Lemonade seller to Sub Inspector: Giving wings to a dream

Thiruvananthapuram: On June 25, Anie Siva, 31, joined the Varkala police station as a probationary sub-inspector. Ten years ago, she sold lemonade and ice cream to tourists at the Varkala Sivagiri Ashram. ‘I joined the police service as a civil officer in 2016, and now I am the sub-inspector of police in the same place I sold ice cream and lemonade ten years ago for the Varkala Sivagiri pilgrimage,’ she wrote on Facebook.

Social media users have already shared her post, which has gone viral. Annie recalled how her ‘life partner’ left her when she was just 19 years old. According to her, her family was against her getting married at the age of 18, so she couldn’t return home. When she returned home, she had a six-month-old baby and was asked to live in a temporary shed near her grandmother’s house.

After relocating with her son Shivasurya, Anie changed her life for the better. ‘After selling curry powder and soap initially, I became an insurance agent. Later, I delivered essential items to people by motorcycle to earn money to finish my Sociology degree’, Anie said.

‘Boy cut’ to avoid publicity
Annie faced many difficulties as a single mother in the big city. As such, she decided to go for the ‘boy cut’ hairstyle to protect herself from the eyes that stare at her constantly. Annie’s relative encouraged her to apply for a police position, and provided some money to prepare for the test. She attended a training center in Thiruvananthapuram in 2014 to prepare for the examinations, for the sub-inspector position and for the woman police post. She wrote the SI selection test in 2019 and was selected because she had been a police officer for three years. As a sub-inspector trainee, she joined after nearly one and a half years of training. She shared her accomplishment on social media.

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As of Saturday (June 26), Annie Siva, who gave wings to her dreams even in the toughest phases of her life, was appointed sub-inspector at Varkala Police Station. From politicians to celebrities, countless people congratulated her on the achievement.