Tea seller’s sons make it to IIT, again (A Must Read Story)
They cracked the prestigious IIT-Joint Entrance Examination last year but could not secure admission due to the poor financial condition of their family.
Amit and Sumit, sons of a tea seller, have cracked the examination this time again and hope to get admission into an IIT if luck favours them.
Their father Jatinder Kumar has been selling tea at Chuggiti Square near Amritsar bypass to those working at nearby factories and shops for the past 20 years.
Jatinder hails from Sita Mandi in Bihar and stays with his family in a small room at Laddowali.
Bearing the expenses of children’s studies along with taking care of his sick wife has been really difficult for him. But last year, Jatinder got injured and the responsibility of the family fell on the shoulders of young Amit and Sumit.
Alongside preparing for the IIT examination, they would run their father’s tea shop as well.
Sumit has secured 809th rank while Amit has got 2014th rank in the IIT-JEE examination.
As soon as the exam results were announced, people started approaching them and many even offered to sponsor their education.
Satish Verma, assistant general manager, State Bank of India, said the bank had decided to sanction a loan for the brother-duo and they would make it easier for them to apply and get loans anywhere.
He further said the bank has also opened an account for them and deposited Rs. 2,100 each in their account.
“There are many people who want to make contribution to the boys’ studies but are not able to approach them and hence we are making both the accounts public so that anyone can come forward to make contribution.”
He further informed that the bank would handle all the expenses of Sumit and Amit when they go to New Delhi and Dhanbad for counselling.
The bank has also arranged for their tickets, stay and will provide them with laptops. The SBI account number of Amit is 33908862936 and Sumit’s account number is 33908860359.
SPS Marar, Phagwara civic body commissioner, said, “As soon as I came to know about the boys, I decided to contribute to their education. I have also asked some of my friends to contribute and they agreed. I will meet both the boys on Monday and see how I can help them.”
The family is overwhelmed after people of various walks of life have extended help to them.
“I am really grateful to God for showering so much happiness on us. I really appreciate that so many people are approaching us for help,” Sumit said.
“We attribute our success to our parents who despite great difficulties provided us education and stood by us all the time. We also thank our teachers for guiding us and teaching us without any fee,” he added.
The brothers also met education minister Daljeet Singh Cheema. He congratulated them and also promised to provide possible help.
Civil service toppers Sriram V and Albi John stole the limelight at the career conclave organized by the district employment exchange at the civil station in Kakkanad on Wednesday.
“UPSC is on a lookout for a specific set of people. They want to test logical skills, basic mathematics and aptitude of the person,” said Sriram V, who came second in the civil services examination this year.
The seminar provided a platform for the public and other civil service aspirants to interact with the duo. Albi, who made it to the toppers’ list on his first attempt, said ‘luck favours the brave’ and that one needs to have the determination to top the exam. He also added that “guidance and effort are crucial for making it to the rank list of the civil services exams.”
Sriram, who bagged the enviable feat on his second attempt, added that “everyone is equally capable to top the exam, provided one can sustain the effort of studying.” He also noted that his friends had given the much-needed inspiration to write the examination.
“Learning Malayalam is not necessary. An aspirant can choose various subjects like commerce, accountancy, public administration, economics, law, etc,” said Sriram. Meanwhile, Albi suggested youngsters get a professional degree first from a reputed college to ensure job security. He also added that there are a good number of colleges in India, so there is no need to go abroad.
“It’s not that you have to wake up at 4 am and study. You can even study at night if that’s the time you can study well” said Albi. “Whatever syllabus you choose, you have to enjoy studying it,” Sriram said.
Additional district magistrate B Ramachandran felicitated the winners at the programme.
Question: Congratulations Munish for your outstanding performance in Civil Services Examination! How did you celebrate your success? Munish Sharma: Thank you. I have learnt to take success and failure in my stride. I took time out to be with my friends and family.
Question:What were the key factors behind your brilliant performance? Munish Sharma: I have always been a voracious reader. I was good at all subjects during school days. I also have good experience in teaching. I am always open to constructive feedback. All these have made the difference.
