They were lost for a while, but luckily they found their way. This could sum up the stories of Sharavan (13) and Muthuraman (14), thanks to the efforts of Karunalaya, an NGO which rescues runaway boys and mainstreams them.Both the boys have similar backgrounds — they lost their parents quite young and were left at the mercy of their relatives. Sharavan, who is from Madurai, was sent to work in a muruku factory in Andhra Pradesh by his older brother.Sharavan says, “When my brother got married, he didn’t want to keep me with him." The teenager used to start his day at 6 am and work till 2 am. He says, “At the factory, they would give us only one hour every Sunday to take bath and wash our clothes. It was a nightmare to live there."Sadly, Sharavan’s income was sent straight to his brother. Finally, he decided to leave, and took a train to Chennai.Muthuraman has a similar story. After his parents died he was left in the care of his aunt, who didn’t take much notice of him. Later, he found a job in a sweet shop in Marakanam. He came to Chennai looking for a new life.At the bus stop, Muthuraman was spotted by the staff of Karunalaya. Now, both Sharavan and Muthuraman attend the informal education classes and have their own dreams.
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