Tamil Nadu - Coimbatore   

Dream big is Narain's message to students

Anasuya Menon

`Parents need to support their children'

INSPIRING FORCE: Formula One racer Narain Karthikeyan addressing students at the annual day function of G. Ramaswamy Naidu Matriculation Higher Secondary School in the city recently. - Photo: K. Ananthan

COIMBATORE: It may have been another routine annual day function for the students of G. Ramaswamy Naidu Matriculation Higher Secondary School had it not been for the special guest of the evening, Formula One racer Narain Karthikeyan.

Dressed in a casual white shirt and blue jeans, Narain spoke to the students about his passion for motor sports. The crowd was silent, soaking in every word he spoke. "I was an average student in school, but I always set goals for myself," he said. When he started pursuing motor sport seriously, there weren't many opportunities in India. "It was an uphill task for me. But I was determined and worked hard. That is why I could make a mark in this field."

He also said that parents needed to support their children when they chose to dream different. "I was lucky because my parents always supported me when I chose to pursue this career." However, to be able to achieve greatness in life one needed to dream big and have the perseverance to keep trying till it was achieved, Narain said.

Narain's father G.R. Karthikeyan, Managing Director of Karthikeya Spinning Mills and trustee of the school, said that the generation of today was a privileged lot. With the boom in Information Technology, they had access to good education and connectivity to every part of the world. "None of us is inferior to anyone else in the world. So, parents should let their children choose their own career," he said. Narain's wife, Pawarna, mother Sheela Karthikeyan and brother Rajeev Karthikeyan were present at the function.

Principal Seetha Poovaiah presented the annual report of the school.

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