Success doesn’t come easy. Yet, there are some stories which are only riddled with hurdles and obstacles and which make you wonder how these people overcame them. Weren’t they disappointed with the failures? How did they keep themselves motivated? One such story is of Zeba Anam.
Born and brought up in Old Seemapuri Area, New Delhi, Ms. Anam completed her education from Hans Raj School, Dilshad Garden. Her father ran a small shop for stitching coats and sherwani while her mother is a homemaker. At a fairly early age, she understood the importance of education in life.
In a conversation with Indian Masterminds, she said, “ My father took good care of our needs. But, we knew how it was to live in deprivation. During those situations, my father’s childhood friend, who got selected in IRS, used to motivate us. He used to say that we had no option other than education to come out of misery. His words kept me motivated throughout the journey.”
She started off by appearing in UPSC CSE but after few failures she ventured into other exams. Ms. Anam finally got success in CAPF (Central Armed Police Forces) after bagging the AIR rank 9 in 2022 and got selected as Assistant Commandant for CISF (Central Industrial Security Force). She is currently under-training in Hyderabad.
THE JOURNEY
After schooling, Ms. Anam got admitted in Delhi University for Chemistry Hons. Then between 2017-2020 she did law from Campus Law Centre (DU). In 2023, she also completed her Masters in Law.
UPSC CSE was her dream so she started preparing for it in 2017 while pursuing law. In 2019, she gave her first attempt but couldn’t clear prelims. The second attempt too went in vain. Unlike others, she couldn’t just carry on with the UPSC preparation for lack of resources.
She needed a secure job. So, she gave it a break and ventured into state services. However, destiny had some other plans for her. She couldn’t clear the prelims of Bihar and Madhya Pradesh PSC. She succeeded in the prelims of Rajasthan PSC but couldn’t clear the Mains.
Successive failures sowed seeds of doubt in her. To pluck a low hanging fruit she attempted Delhi High Court’s Junior Judicial Asst. exam but couldn’t reach the final round. Then she decided to have a go at CAPF.
FAMILY CRISIS
In 2017, Ms. Anam started her preparation and in the same year her father fell ill and was on dialysis. Her younger brother had to take father’s responsibility. But the family never pulled her down. She says, “ They stood like a rock for me. Nobody ever pressurized me for any job or marriage. Whenever, I would be sad seeing my father he would only encourage us. He told me that I should not think of anything, I need to focus on my studies. Rest he will manage. Those words kept me going whenever I would feel low.”
DISAPPOINTED WITH FAILURES
After UPSC CSE, Ms. Anam couldn’t clear any state PSC also. All these failure definitely came with lot of disappointment but she kept going. When she started preparing for CAPF, she could easily crack the written exam part as it was similar to others.
The main hurdle was physical test which was just a qualifying exam but she couldn’t even clear 100m run. In the second attempt, she could clear the 100 and 800 m. race but faltered in long jump. “This was really hard on me. It was just a qualifying test and I was not able to clear that in two attempts. I was really de-motivated but my family again showed their faith and trust on. With their strength, I could clear this exam”, she added.
GIVING UP NOT SOLUTION
When asked if she will attempt for UPSC CSE again she said that right now her focus is on the training. She wants to give it 100%. She still has few attempts left. But, she will take the decision in future. Right now UPSC CSE is not on her radar.
In her message to all the youngsters and aspirants who have given up she says, “Everything take its own time. We only have hardwork in our hand. We should never deprive ourself from giving another chance. It is difficult to re-start but one should do that because that is how life is. Giving up on anything is not the solution”.
