UPSC

Fifteen days before his exams, Vivek learnt that his father had passed away but that just made his resolution stronger. For he knew that as a civil servant, he would be able to help hundreds of kids overcome situations like his.

Inspired by his father, an IPS officer, Ishan began his preparations for UPSC in the final year of his engineering. He began preparing in June 2013 and secured rank 144 in his first attempt.

He says that aspirants must remember that the interview not only checks your knowledge but your aptitude towards service.

K Elambahavath is a school dropout who completed his bachelors through distance learning. He appeared for 5 Mains and 3 interview rounds and failed to clear them. But he did not give up and instead worked harder till he achieved his dream.

The first attempt in 2010 was one without any preparation. Recounting that experience, he says, “I felt bad that I had lost one precious attempt that way. At that time, we had only four attempts to clear the examination.”

"One of the girls, who had come home from Bengaluru, was present with her baby during my visit and she informed me that they are being provided safe accommodation, dining, crèche facilities and a good salary of more than Rs 8,500."

"After slogging for three long years, without a source of income, living off my parent's money, in my gloomy room, and not doing anything productive as such, I feel I have internal mental satisfaction. Yes, I am at peace with myself", writes Akand Sitra in the viral post that made him a Quora celebrity.

What’s the connection between Mother’s Day and Pushplata’s journey, you wonder. Read along and you will be inspired.

“I had made up my mind on this. During the first two times, I was still working so did not have enough time to prepare. Many people work full-time and manage to clear the exams, but that did not work for me.”

“The public perception that one requires many years of preparation to clear the examination has been proved wrong in our case. If we can do it, I can confidently say, so can you,” says Pankaj.