Brothers return to give alma mater a new lease of life
CHENNAI: Years after passing out of the Perugavazhndan Government Higher Secondary School, three brothers returned to their village in Muthupet, Tiruvarur district, to give the school a fresh lease of life.
When A Rajagopal, a chartered accountant based in Singapore, revisited his native village in December 2021 with the intent to sponsor computers for the school, he was struck by a profound and painful realisation. The school building, which had been a sanctuary of learning for many in the village, was gone. It had been demolished.
The school, built over 60 years ago, had suffered a slow decline due to years of poor maintenance. Yet, it was the devastating impact of Cyclone Gaja in 2018 that proved to be the final blow. The authorities left with no alternative, made the somber decision to shift students to a makeshift structure and consign the original building to the annals of history.
For Rajagopal and his elder brothers, Ilangovan and Muthazhagan, this was a deeply personal and emotional revelation. Muthazhagan, a civil engineer in Chennai, says, “The school building was constructed by our mother’s uncle. We were moved when we saw the photographs of former chief minister Kamaraj laying the foundation stone in 1960.”
“After completing our higher studies and establishing ourselves in our respective careers,” says Ilangovan, also a civil engineer based in Singapore, “We felt that we had to give back to our native village and the school that had played a pivotal role in our lives. Many members of our family proudly count themselves as alumni of this institution.”
United by their love for their village and their beloved school, the brothers made a collective decision that would breathe new life into the institution. They pledged to sponsor the construction of a new school building, with nine classrooms at an estimated cost of `1 crore. “We were functioning in a make-shift building, as the old structure was deemed beyond repair after an inspection by the Public Works Department. Given that students from surrounding villages come here to study, we requested for a new building,” says Baladhandayutham, the school headmaster.
In a poignant tribute to their late mother, Dhanasekari Ammal, who passed away in 2010, the new school building was christened ‘Dhanasekari Ammal Arivarangam’. The construction of the school commenced in 2022 and was completed in 2023. Today, the new school building stands as a symbol of rebirth and transformation, breathing new life into the dreams of 413 students who currently study in classes ranging from 6 to 12.