PhD scholar by day, chickpeas seller by night: How a man is repaying his family's debts

People often go to great lengths to pay off their debts or finance their own education. From part time jobs to small businesses there have been many inspiring stories of those who struggle to make ends meet, but not give up their goals. One such inspiring story is that of S Palaniraj. He is a Tamil PhD scholar who also moonlights as a chickpeas vendor in the evening in Puducherry after he is done with classes. He earns a stipend of Rs 8,000 from the university, but that is not enough for him to make ends meet. [caption id=“attachment_2027381” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  Representational image. AFP[/caption] According to The Times of India, “Their father S Subramanian, who worked as a salesman in a textile showroom had to quit the job due to health reasons. Eleven years later in 2010, Saravana Kumar completed MA MPhil BEd and is a teacher in a government institute while Palaniraj decided to continue the business even while pursuing his doctorate.” Palaniraj’s salary is due to be doubled, but he says he cannot leave this part-time business because of several loans that his family took for his sisters’ weddings. He also says that while some of his classmates support his endeavours many disaprove of it. Read Palaniraj’s story as told by The Times of India here.