In Pattukottai tribal hamlet, two cousins become first graduates

In Ottankadu, a small nomadic Hindu Adhiyan tribal hamlet near Pattukottai in Thanjavur district, word spread quickly when two young men returned home carrying their degrees — the first graduates in their entire community.

For the roughly 30 families and nearly 180 residents, the achievement of cousins M. Murali and K. Palpandi marks a rare moment of celebration in a settlement where higher education once seemed distant.