From begging on Chennai roads...... to Italy to study automotive engineering

Jayavel

had a tough childhood. He comes from a community that begs for a living. His father passed away when he was two, his mother is an alcoholic, his younger brother sells books and toys on the road. But none of these circumstances proved to be a hindrance for this 21-year-old, who is on his way to finishing his

automotive engineering

at the University of Turin in

Italy

.
Jayavel, who stays in Ayanavaram, didn’t go to school till the age of four. “I wasn’t interested in studies, and I used to beg till I was four. Life was all about being on the streets,” begins Jayavel. However, things started looking up for the youngster, when Uma Venkatachalam, who heads an

NGO

in Vyasarpadi, found him on the streets of Avadi,

begging

. It was this NGO that funded him and sent him to school. “I started going to school when I was five. The NGO arranged for the funds and I went to a school called St Anne’s High School in Ayanavaram. I studied there till my second standard. By then, there were several children from my locality who wanted to go to school. So Uma ma’am started a school in Avadi where we all enrolled together. I studied there till Class VIII,” shares Jayavel.
By now, Jay, (as he is called by friends), had his priorities sorted. He aimed to be an engineer and wanted to go abroad for his education. All this, when his mother continued to drink, and was living on the Kodambakkam pavements. “Once I started going to school, I started living at the NGO. Only then could I study in peace. Otherwise, I would’ve had to quit and beg to feed my aging mother. My younger brother had to quit studies to sell books on the streets to feed himself and my mother. I am only thankful that I didn’t end up doing that,” he says.
Jay’s progress was slow, but steady. The lanky teenager was in Class X by now, and had shifted to Omega International School, where he wrote his IGCSE exams and secured 53 per cent. Based on those marks, he got admission in Velammal School, and completed his XI and XII. And then, Jay started applying to foreign universities – he had just made up his mind that he’d go abroad for studies. “I could have applied in any of our local colleges and gone for an IT job, but that was not my goal. I wanted to show that I’m much more than that. I want to inspire people from my community and tell them that they can do it, too — if they set their mind to it; that begging need not be the only option. I wanted my people to realise that by studying, they will get a better shot at life and can elevate themselves. Right from getting a driver’s licence to a ration card, things get simpler if you are educated,” preaches Jay.
Jay tried to get a scholarship for the uni. After trying various universities in Japan and across the UK, he finally landed at Glyndwr University, Wrexham. By now, he was studying automotive engineering, with a specialisation course called Performance Cars Technologies. “I was petrified when I was flying to London. I was so scared about losing my visa that I’d carry it in my pocket all the time. I also found the accent very difficult initially. Life is tough there, and expensive, too. So, I took on a part time job at a store,” says Jay. But not everything was hunky dory. Bad luck struck when foreign students were asked to leave UK as several colleges lost their licence. “Several foreigners were my classmates, but all of us were asked to leave. It was a disaster, as I had completed only two years of the course. So I came back to Chennai and started applying to other colleges to continue my course.
That’s when I got a call from University of Turin in Italy,” says the ever-optimistic Jay, who is now looking forward to completing this course.
On the other side, even today, Jay’s mother and brother find it hard to make ends meet — and they are still on the pavements. “I stopped talking to my mother long ago. She never made an effort to stay away from drinking — she wouldn’t have money, but she would take loans to go to the wine shop. My brother is the one who does business and tries to earn some money. They don’t beg anymore. She started drinking after my father died. I also have three elder sisters who are married and live in Avadi,” says Jay.
On the contrary, Saroja, Jay’s mother, is proud of her son. “We live on the streets, and for my son to beat the odds and go study, is something nobody from our community has ever done. He is a little miffed with me at the moment, but things will be better. I wish we had the money to help him with his education, but we have nothing,” she shares.
As for his future goals, Jay says “We have a lot of debt to be repaid. I have no choice, but to go abroad and earn to repay the entire loan. I hope to get a job and motivate others from my community. Considering my background, when I see a beggar on the streets anywhere in the world, I feel really sad, and my heart sinks. I hope there comes a day when there are no beggars in India,” he signs off.


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