Like every father, Vadithya Ramana too had pinned high hopes on his son Vadithya Nehru. In fact, he named his son after the first Prime Minister Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru and hoped to see his son doing good academically and reach great heights professionally -- something Ramana says he drew inspiration from the persona of Jawaharlal Nehru, whom he saw in his young days when the Country's first prime minister had visited their native district of Nalgonda to inaugurate one of the largest masonry dam -- Nagarjuna Sagar -- several decades ago. Despite the fact that Ramana kept struggling all through to make both ends meet, he somehow managed to save money for his son Nehru's education as he hoped to see him become a highly qualified engineer. ''I saved money for his studies and whenever he asked for more, I arranged it though Iam a agricultural labourer,'' recalls Ramana, sitting under the shade of at tree outside the Osmania General Hospital's mortuary. His son and his only hope, 20-year-old Vadhithya Nehru, a student of Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Kanpur, committed suicide by consuming poison yesterday, which has completely shattered the family, particularly Ramana. ''As part of our tanda culture, we wanted to welcome him to drum beats and take a procession whenever he secured the best job for himself. All of us were looking forward to the day when he would become a highly qualified engineer,'' said Ramana, holding back tears as he awaited the body of his son at the hospital. The body was handed over to the family after a post-moterm after which it was taken to their native, Narlaga tanda, Vaddipatla village in peddadicharlapally mandal in Nalgonda district. Clad in disheveled white dhothi and shirt, Ramana, who was in a pensive mood wondered if the extreme step taken by his son was a right decision. ''Is this timid act of committing suicide the right decision to solve his problems? Before resorting to the extreme step, he even spoke to Panni (Nehru's mother) and told her that he would visit home and explain issues regarding his studies. Travelling with Nehru's body to my native is going to be tough for me,'' said Ramana. A number of villagers, friends and relatives also reached the mortuary to receive Nehru's body. Nehru secured all India 17 rank in IIT- Joint Entrance Examinations under ST category and he had B.Tech admission at Electronic Engineering (EE) stream in IIT Kanpur campus. It is learnt that Nehru secured below 4.5 grade out of 10 in the first year examinations and he was terminated from the college as detention system is implementing in the campus. ``Nehru came to the city in a depressed condition and was staying at his friends room in Kukatpally. He took Rs 100 from his friend and purchased a pesticide and went to Abdulpurmet. He informed his parents and friends over mobile phone stating that he will commit suicide. Some of his friends and me sent a SMS to his mobile but it was switched off. My SMS was delivered around 5.41 pm yesterday and I thought he was alive. Then, I made a call to his number that was answered by the Hayatnagar police who stated that Nehru committed suicide,'' said V Venkatram, head master at government school in Miryalaguda and close relative of Nehru. He said that Nehru was fifth person from their village in pursuing higher education in a reputed educational institution like IIT Kanpur. Since childhood, Nehru was an active person and participated in various social events that took place in his village. Nehru used to discuss with us to do some service to the village after securing a good job. Whenever we had holidays, we spent at the native place. Soon after reached the city from Kanpur, he met me and told he would go home. I heard the bad news that he committed suicide,'' recalled a 20-year-old B.Tech student Muni, childhood friend of Nehru.
By Mouli Mareedu
moulimareedu@gmail.com
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