Youngest in his family, Selvam, 13, lost his mother who used to sell fish at the village market in Muzhukkuthurai, in Cuddalore District. She was the sole bread-winner in a family where the father is addicted to alcohol and disinterested in the children. The tsunami destroyed their house and ruined the family’s fishing boat and nets. They now live in a temporary shelter, with the elder brother turning bread-winner and head of family. He makes sure Selvam continues his schooling -- no other sibling studied beyond fifth grade. Selvam occasionally thinks of his mother and talks about what happens to people who reach heaven after death.