Question:Share your preparation strategy for different stages? Munish Sharma: I can’t think anything specific for different stages. This exam must be seen as a whole.
Question:Tell us something about your academic background and work experience? Munish Sharma: I consider myself a scientist at heart, though working in the corporate sector has instilled the sense of business principles. I went to MCL Saraswati Bal Mandir for schooling. I did my Graduation in Biochemistry from Sri Venkateswara College, and Post Graduation in Management from Lal Bahadur Shastri Institute of Management. The common denominator at all these places was dedicated pool of faculty and a focus on basics. I have worked at different organizations including The Smart Cube, KPMG and Team Computers.
Question:What was the key career ambition that kept you motivated towards IAS? Where did you get inspiration for IAS? Munish Sharma: My school teachers motivated me a lot to write these exams. The desire to take them was rekindled after interacting with my Professor’s husband, who is an IPS officer. I felt that Civil Services provide right opportunities to bring ‘change’.
Question:What was your preparation strategy? Munish Sharma: I never kept myself limited to silos of information. I followed a lot of newspapers and participated in meaningful discussions with my friends and teachers at my coaching institutes. I focused more on basics than cramming data and facts.
Question:What were your subjects at mains level? Munish Sharma: I opted for Law as an optional subject. Other subjects are compulsory for everyone.
Question:Which were the easiest and the toughest part of your preparation? Munish Sharma: The easiest part was adapting to recent changes by the UPSC. The changes are for good. The toughest part was to battle various issues at home; for instance, my mother had to undergo an open-heart surgery and my grandmother was detected with cancer. Besides these family health issues, just two days before the exams, we had a theft at home, which made us all very high-strung.
Question:Please share a few questions asked to you by the interview board? Which was the toughest question for you to answer? Munish Sharma: I didn’t know the full form of NOIDA; had read it many years ago. I didn’t know more than five synonyms for ‘boiling’ (I had indicated cooking as a hobby). I was asked basic questions from my background. There wasn’t anything tough. It’s never a test of knowledge, but of personality. The board was very cordial and supportive.
Question:What was your interview score? Did you also find any uneasy moment during your interview? Munish Sharma: I got 204 out of 275 in the interview round. There wasn’t anything like that. Everything went smoothly.
Question:How important is coaching for preparations for top jobs exams like Civil Services? Munish Sharma: Coaching surely makes preparation simpler, but one needs to be careful while selecting the institute.
Question:Besides studies, what do you do? Which sport do you like most? Munish Sharma: I am into experimental cooking, reading fiction and on science, writing poetry and listening to melody-based music. Though I am a tennis fan, I cannot play it well.
Question:Which are your favourite movies and books? Which movie did you watch and book you read last time? Munish Sharma: I last watched Filmistan and read Infero by Dan Brown. I have many favourites, but love the Lord of the Rings trilogy (books as well as movies) the most.
Question:Are you active on social media. How should aspirants use these platforms? Munish Sharma: I am not on Linkedin; haven’t felt the need for it. I sometimes look at the public posts of my favourite singers on Twitter. I just follow scientific and academic journals and newspapers on facebook and share interesting stories on my timeline. It’s a good way to keep in touch, but everyone needs to draw their own lines, should these start becoming counterproductive. Personally, following these pages helped me a lot with current affairs.
Question:Please share your valuable tips and message for Civil Services aspirants. Munish Sharma: I would advise the aspirants to takeall subjects seriously. Don’t lose focus. Civil Services are not the end of the world; prepare well, but be stoic about the results.
Question:You would soon be joining bureaucracy. What are the top three agenda that you believe, should guide a bureaucrat? Munish Sharma: A bureaucrat needs to be dynamic, neutral and sensitive. I look forward to learning more about the expectations during the training.
Question:How big is corruption a problem? What is your model for solving this evil in our system? Munish Sharma: I think the locus of battling corruption should be internal. Make a start with yourself. Blame game won’t bode well for our country.
Note – This interview was given by IAS Topper Munish Sharma to Careers Three Sixty.
