GREEN MEMORIES: DAD SOWS PLANTS TO HONOUR SON

When MK Isai Amudhu, a promising student, killed himself after his grade in the Class 12 exam didn't match his expectation, his father, G Munusamy, often found himself in the foothills of the nearby Kanchanagari Hills contemplating suicide for months on end.

- RAJALAKSHMI SAMPATH

Amudhu was a bright student who excelled in both academics and extracurricular activities and aspired to join the civil services after becoming a doctor like his elder brother, MK II-akiyaperunthagai. Always anxious about measuring up to his brother, he ranked second in his Class 10 exam in his school despite nursing anxiety for which he sought medical treatment. "My son was so talented. I don't know what changed, but the pressure of exams started to weigh on him," 56-year-old Munusamy recounts.

"As parents, we never pressured our children for marks. But despite our support, he became increasingly anxious. The burden of failure gnawed into his fragile mental health and took a toll on July 2021 when CBSE announced the Class 12 results without conducting the exam due to Covid protocol. He just got 400 out of 500 when CBSE announced the results. He was expecting to top the exam," Munusamy said. "My son left us, writing a note which said, 'I don't wish to live; no one is the reason for my death. Kindly take care of my brother and help him achieve something big.'"