My father stopped paying my tuition/hostel fees when I was studying 4th year MBBS. I had to send my marks sheet to him each year and I did without fail. My sister called my father to let him know that she was told by a reliable source ( read George) that I failed 3rd Year MBBS. My father was convinced that I forged my marks sheet and much as I tried, he refused to believe me. ( He did find out that I have been regularly signing on his behalf all the internal marks sheet, so he was more than convinced that I forged the marks sheet) I called my sister and begged her to call my college and speak to the Principal and ask if I passed 3rd year or not. She ignored me. ( How much I hated her then !!)
My father wanted me to apologize to him for trying to cheat him and after working so hard and scoring the highest marks for most subjects, there was no way I was going to apologize. My father decided not to send me money and I decided to show to him that I can and I will survive and finish my degree. (after all I am methran Thamby’s grand daughter)
By then I had a single room, so no one in my batch knew what I was going through. I just told everyone that I was sick and tired of eating mess food and decided to cook my own food. Gangamma was in charge of sweeping my room and she knew what was going on. Every now and then she would bring (steal) a plate of rice and curry from the mess for me. She even used to make raggi balls for me and bring it with her to the hostel. I ate bread and banana whenever I was hungry. ( My hospital served lunch at 12 noon. The staff would bring huge aluminium pots that contain rice, sambar and vege to the wards..and the patients/relatives would to line up to get the food. Up to my third year, I used to look with great disdain at the type of food(crappy) and the poor pathetic people who waited to eat such pathetic food and in Year 4..when my stomach growled, I wondered if I could ask the staff for a plate of same crappy food.)

I got my cousin to buy salwars from Delhi ( cheap) and bring it with him to Bangalore ( free shipping) each time he came for a visit and sold the salwars ( marked up %) to my classmates and juniors. I also did tons of catering..( I used to supply cakes to expats living in Bangalore) I bought materials for my own salwars from the khadi exhibition and got them stitched at rural areas when ever I was posted there for community medicine projects..( Cheaper and the tailor was so happy that he was stitching the salwars for the village doctor, he would make it faster for me)
I couldn’t afford to wear the salwars I was selling!!!
I did finish MBBS, without my father’s financial support. My first salary ( 750 rs) as an intern..when I received it, I felt I was walking in the clouds..
Coming from such a background, I was even more determined that my children will never go through what I went through.
I buy a gold coin each year on their birthday. ( Even when I was struggling financially, I still bought a gold coin, albeit a smaller one)
Each of them have an education plan that I have been paying since their birth,
I have already kept sufficient money in FD in each child’s name for them to buy an old junk when they go to Uni
( if they don’t go to Uni, I will sell the gold, cash in the educations plan, use the money and sail around the world!!!)
But still my mind is never at peace..I still feel that I am not doing enough.
This year for Christmas I bought silver coins for them..( gold is getting too expensive and six gold coins in a year is not feasible)
Yaya and baby are getting the kangaroo at sunset and toothless is getting the year of the dragon coin..