It is very good that Swathi has performed well. The group should be proud of having supported such a dedicated child. But let us take a step back before we decide to start running her life. She has sought financial help from us and the group has provided it.
It seems to me that she has done well in the academics in the first year without input from us. So why not let her continue? Yes if someone like Prashanthi would like to help more by giving clothes etc, that should be fine. Swathi wants to take a re-exam to improve her scores in chemistry and sanskrit. Let her make that decision and go with it. We will support her as she needs. If Vani can provide guidance, that is great. But let us not dissuade her from trying to improve in Sanskrit. I have taken Sanskrit and French as part of education and even though my scores were poor, learning a new language really helped me. And Sanskrit has been shown to have many applications rather than just a pure language. Personally if I had to redo my courses, I would certainly try to improve my knowledge and hence performance on Sanskrit. Just because we may see it differently, we should not ask her to tow our line. Let her make the decisions she wants. Is she going to make all the right decisions in life? Probably not. But given that she is smart, she will learn from her mistakes if any. We are not her teaches or mentors to tell her that trying for Sanskrit is waste of time. So please let her be and support her in the way she desires. That way she has a chance to grow up to a well rounded individual. Give the kid a chance to grow up to be an independant woman. One on hand there is a public outcry that girls are always told what to do, and we are doing the exact same thing. We should be happy to give her advice, but only if she comes to us. So let us back off. I would like to donate a prize to her based on her performance. Since Vani knows her well, I request her to suggest something that she really wants (not needs). I will be going to Dilsukhnagar next Friday to attend a wedding and could it hand it then. Else I will get it to Vani to hand over during the next meeting. Cheers Suresh A
