pradesh, is to become a teacher. But for her ailing parents, who eke out a living by doing odd jobs, their daughter's dream is a misadventure.

A brilliant student, she is aware that her parents cannot afford the cost of the course, yet she is not ready to erase the dream from her mind, which she has been cherishing from childhood.

Shravana says she had scored 75.2 per cent marks for the plus-two examinations in her state.

She decided to move to Kerala and beg to make money to join the teachers' training course, which will cost her Rs240,000 (Dh17,907). And thus she landed in Alappuzha town recently with the help of her neighbour, Jangalappa, who has been begging in the area for several years.

A young girl begging in the street came to the notice of a group of autorickshaw drivers in Alappuzha town where begging by children is banned. They alerted the child welfare committee. The officials of the committee controlled by the state government immediately reached the spot and sent her to the child care centre in the town.

Youngest daughter

During her first visit she stayed for a month in the town with a group of beggars from her home state.

"I wanted to become a teacher. My father is a heart patient and he is not able to provide the money for my studies,'' she told the officials of the child welfare committee.

Shravana is planning to return home in a few days as she wants to appear for a qualifying examination conducted by the Andhra Pradesh government for the post of village assistant.

"I had decided to go back home after I spoke to my neighbours. They told me that the hall ticket had come home.''

How much did she earn in Kerala during her visit? "I was earning around Rs300 a day by begging on the street. By now I have earned Rs2,834 as a result of ten days' begging. I need Rs240,000 to join the teachers' training course that will start by April."

Jangalappa is begging at Hairpad, a small town near Alappuzha. "He has come to see me a few times. He never asked me for a commission and took proper care of me. But I gave Rs10 daily to the shelter owner as rent.

"Overall, I am living for a dream to become a teacher. I am the only girl in my family to go school," she said.