On a terrace in a town near Delhi, a cop gives wings to govt job dreams

For astir 7 hours each day, Grewal, who joined the unit successful 2009, covers each important themes successful wide knowledge, reasoning, mathematics, English and Hindi — each for escaped for authorities occupation aspirants belonging to mediocre families.

Currently posted astatine the Delhi Police Training College successful Jharoda Kalan, Grewal has been moving the Vidyan Mahadan Coaching Centre from the terrace of his Bahadurgarh location since 2016. He says his “shattered” UPSC dreams prompted him to commencement the coaching academy.

Today, Grewal teaches astir 10,000 students, including those who articulation online from UP and Rajasthan. The classes commencement at

6 p.m. daily. While the girls permission astatine 10.30 p.m. — “for information reasons” — the boys extremity up studying until 3 am. “We usually person astir 100 students connected the terrace. The numbers dip erstwhile they person exams. The boys extremity up sleeping connected the mattresses and blankets provided here. Some adjacent person meal astatine my location earlier leaving,” says Grewal.

Besides teaching the aspirants connected his terrace, Grewal besides beams the people unrecorded connected his dedicated YouTube transmission via a mobile telephone mounted connected a tripod. His channel, Vidyan Mahadan, has implicit 6,000 followers and implicit 500 videos of coaching worldly for assorted authorities examinations.

In a tiny country connected to the terrace is Vikas Suhail, 26, 1 of Grewal’s erstwhile students and a contractual civilian engineer. Having joined Vidyan Mahadan successful 2018, Vikas teaches a smaller batch with the assistance of a 70-inch astute TV that Grewal bought past year.

Talking astir his failed UPSC journey, helium says, “Growing up successful Haryana, I was heavy into wrestling. I would practise astatine the akhada (a accepted wrestling ground) made by my father, a retired Delhi Police officer, adjacent our house, and adjacent participated successful section and nationalist tournaments. I continued wrestling adjacent aft I joined the Delhi Police successful 2009. While wrestling helped maine wide the carnal exam for constables, UPSC was my existent dream.”

In 2013, Grewal started preparing for UPSC connected his own. “From 2015 to 2020, I wrote the exam each twelvemonth but failed to marque it to the last stage. In 2016, I cleared the mains paper, but did not walk the interrogation stage,” helium says.

While preparing for the exams, astir successful 2016, helium realised that respective children successful his neighbourhood aspired for authorities jobs but lacked entree to coaching owed to their mediocre fiscal backgrounds. “I thought I could polish my cognition by coaching a fewer of these students. I started retired with 1 student. Today, I person 10,000,” helium says.

Talking astir his YouTube channel, helium says it was easier said than done. Wearing a achromatic polo T-shirt with ‘Vidyan Mahadan’ embossed connected it, Grewal says his YouTube transmission was dormant for astir a twelvemonth aft helium started. “After Vikas joined maine successful 2018, helium started uploading abbreviated videos and holding unrecorded sessions. In fact, our online classes person received an fantabulous response,” helium says.

To assistance his students execute their dreams, Grewal sleeps for 5 hours aft finishing the classes astatine 3 am. “I aftermath up astatine 8 americium and study for work by 9 am. I instrumentality location by 5 pm, astir the clip my students commencement arriving for the classes. The league starts astatine 6 pm,” helium says.

At the constabulary academy, Grewal is liable for teaching caller recruits however to usage the Crime and Criminal Tracking Network and Systems (CCTNS).

Like Grewal, his students excessively pb “double” lives extracurricular the coaching centre. When helium is not helping his begetter thin to their workplace adjacent their location successful a colony adjacent successful the day, Deepanshu Kaushik, 18, is successful people — either astatine assemblage oregon astatine the coaching centre.

“I joined these classes astir 4 months ago, aft I heard astir them from a friend. I americium a first-year BA pupil astatine a authorities college. Though I enactment connected the workplace to assistance my father, my family’s sole breadwinner, I privation to wide the UPSC exam,” helium says.

Then determination is Ritu Barbola, 20, a erstwhile powerlifter who has competed successful respective inter-state competitions. “A twelvemonth ago, I injured my enarthrosis portion lifting successful the 45-kg category. I person not been capable to vie since then. I enactment connected my betterment and practise sessions successful the morning, and be coaching classes successful the evening,” she says.

The girl of a daily-wage labourer, Ritu often helps her begetter with manual work.

Yogita, 20, a assemblage student, joined the classes successful the hopes of a authorities occupation improving her family’s dire fiscal situation. “My begetter has been bedridden for 14 years owed to paralysis. He is yet capable to determination a small now. My parent runs a rootlike stall extracurricular our house, but her net are not capable to tally the household and wage for my father’s treatment. Some relatives person been helping america with his aesculapian bills. Two years ago, I started taking tuition astatine location for Class 11 and 12 students to assistance my mother. I realised that lone a authorities occupation tin truly assistance us. I privation to ace the SSC (State Service Selection) exam and person been taking coaching present for astir a twelvemonth now.”

Sitting connected a integrative seat successful the beforehand is Jitendra Gehlawat, 27, who has been trying to wide a authorities occupation exam with small success. Jitendra, whose begetter died past year, has gait and speech-related disabilities.

“He has been attending these classes for implicit a year. He walks astir 3 km from his location each time to my house, arriving astatine 6 p.m. sharp. He is truly bully astatine Mathematics and reasoning,” says Grewal.

Mindful of his students’ comfort, helium has drilled hooks for mosquito nets connected the terrace walls. During winters, helium shifts the people to the akhada. “Over 200 students tin beryllium accommodated determination astatine once. It is overmuch much comfy for them to survey determination than the terrace during winters,” helium says.

Since Grewal often runs precocious for the classes portion returning from work, helium has instituted a strategy to guarantee that “no clip gets wasted”.

“A fewer students who person amended expertise successful a taxable person been assigned to thatch their chap classmates,” adds the constable, who has a nine-year-old child.

Stating that his classes are aimed astatine children from financially anemic backgrounds, particularly those who cannot spend admittance to bigger coaching centres, Grewal says, “When students from affluent backgrounds attack maine for in-person classes, I archer them to articulation the online unrecorded sessions.