Every parent dreams of a fantastic future for their children. At times, a moment of such kind captures the public imagination. Like it happened recently in the Tirupati city of Andhra Pradesh, when the photograph of Chief Inspector Y Shyam Sunder saluting his daughter Yendluru Jessy Prasanthi, who had just been appointed the Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) there, spread across social media like wildfire.
The emotional picture caught in Tirupati during the Andhra Pradesh State Police Duty Meet and titled ‘Ignite’, not only brought tears in the eyes of the father-daughter duo but also the ones who saw it.
After the publication of the picture, Indian Masterminds spoke with the daughter, Ms. Jessy Prasanthi. In an exclusive interview with us, she shared some of the flashbacks from the event as also important turning points of her life.
A PROUD FATHER
Ms. Prasanthi said, “Andhra Pradesh Police conducted a Duty Meet in Tirupati named ‘Ignite’ from January 4 to 7 this year. As me and my father, both serve under the state police, we both attended the meet. It was the first time I was meeting my dad on the field, and as soon as he saw me, he saluted me. I asked him not to salute me, but he did and I received and returned the salute to him.”
Mr. Sundar must have saluted a lot of officers in his 26 years of service, but “saluting his own daughter was a proud moment for him, one which gave him a feeling of joy”, said Ms. Prasanthi.
FATHER-DAUGHTER RELATIONSHIP
Ms. Prasanthi spent most of her childhood in Tirupati with her family, consisting of two more siblings. She always had a close relationship with her father and used to admire him for his dedication towards work. She said, “Despite having a busy schedule at work, he used to take care of the family in every way possible.
She added, “My father always wished to see me as a civil servant one day, and right from my childhood he used to remind me about it. As I used to hear it again and again, it became an aim for me at an early age. I also developed an interest in it and decided to take it up as a profession.”
When Ms. Prasanthi was in third grade, Ms. Prasanthi shifted to Tirupati with her family and stayed there till she completed her post-graduation.
BECOMING A CIVIL SERVANT
After completing post-graduation in Tirupati, Ms. Prasanthi already knew what her next step was. She started preparing for the UPSC exam, as this was her only aim by now. While speaking with Indian Masterminds, she said “I started preparing for the exam soon after completing my post-graduation and appeared for the first time in 2013. I gave three attempts but couldn’t find success. After the third attempt, I appeared for the state civil services exam, i.e., Andhra Pradesh Public Service Commission (APPSC) and cleared it in the first attempt.”
She added, “My father used to guide me, help me in building my confidence, and also gave me moral support to continue my preparation till I cleared it. He used to tell me not to give up. whenever I failed, he would motivate me to attempt it again with more hard work. He also helped me a lot financially with my education and preparation as I was not working at that time.”
It was Ms. Prasanthi’s passion which led her to become a civil servant. And all along it was her father, Mr. Sunder, who kept it ignited.
