Chennai, April 30, 2019-
Puducherry government employee K. Subramanian was long teased by his wife S. Amsavalli who used to ask him which one is “bigger”, passing or failing in an examination, as per the famous exchange between comedian pair Senthil and Goundamani in a Tamil movie.
But in the case of the 46-year-old Subramanian, it used to be his real-life situation.
“When Subramanian married my sister, he was a class 7 school drop-out and she was class 8 pass. In order to get promoted to the next level, he wrote the class 8 exam and failed. After that, my sister used to tease him with the dialogue,” his brother-in-law K. Anbarasan told over phone from Puducherry.
Subramnaian also told over phone that they used to have the banter – but earlier. Now Amsavalli cannot throw the same question at Subramanian, who has cleared his class 10 exam this year along with his second daughter S. Tiriguna.
Subramanian had quit school when he was in class 7 owing to family circumstances. After his father’s death, he got the Puducherry government job on compassionate grounds, got married and had two daughters.
Then he was told by his seniors that to get promoted to the next level, he had to pass class 8. Studying hard and with the support of his wife, Subramanian did so in 2017 and got his promotion.
However, for his next promotion he had to pass class 10 and decided to give it a try, with the encouragement and support of his family.
“I used to feel proud when my daughters – S. Subhalashmi and Tiriguna- brought home prize shields,” Subramanian recalled.
Subramanian made his first attempt in 2018 and cleared two papers (History and Science) but failed in three others.
He had even attended government-run coaching classes dutifully, along with students who were far younger. “I used to tell the others that I am writing the exams to get promoted. I had difficulty in reading even Tamil (his mother tongue) fast then. Now I am okay,” he said.
His brother-in-law said in the re-exam in June 2018, Subramanian cleared the Tamil paper but failed in Maths and English. He again flunked the exams in September 2018.
However, Subramanian didn’t lose heart and decided to take another shot. This time, he did not attend any coaching classes and it was his daughters who taught him at home.
“At times he would come back home from work late and his daughters used to teach him after that,” Anbarasan said.
“We used to teach him in patiently so that he understands the concept,” Tiriguna said.
“I am sure, if I had sons, they would not have taught me to pass the exams. It was my two daughters who taught me and I am proud of them.
“The focus was more on small questions so that I could score well without much difficulty and also on some higher mark questions,” Subramanian said.
When the results were announced, it was a double joy for the Subramanians.
While he had finally cleared the class 10 exams, his daughter Tiriguna had come second in her school with total marks of 471. She wants to be a chartered accountant and has decided to opt for the commerce group in her plus two.
According to Anbarasan, the family celebrated the double achievement by eating out. (Agecy)
