On Monday morning, 68-year-old M. Pool Pandian was seen clutching two cloth bags as he stood on the Madurai Collectorate premises. One of the bags contained a towel, a kaavi dhoti, a tumbler and a plate. The other had ₹10,000, which Mr. Pandian had obtained by begging. Despite living in penury, he donated the entire amount to the Chief Minister’s Public Relief Fund to aid the efforts to tackle the COVID-19 pandemic.
Hailing from Aalankinaru village in Thoothukudi district, Mr. Pandian has been donating his earnings towards the development of panchayat union primary schools in Thoothukudi, Thanjavur and Pudukottai districts for many years. Being an ardent follower of former Chief Minister K. Kamaraj has helped him understand the importance of education, he said. “I donate mats and chairs to ensure that students don’t have to sit on the floor. I have also bought stationery items and water purifiers for these schools,” he said.
Two weeks before the announcement of the lockdown, Mr. Pandian reached Madurai and took to begging at the central vegetable and flower market at Mattuthavani. “People of Tamil Nadu are generous. They ensure that no one starves in front of their eyes. While some donate money, others buy tea or idlis for me to make sure that I don’t go hungry,” he said.
During the lockdown, he was accommodated in the Kakkai Padiniyar Corporation Girls’ Higher Secondary School, where Corporation officials provided him with food. “After witnessing how families were suffering due to the COVID-19 pandemic, I decided to give away all the money I had obtained by begging towards relief efforts,” Mr. Pandian said.
He is planning to travel to other districts and continue donating his earnings to the COVID-19 relief fund.
“I have studied only up to Class I. But even Kamaraj was a school dropout who nonetheless made a big difference to people’s lives. Being his follower, I want to contribute whatever little I have. In fact, this is the only thing that keeps me going,” he added.
