VIRUDHUNAGAR: When R Narayanakumar quit his pharmacist job in Saudi Arabia following an altercation with his sponsor over non-payment of salaries for three months, he was completely at loss. Back in his village, thoughts of an uncertain future haunted him.
That was when the B Pharm graduate landed in the class conducted by K Marimuthu, the tehsildar from Srivillliputhur, for government job aspirants at Virudhunagar. Six months later, Narayanakumar cleared the Group-4 examination and got posted as the village administrative officer in his hometown. Two of his siblings, who followed his steps are now working in the government sector.
Narayanakumar and his siblings are three of the 10,000 aspirants that owe their lives to Marimuthu (56), who is an official during the weekdays and a teacher over the weekends. For the past 18 years, Marimuthu has been training central and state government job aspirants for free. He teaches 2,000 kids a day for two days a week, from 10 in the morning to 5:30 pm.
Hailing from a poor family, Marimuthu always dreamt of becoming a government official. He cracked the examination and was hired as the revenue inspector in Thirumangalam in 1994. “After getting the job, my inner voice kept telling me about the struggles of aspirants who are unable to chase their dreams due to financial constraints,” he says, adding his family has been supportive throughout. Marimuthu conducts classes in a shed, originally meant for the Tamil Nadu Revenue Officials Association, on the premises of the district collectorate. Students from different backgrounds and districts travel to Virudhunagar to attend his classes.
Marimuthu prepares for his weekend classes after returning from work every day. “Sometimes it takes up to midnight. The happiness that I see on the faces of the aspirants and their families after they get the job is priceless. It’s worth all the effort,” he says.
There are separate sessions to clear doubts, seek feedback, and even conduct quizzes. A cash-strapped Marimuthu does not seek donations unless willingly contributed but offers a cash prize of `100 for whoever is the first one to answer a question. He also introduced the Vallalar Thittam, named after the 18th-century saint who used to feed the poor, an initiative to feed students for free.“Since students from other districts start their journey early in the morning, the majority of them stay hungry during class hours.
"Owing to financial constraints they don’t even buy food from outside. This made me come up with the scheme,” he says. The tehsildar has also hired a cook and feeds 3,000 to 4,000 students on average.
R Jayaram (25), an aspirant with partial visual impairment, starts his travel from Pudukottai at 3 am and reaches Virudhunagar around 10 am every Sunday. Jayaram lost his parents at a very young age and is taken care of by his grandmother. “The recently launched Vallalar Thittam is a boon for students like us,” he says. Jayaram recently appeared for the Group-one examination and expects good results. “Due to sir’s coaching, I was able to answer all questions,” he tells TNIE.
Marimuthu also counsels students on their careers. For over a decade, he has been gifting dresses to 100 young minds from economically weaker sections every Diwali.
[Any interested aspirant can reach out to K Marimuthu at +91 98650 56155]