Over 50 college students crowd the terrace of a two-storey home late at night time in Haryana’s Bahadurgarh. Sitting on mattresses overlaying each inch of the terrace, their eyes are glued to the wall-mounted whiteboard.
His black marker streaking throughout the whiteboard, Ajay Grewal, 34, a Head Constable with the Delhi Police, explains how one can “logically” decide the day of an individual’s delivery with simply the date of delivery and the variety of leap years.
For practically seven hours every day, Grewal, who joined the pressure in 2009, covers all vital themes usually information, reasoning, arithmetic, English and Hindi — all totally free for presidency job aspirants belonging to poor households.
At the moment posted on the Delhi Police Coaching School in Jharoda Kalan, Grewal has been operating the Vidyan Mahadan Teaching Centre from the terrace of his Bahadurgarh home since 2016. He says his “shattered” UPSC goals prompted him to begin the teaching academy.
At this time, Grewal teaches practically 10,000 college students, together with those that be part of on-line from UP and Rajasthan. The courses begin at
6 pm each day. Whereas the women depart at 10.30 pm — “for security causes” — the boys find yourself finding out till 3 am. “We often have round 100 college students on the terrace. The numbers dip after they have exams. The boys find yourself sleeping on the mattresses and blankets supplied right here. Some even have breakfast at my home earlier than leaving,” says Grewal.
In addition to educating the aspirants on his terrace, Grewal additionally beams the category stay on his devoted YouTube channel by way of a cell phone mounted on a tripod. His channel, Vidyan Mahadan, has over 6,000 followers and over 500 movies of teaching materials for varied authorities examinations.
In a small room related to the terrace is Vikas Suhail, 26, one among Grewal’s former college students and a contractual civil engineer. Having joined Vidyan Mahadan in 2018, Vikas teaches a smaller batch with the assistance of a 70-inch good TV that Grewal purchased final yr.
Speaking about his failed UPSC journey, he says, “Rising up in Haryana, I used to be closely into wrestling. I might practise on the akhada (a conventional wrestling floor) made by my father, a retired Delhi Police officer, close to our home, and even participated in native and nationwide tournaments. I continued wrestling even after I joined the Delhi Police in 2009. Whereas wrestling helped me clear the bodily examination for constables, UPSC was my actual dream.”
In 2013, Grewal began getting ready for UPSC on his personal. “From 2015 to 2020, I wrote the examination annually however didn’t make it to the ultimate stage. In 2016, I cleared the mains paper, however didn’t move the interview stage,” he says.
Whereas getting ready for the exams, round in 2016, he realised that a number of kids in his neighbourhood aspired for presidency jobs however lacked entry to teaching resulting from their poor monetary backgrounds. “I assumed I might polish my information by teaching just a few of those college students. I began out with one pupil. At this time, I’ve 10,000,” he says.
Speaking about his YouTube channel, he says it was simpler stated than accomplished. Carrying a white polo T-shirt with ‘Vidyan Mahadan’ embossed on it, Grewal says his YouTube channel was dormant for practically a yr after he began. “After Vikas joined me in 2018, he began importing quick movies and holding stay classes. Actually, our on-line courses have obtained a wonderful response,” he says.
To assist his college students obtain their goals, Grewal sleeps for 5 hours after ending the courses at 3 am. “I get up at 8 am and report for obligation by 9 am. I return residence by 5 pm, across the time my college students begin arriving for the courses. The session begins at 6 pm,” he says.
On the police academy, Grewal is liable for educating new recruits the right way to use the Crime and Prison Monitoring Community and Methods (CCTNS).
Like Grewal, his college students too lead “double” lives exterior the teaching centre. When he’s not serving to his father are likely to their farm close to their home in a village close by within the day, Deepanshu Kaushik, 18, is at school — both in school or on the teaching centre.
“I joined these courses practically 4 months in the past, after I heard about them from a good friend. I’m a first-year BA pupil at a authorities faculty. Although I work on the farm to assist my father, my household’s sole breadwinner, I wish to clear the UPSC examination,” he says.
Then there’s Ritu Barbola, 20, a former powerlifter who has competed in a number of inter-state competitions. “A yr in the past, I injured my shoulder whereas lifting within the 45-kg class. I’ve not been in a position to compete since then. I work on my restoration and practise classes within the morning, and attend teaching courses within the night,” she says.
The daughter of a daily-wage labourer, Ritu typically helps her father with guide work.
Yogita, 20, a university pupil, joined the courses within the hopes of a authorities job bettering her household’s dire monetary state of affairs. “My father has been bedridden for 14 years resulting from paralysis. He’s lastly in a position to transfer somewhat now. My mom runs a vegetable stall exterior our home, however her earnings should not sufficient to run the household and pay for my father’s remedy. Some family have been serving to us together with his medical payments. Two years in the past, I began taking tuition at residence for Class 11 and 12 college students to assist my mom. I realised that solely a authorities job can actually assist us. I wish to crack the SSC (State Service Choice) examination and have been taking teaching right here for practically a yr now.”
Sitting on a plastic chair within the entrance is Jitendra Gehlawat, 27, who has been making an attempt to clear a authorities job examination with little success. Jitendra, whose father died final yr, has gait and speech-related disabilities.
“He has been attending these courses for over a yr. He walks practically 3 km from his home every day to my home, arriving at 6 pm sharp. He’s actually good at Arithmetic and reasoning,” says Grewal.
Conscious of his college students’ consolation, he has drilled hooks for mosquito nets on the terrace partitions. Throughout winters, he shifts the category to the akhada. “Over 200 college students may be accommodated there without delay. It’s way more snug for them to check there than the terrace throughout winters,” he says.
Since Grewal typically runs late for the courses whereas coming back from work, he has instituted a system to make sure that “no time will get wasted”.
“A couple of college students who’ve higher experience in a topic have been assigned to show their fellow classmates,” provides the constable, who has a nine-year-old little one.
Stating that his courses are aimed toward kids from financially weak backgrounds, particularly those that can not afford admission to larger teaching centres, Grewal says, “When college students from prosperous backgrounds method me for in-person courses, I inform them to affix the web stay classes.
