An unlikely study centre in Chennai

When Merlin Asha left her hometown in Ramanathapuram district for Chennai to pursue her civil services career, she had no idea a church in Annanagar would be her ‘study centre’ and the clergy and congregation would be her caretakers.

The BSc. Agriculture passout from RVS Agricultural College in Thanjavur, who was determined to crack the public service exams, had to settle for group study with fellow aspirants in her hometown after coaching centres were shut due to the pandemic in 2020.

Asha appeared for the Agriculture Officer examination called for in 2021. Though she cleared stage one, Asha was not able to make it through the interview. However, sheer determination and grit, along with parental support, helped her to explore newer avenues in public services, and in getting selected for the post of Agriculture Officer with the Tamil Nadu Government. With general studies and general knowledge being her core areas of strength, Asha left for Chennai in 2022, setting her sights on the “much higher” Group 1 and UPSC. Initially, she had joined a coaching centre in Anna Nagar and found accommodation in a PG hostel in the vicinity.

The physical space she found herself in not being conducive for effective exam preparation, she turned to an unconventional “study centre”. It was in fact light years removed from being a study centre of any kind, let alone one for competitive exams. It was a church.

But Asha found the Lutheran Anbunathar Church campus in Anna Nagar suffused with enough quiet for her to pursue her public service dream with focus. “I approached the then pastor Rev. Augustin, who, along with the other church authorities, readily agreed to open the campus for me to prepare for my exams,” she recalls. Being a devout Catholic, she never skipped the Sunday Mass – be it at a faraway Roman Catholic Church, or other Parishes in the neighbourhood. The Lutheran church’s congregants became something close to family. The church helpers —Nesakann and his wife Jean — would sit beyond their working hours and wait till the time I flip through the last page, and then close the gates,” says Asha. She acknowledges the monetary help provided by the church in 2023 when her family back home was struggling to make ends meet with a younger daughter to provide for. Despite all odds, her father, a health inspector, and her mother, a housewife, were determined to help their daughter pursue her public service career.

Between 2022 and 2024, Asha appeared for the Group 1 and Group 1-A examinations, but could not clear the final interview. However, Asha did not lose heart. Instead, she found the experience “progressive” as she was able to improve herself at every stage. Even as she was preparing for the Group 1 exams, Asha stayed focused on her initial career choice as Agriculture Officer, and cleared the exams held in 2024. However, this is not her final destination — the 23-year-old says she is determined to pursue her UPSC dream.