UPSC

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.

Amidst the constant taunts from relatives, spending hours on travelling to the classes and taking the numerous tests, staying up at night to study, and making sure her troubles did not disturb her mentally, IAS Komal Ganatra emerged as a fighter.

He says that utilising weekends and all other incidental holidays will be helpful. He adds, “These are the golden hours for preparation and aspirants must utilise these days fully to cover the entire week’s syllabus.”

A resident of Ajmer, Rajasthan, Shreyans completed his Bachelor of Technology in Mechanical Engineering from the Indian Institute of Technology, Bombay (IIT–B), in 2015. He worked with Ernst and Young for two years before deciding to apply for the civil services. This was his first attempt.