On family farmland, brothers nurture rural youths’ dreams of government service

Aspirants taking part in endurance tests at the Pudhiya Siragugal training academy in Kappur in Villupuram district on Thursday. | Photo Credit: KUMAR SS

Aspirants taking part in endurance tests at the Pudhiya Siragugal training academy in Kappur in Villupuram district on Thursday. | Photo Credit: KUMAR SS

Once a source of livelihood for a farming family, a two-and-a-half-acre plot in Kappur, a nondescript village in Villupuram district, is now nurturing the ambitions of rural youngsters. 

Meet R.J. Tholkappiyan Sivaraj, a head constable and his brother R.J. Sathyaraj, a constable with the Tamil Nadu Police who established Pudhiya Siragugal, a free training academy to help young aspirants to prepare for police recruitment and the Tamil Nadu Public Services Commission (TNPSC).

Drawing on their experience in the police force and their academic qualifications, the brothers combine classroom teaching with physical training, handling both aspects themselves. Sivaraj holds an M.Phil in Economics and is posted at Tirukoyilur, while Sathyaraj, a postgraduate in Physics, serves at Ulundurpet.

Pudhiya Siragugal grew out of Sivaraj’s own experience of preparing for competitive examinations without paid coaching.

“I was fascinated by the police force since childhood and grew up dreaming of wearing the Khaki uniform one day. While pursuing a Master’s degree in Ramakrishna Mission Vivekananda College in Chennai, I studied for competitive exams alongside the course and eventually joined the force,” he says.

After completing his initial police training in Pudukottai district in 2009, Sivaraj was posted to Chennai in 2010.