Family members of Karamathulla in Ammapet Vidya Nagar, Salem, is a happy lot. His youngest son, K. Mohammed Y. Safirulla has achieved his cherished dream.
He finished 55th in the UPSC examinations thus fulfilling the wish of his father, a former teacher and his mother Mehatab Begum, an associate professor in Saradha College, Salem.
Mr. Safirulla, a BE, MBA, was a student of St. John’s Higher Secondary School, and is now living in Bangalore with wife Asiya Yasmeen, who also is a college teacher.
When contacted, Mr. Safirulla said that he was extremely happy to hear the result.
“It is the result of my hard work. I dedicate it to my teachers, parents and above all my wife who supported me throughout,” he said.
Mr. Safirulla works with an IT company.
She cleared it after six attempts. It was her late father Nallappan’s dream to make her a civil servant. Her mother Backiam expressed happiness over her daughter’s performance.
“My ambition is to serve my country particularly in increasing agriculture productivity and poverty eradication,” he said. Another candidate from Salem district who was successful in the examinations was N. Kavitha (30) of Konur Samathuvapuram in Mettur.
Q : When and how did the inspiration and idea of joining civil service come in your mind?
Rakesh Balwal : I always had a childhood dream of becoming an civil servant. But somehow I did mechanical engg, but I didn’t found myself doing justice with mech. engg any time. The immediate trigger for preparations was my job in Railways as Sr. Section engineer. I was doing my job satisfactorily. But there was something i found missing in my life. Which I soon discovered was my passion to directly contribute to society which is possible through civil service. I Believe one should decide about career based on our Personality & our nature; be it civil services, Banking, working in MNC’s, Engg, Entrepreneurship etc . All these sectors require motivated youths for India’s growth. I decided to go full-on about civil services. I started in Jan 2009
Q : Tell something about yourself?
Rakesh Balwal : I am from a small town udhampur (J&K). I am the 1st and only one to make it to IAS/IPS from my district. But it is our dedication to the cause and goal that matters more than anything else. It was my dedication and continuous sincerity towards a dream which kept me moving in spite of my initial failures. Even though I failed many times but I always believed I would do it one day, something which ultimately happened
Q: What is your view about new prelims pattern esp CSAT?
Rakesh Balwal : I think it has brought all aspirants on equal footing. Now we have Two papers of 200 marks each. Paper 1(GS) has become much more current affairs oriented. Also Paper 2 (CSAT) is positive change and genuine aspirants will find it much relevant to aptitude needed in civil services. Decision making Section is very interesting and scoring part in CSAT. For G.S One should be aware of all happening in India & the world and basics must be clear.Also One should also solve lot of objective type problems especially in preceding 20-25 days of prelims exam
Q : What factors did you consider before selecting your optionals? What were they?
Rakesh Balwal : I had political science & Anthropology. Very rare combination in civils. For me the most important thing is your interest in subject rather than opting subjects which are common & perceived as scoring. Civil services preparation is a long struggle. It our interest in a subject which can sustain our preparation. Past results, graduation subjects, Availability of good study material are also deciding factors. But for all new aspirants, 2013 is perhaps last tym we will have optional in civils. So in 2013 choose optionals which remain relevant in new pattern without optional as well like Pub ad, sociology, pol.science, economics etc. I think one should go through syllabus of shortlisted optional before finalising them
Q : Being a engineer, u selected non science sub. So it was difficult for u to set ur hand in these subjects?
Rakesh Balwal : As said earlier it’s about interest thing. I felt comfortable with these optionals than I would have been with Mech engg. I had interest in Indian political scene and world politics, so Pol science was natural choice Plus pol science helps a lot in G.S & Essay as well. For 2nd optional I finalized sociology, anthropology and geography. I started with all three but in 2 weeks time came to conclusion that Anthropology is my subject. I was comfortable with these two all through these 3 years of my Ordeal.
Q : How did you sustain the study-momentum throughout the year?
Rakesh Balwal : Its all about your motivation & Focus. You should be strongly motivated towards your goal. There are times when you feel down. But only those who stand up & keep moving succeed in the End. Whenever i was down I would watch motivational videos of IAS/IPS toppers on YOU TUBE, I also used to read ‘You can win’ by Shiv khera it helped me a lot. A constant sustained motivation throughout one’s preparation is very very important.
