TENKASI
A young and enthusiastic forester from a humble background, who is moving around the thorny bushes of Sattankulam in Thoothukudi district, has become an Indian Forest Service officer as he has cracked the Union Public Service Commission examinations in his sixth attempt.
After scoring 1,088 out of 1,200 in Plus Two, G. Subburaj, a student of Hithayathullah Higher Secondary School, Kadayanallur, joined Hindustan College of Engineering and Technology, Coimbatore, to realise his childhood dream of becoming aeronautical engineer. While his friends got placed in various positions on getting the engineering degree in 2014, Mr. Subburaj, after accomplishing his childhood dream, started pursuing another dream - cracking Union Public Service Commission examinations - even though his family was desperately in need of a decent income from him, a first generation graduate.
“I was running a small grocery shop in Kadayanallur and I could support my son financially only to some extent while my relatives and friends helped me. I backed my son as he was working really hard to become a civil servant,” says Mr. Gurusamy.
Of the six attempts he has made since 2017 in the UPSC examinations, Mr. Subburaj moved up to interview twice including in 2022 and has cleared Indian Forest Service this time with the All India Ranking of 57.
Meanwhile, Mr. Subburaj, in a bid to support his family financially, became a Forester in 2019 and got posted at Sattankulam area under the Tiruchendur Range of Thoothukudi district.
“Since forest is a fascinating world for me since I am living near the Western Ghats, I joined the service as forester when it mattered,” he says.
As the hard work continued even after becoming the forester, Mr. Subburaj, 27, has become Indian Forest Service officer.
“I must be grateful to all my superiors who encouraged me a lot as I was preparing for the examinations and then the interview,” says Mr. Subburaj.
Now, he has cleared the UPSC preliminary examinations and is preparing for the main examinations to be held in September to try his luck in some other better service.
