Thrissur’s new collector credited her success to her parents after assuming charge. In an emotional note, he recalled the inspiration of his late father and the struggle of his mother, who worked hard for 20 years and took loans to educate him.
Thrissur: When someone achieves the biggest success of his life, he remembers the most those people who supported him in this journey. Similar is the story of Thrissur’s new District Collector Shikha Surendran, who as soon as she assumed office, wrote a very emotional note remembering her parents, which is now touching people’s hearts. She wrote that today when she has become a collector, her father is not there to see this moment, which she is missing a lot. The collector recalled that the courage given by his father even while he was on the dialysis bed became his biggest strength.
He told that after his father fell ill, for the last 20 years his mother took care of the entire house and worked hard for him. Mother used to work standing for long hours in a company and when she returned home tired, she did not know how to help in studies. Despite this, he left no stone unturned to fulfill his daughter’s dreams. The daughter had to get coaching for civil services, so the mother took a loan from Kerala women’s self-help group ‘Kutumbashree’ and a co-operative bank. When the Collector, seeing the financial condition of the house, thought of doing a job along with studies, his parents stopped him and asked him to concentrate only on studies.
The collector wrote that when she was leaving the house to collect the charge and touched her mother’s feet, the mother cried. The pain of missing his father was clear in his eyes. Even while sitting in the government car, mother remained silent due to grief. He ended his post with these words, “It was not just the books I read that brought me to this position in the Civil Service, but the unwavering faith of a mother and a father who were sure that their daughter would make it.”
The complete heart touching note of the collector…
My father taught me to dream. Today when I took charge of Thrissur District Collector, I very much wished that my father was also here to see this moment. Hardly anyone else could have given me the courage and confidence he gave me from the dialysis bed. I am writing this note with tears in my eyes, but I am sure that his blessings will always be with me and this is my strength going forward. When I was going to the collector office to collect the charge, I touched my mother’s feet. She cried because she was missing her father. Even after sitting with me in the District Collector’s car, she remained silent due to grief. When father fell ill, mother worked hard for us for almost twenty years. She used to work standing for hours in the company. When I returned home tired, he did not know how to give me advice or help me in my studies. For civil service coaching, he took loan from ‘Kutumbashree’ and co-operative bank. Seeing the condition of the house, when I thought of studying along with a job, my mother and father refused me.
My journey from the answer sheet of Civil Services Examination to the chair of District Collector was not completed only because of books; Rather, it was because of the faith of a mother and a father who believed in me even when I was tired, procrastinated, or afraid of failure. He always believed that his daughter would do it.