KRISHNAGIRI: Strangers will mistake 14-year-old M.Ananthi as taking care of her younger brother or the neighbour’s boy. Sure, they will be shocked if informed Ananthi is the biological mother of the eight-month-old infant in her custody.
Ananthi is the elder daughter in the family with two siblings. The three were born to 42-year-old M.Munusamy and his 38-year-old wife M.Mani, both construction workers of Natrampalayam Pudur village in Denkannikottai taluk of Krishnagiri district. She studied up to eighth class in the local village school and was just 12 years old when Ananthi was married off to her relative boy. “Studied class 8 with a dream of becoming teacher but my dreams shattered the very next day; I told my school teacher about what I will become after being grownup,” Ananthi told DC. She continued, “I was married to a boy who is my relative. My marriage happened in few days after I was stopped from going to school.”
But trouble began for her because of 21-year-old C.Kaveri, who informed her parents about his desire to marry her. The construction worker threatened to commit suicide if his proposal was not accepted. “Ananthi’s husband did what he told us before marriage. He died after committing suicide for reasons unknown,” 40-year-old K.Valliammal, a relative said.
Valliammal added, “early marriage to girls is done in a thought of doing good to them. In few cases, it turns into the worst tragedy for girls and also for her relatives.” According to him, villagers are aware that early marriage is prohibited under the Law, but still commit mistake as they are afraid to leave their daughters alone in the village during their migration to other states for livelihood.
