R. Rajaraman, a resident of Perambur, has successfully passed the Common Proficiency Test (CPT) exam. Now, you may be wondering what’s special about this. For 19-year-old Rajaram and those who have known him, this is a special achievement bordering on the incredible. Diagnosed with congenital osteogenesis imperfecta or brittle bones right at his birth, there was a Big question mark over his survival. But his mother, Rajeshwari, was not prepared to give up.
“His bones were under-developed and very weak. He would keep getting fractures. Until the age of eight, we could not send him to school. Whenever he felt good, I would teach him the alphabet and numbers. But I wanted him to get some formal education. Getting schools to accept him was not easy. Due to his condition, I would request the principals to let me stay on the school premises. But they would not allow me to. I had almost given up on the idea of formal education for him, when I decided to give it one last try. We approached Scared Heart’s Nursery and Primary School in Permabur. He was asked to write an exam. He did very well. The principal was even more impressed when he gave a cricket commentary during his interview. He was admitted in class II,” says Rajeshwari.
Despite frequent breaks that he has had to take, Rajaram did well at school. He would win oratorical, drawing and chess competitions. “He received the all-rounder’s award from his school. As Scared Hearts had classes only till standard V we had to find a new school. We approached KBJ Gurukulam School,” she says. He received an admission, but was unable to attend school as he had suffered a major fracture. The school was very accommodative and allowed me to collect notes once every week and only expected Rajaraman to come to write exams. Then he started attending school for half a day.
“In his Class X Board exams, he secured 481/500 and joined the commerce stream. He scored 1125/1200 in his XII,” says Rajeshwari, who has been taking care of her son with the support of her parents.
By this time, Rajaraman knew what he wanted to pursue. “He dreamt of doing CA. Browsing on the Internet, he selected R.R. Academy in Nungambakkam and asked me to approach the director. When I explained to them about his condition, they offered free coaching. Also, many trusts came forward to provide conveyance charges,” she says.
With a fractured hand, he wrote the CPT exam and cleared it. “I don’t set daunting targets for myself. I know what I am capable of. The schools and the teachers made the learning process easier for me. Though I feel down when I have these fractures, I am able to get over the setbacks faster than anyone else. I have no future plans. My immediate aim is to pursue IPCC,” says Rajaraman.
K.N. Ramaswamy, director of the Academy, says it is an achievement not just for Rajaraman, but also the Academy. “We are fortunate to have a student like him. To see his motivation to pursue CA is very inspiring. As his class was on first floor, two of our staff would carry him up to his class and back. He is a role model to both the students and teachers.”
Those interested to sponsor the youngster may contact Rajeshwari at 98405 81583.