Q : How many hours did you study per day? How many months did it take you to complete the core syllabus of GS and optional subjects?
Rakesh Balwal : I was in full time job in a railway workshop with 9 AM to 5 PM timings. I used to study from 6 PM to 2 AM with an hour’s dinner break. So about 6- 7 hours of intensive study. A month before mains exam this increased to 10-12 hrs daily. I started in Jan 2009. By 6 months i was ready with basics of optionals and G.S conventional part. I think 7-8 months are enough to be ready for the kill.
Q: Did u used the internet is it was effective
Rakesh Balwal : Very effective i would say. I kept myself updated via internet. I use to visit sites of various govt ministries, Jagranjosh, Gktoday, Upscportal etc. Internet supplements our study. But this cannot be at the cost of study from books and newspapers etc as internet can be a distraction as well. Like most people will simultaneously log-in to their facebook accounts and waste precious time in chatting etc. Which happened with me too. But this is where self control and our Focus is tested, to resist the temptation of such deviations is most important
Q: Which newspapers & magazines you went through?
Rakesh Balwal : I regularly gave 2 hours to THE HINDU, making daily notes from HINDU was part of my routine, it is a must. In magazines Civil Services Chronicle/Wizard & FRONTLINE (for mains)
Q : How did you prepare yourself for the essay?
Rakesh Balwal : I didn’t prepared specially for essay. I have reading habit so it helped. Plus political science as an optional helped a lot. A few quotations i had memorized which enriched my essay. We must have enough knowledge reserves to write down an 1500-1700 word Essay. I had prepared a strategy forwriting essay which helped me.
Q : Which Essay did you write in Mains-2011?
Rakesh Balwal : I wrote on ‘creation of small states and its consequent administrative, economic and developmental Implications’. It was a good one forme as it was connected with Indian polity. I got good marks in essay, 113 out of 200. Most people do not take essay seriously which is a wrong strategy. The range in essay marks is from 30 to 130. So it should be taken seriously.
Q : Do u took coaching?
Rakesh Balwal : As I was in a full time job. So did not go for coaching. But for those who are starters & have time coaching at times helps in giving right direction, But coaching is not something compulsory for success in civils. For personality test I gave a few mock interviews which helped me in final interview
Q : What is your advice to all aspirants,,,as ur success came with ur job nd also without coacHing….
What was ur success mantra?
Rakesh Balwal : I would say it is not our conditions in life that determine our success. But it’s our will power and strong motivation which matters. Half hearted efforts lead to nowhere really. Only when we are motivated strongly about our goal we succeed. One should Make a time table and stick to that no matter what happens & also a revision schedule should be made for retention of all that we read.
Q: What about Interview in civil services? Which Board you had got?
Rakesh Balwal : It is very rightly called as personality test. As our knowledge has been checked in prelims and mains. So we are judged on basis of our personality traits. We have 20-25 minutes to bring out best in us and project that too in front of the interview panel. These 300 marks determine which service we will get or whether we will be there in final list.
I got Alka sirohi mam’s panel for my interview. It went for about 30 minutes. Even though i was severely grilled about mechanical engineering about which i am poor & really could not answer much. But still my composure and coolness ensured me 168/300 marks & IPS as service. So more than our answers overall impact matters
Q : What message you want to give to all aspirants?
Rakesh Balwal : Being a real genuine aspirant is just the start. One should be dead serious about clearing civils and getting into IAS/IPS etc. Everything is possible in world if you have sincerity towards your purpose. I lived in a village, was an average student, got marks in 60’s & 70’s in school n college, Didn’t studied in top class institutes, Didn’t spoke convent-accent english, was working full tym in worst factory conditions. So If I could do it anyone else can also do the same.
The Civil Service Examination (CSE) is a test of our perseverance & hard work and not of intelligence, cramming ability,academic records etc. My message is simply to stand up and keeping moving positively till you succeed in your set-goal .
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