Childhood

He grew up under the care of his maternal uncle. The school headmaster, Mr. Ponraj, noticed his potential and academic performance and decided to support him. He took Mr. Durairaj to his own village, admitted him in the primary school there, and treated him like a member of his family. Mr. Durairaj completed his 4th and 5th standards in that village. Since there was no high school nearby, the headmaster later brought him back to his uncle and encouraged him to continue his studies.

His uncle, who worked as an accountant in the Taluk Office at Aruppukottai, enrolled him in STR Municipal High School, Aruppukottai, and arranged hostel facilities for him. The agricultural land allotted to Mr. Durairaj was maintained by his uncle. After completing school, the land was handed over to him for cultivation — 1 acre of wetland and 3 acres of rainfed land. He cultivated paddy in the wetland and groundnut or sesame in the rainfed area.

He got married in 1972. He has children who are well settled. Initially, he did not own a house and lived in a rented home for nearly 20 years. Through his hard work and earnings, he later built his own house.

Work Life

For the first four years, due to poor rainfall, agriculture did not provide stable income. Therefore, he temporarily migrated for work to Ooty, Kodaikanal, and Palani. In 1976, he obtained his father’s post as Village Assistant and served in that role until his retirement in 2008.

After retirement, he worked with the NGO Resource Centre for Participatory Development Studies (RCPDS). The organization focused on improving children’s education in rural villages by providing facilities and training. Mr. Durairaj became the President of the Regional Child Welfare Council formed by the NGO. Through this role, he supported not only his village but also surrounding villages by distributing uniforms, books, notebooks, and sports materials to children. He continued this service for three years.

Vayalagam Journey

Later, Mr. Mohan, then an Executive of DHAN Foundation, visited the village and explained the importance of renovating irrigation tanks and promoting community institutions like Vayalagam. Along with another retired village assistant, three mid-day meal organizers, and a farmer from Madurai who cultivated land in the village, Mr. Durairaj helped mobilize the community.

With a people’s contribution of ₹200 per person (about one-fourth of the project cost), they renovated the Sri Mandaiamman Nalladurai Irrigation Tank and promoted the Vayalagam in the village. In 2010, Mr. Durairaj became the Treasurer of the Vayalagam. He ensured proper collection of funds, regular meetings, and quality conservation works.

Recognizing his dedication, he was elected President of the Vayalagam after three years. At that time, the federation was not yet registered. In 2013, the federation was formally registered, and Mr. Durairaj played a major leadership role. Initially, only three villages had Vayalagams. Because of the trust he had built through his government service, nearby villagers readily supported him. This helped expand the movement to surrounding villages.

Today, the federation covers around 130 villages. For the past two years, he has been serving as the Chairman of the Vayalagam Mutual Movement, working at the national level. He has continuously supported farmers by resolving conflicts related to tank renovation, promoting new Vayalagams, and strengthening farmer institutions.

Service as a Way of Life

Service has become Mr. Durairaj’s way of life. Through his roles as Village Assistant, RCPDS leader, and DHAN volunteer, he has consistently worked for people’s welfare. In his village alone, he supported the renovation of three irrigation tanks and one pond and facilitated the removal of Prosopis juliflora based on farmers’ demand.

He regularly attended the District Collector’s grievance meetings and helped resolve development issues. One major achievement through this process was the complete removal of Prosopis juliflora from his village lands.

At the age of 72, Mr. Durairaj says that he will continue to attend meetings, participate in discussions, and strengthen the Vayalagam movement so that it becomes truly people-led and reaches more farmers across regions.