7-yearr-old gives up dream, breaks piggy bank for CM’s relief fund

COIMBATORE: Buying identical silk skirts (pattu pavadai) for her baby sister and herself was a dream P Pranavika had nurtured for six months. On Wednesday, the seven-year-old ‘shattered’ it herself, breaking open her piggy bank and donating the 1,516 in it to the chief minister’s Covid-19 relief fund.
The daughter of T Palaniswami, a junior assistant with Tangedco, said her priorities changed on Tuesday night when she saw a television advertisement inviting people to donate to the fund. Her father Palaniswami had donated 500 to the relief fund last year.
The Class II student said she was well-informed about the contagion that has forced schools to remain shut and people to follow preventive measures like wearing masks and maintaining social distancing. “I know it’s a virus and spreads from one sick person to another by touch and air. I also know that if we wash our hands, and wear a mask, we can avoid it. People die because of corona.”
Her father said Pranavika was fascinated by the certificate he had received. It didn’t take long for Pranavika to make up her mind.
Palaniswami received a WhatsApp message from an Indian Overseas Bank branch, calling for donations. “So, we went to the bank on Wednesday, emptied her entire savings in the piggy bank and deposited that by filling a bank challan.”