https://indianmasterminds.com

ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT

Allahabad Diary – Ek Gair Mamuli Dastan: Extraordinary In Its Powerful Portrayal of Struggles of Hindi Medium Students

IRS officer Virendra Ojha’s second book, 'Allahabad Diary - Ek Ghair Mamuli Dastan', is set to be released on Amazon on 15 July.
Indian Masterminds Stories

Allahabad Diary – Ek Gair Mamuli Dastan, by IRS officer Virendra Ojha, presently posted as Chief Commissioner, Income Tax, Ahmedabad, is a path-breaking book as it was first serialised on Facebook. Mr Ojha, a marathoner who runs coaching for UPSC aspirants in Allahabad, used to take out time to write 1500-odd words every day on Facebook page aptly titled Allahabad Diary. It had become so popular that thousands of people used to wait for the next part of his story which, like a soap opera, used to end every day at a juncture that would make readers anxious to know more. These Facebook posts, almost 400 of them, have now been polished and compiled in the form of a book.

The book is, of course, about UPSC preparations, especially of Hindi medium students, but more than that, as Mr Ojha himself says, the book is about an era – 1990s – when Allahabad was the centre, churning out the maximum number of civil servants, and the Allahabad University was known as the Oxford of the East.

On the surface, the book’s narrative interweaves parallel stories of two protagonists who want to make it big in life. But, through their stories, the author tries to drive home the need for change in the perception of Hindi medium students, and why they should overcome the inferiority complex they carry all their lives.

It has been written by compiling his own experiences, right from clearing the civil services exam in Hindi medium to mentoring aspirants to clear the tough exam now. Coming from a Hindi medium background himself, Mr. Virendra Ojha knows too well about the struggles aspirants from Hindi background have to face during their UPSC journey. He himself had to clear all those hurdles to finally crack the UPSC Civil Service Exam and join the Indian Revenue Service. Thankful and wanting to give back, he decided to become a part of such aspirants’ struggles and guide them towards success. His own struggles reflect abundantly in the struggles of the book’s protagonists, making their journeys more real and relatable to the reader.

PARALLEL STORIES

One of the protagonists of the book, Anurag, belongs to a lower-middle-class family and is a Hindi medium student. Despite having less exposure to facilities owing to his background, Anurag’s dreams big – he wants to become an IAS officer – a dream that he shares with his mother. However, due to the language barrier, he faces a lot of difficulties in life, which, ironically, fuels his hunger for success. So much so that he even chooses bad paths to get success.

The other protagonist, Rishabh, is a brilliant student and an alumnus of the Indian Institute of Technology. His mother had to struggle hard to bring him to this level, having lost her husband at an early stage of her marriage. A topper, Rishabh wins many awards in the country, but chooses to take up a job abroad rather than staying back to take care of his old mother who sacrificed so much for him.

Amidst the pain of widowhood, the departure of her son, and the tragedy of loneliness, this character of the mother raises many fundamental questions about today’s generation from the perspective of the present society.

Speaking to Indian Masterminds, the author of the book, Mr. Virendra Ojha, said, “When I started writing the book, many parallel stories started coming up. It did not stick to only one character but referred to an all-over scenario of such characters who still exist in our society and are struggling in their own ways.”

THE STRUGGLE IS REAL

Talking about the struggle Hindi-medium students face as they embark on their academic journey and even in their professional life, Mr. Ojha said, “Mostly, the students who choose Hindi as their language belong to low-income-group families. Therefore, their struggle starts from there itself and, later, carries on with the inferior complex they have. In this book, all such difficulties and struggles have been noticed with Anurag as the main character dealing with them.”

Facing all this and more, Anurag takes a big decision to break out of it all and targets the highest (and toughest) exam in the country: UPSC CSE. And he is willing to go to any level to find success. “I will destroy everything if I find it necessary for my goal,” he says.

The book will release on 15 July

Two other characters in the book – Badri Vishal Mishra and Chintan Upadhyay – add to the storyline and raise many questions on the impact of the English language on Hindi in the UPSC exam. Anurag, for that matter, uses both these characters to advance himself.

The novel begins with Anurag’s dream of civil services examination and ends with the result of the examination. An attempt has also been made to highlight the change in Anurag’s personality after he finds success.

Mr. Ojha said, “In this first part of the story, problems of Hindi medium students and the way they can be tackled have been showcased. As mentioned in the title, it depicts that becoming an IAS officer is not that big a task if people from Hindi medium overcome their inferiority complex and show effort and willpower to clear the exam. In the next part of the book, which is being written currently, Anurag comes up as a revolutionary and works for bringing change in society.”


Indian Masterminds Stories
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
Related Stories
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
NEWS
India’s Missile Strikes on 11 Pakistani Airbases Forced Islamabad Into Panic: Ex-UK Envoy Reveals Secret Saudi Defense Pact
India’s Missile Strikes on 11 Pakistani Airbases Forced Islamabad Into Panic: Ex-UK Envoy Reveals Secret Saudi Defense Pact
Devendra Kumar Tiwari Alka Tiwari  IAS Jharkhand
First IAS Couple in India to Hold Both Chief Secretary & State Election Commissioner Posts Consecutively - Know This Powerful Pair
Policing, Trust, and Investment: Insights from IPF - Indian Masterminds
Indian Police Foundation Marks 10 Years, Discussion on How Policing Builds Investor Confidence
Madhya Pradesh football training
Mini Brazil to Germany: Vicharpur’s Young Footballers Get CM Mohan Yadav’s Blessings on Vijayadashami Week
bureaucracy news
Centre Announces Key Bureaucratic Appointments & Deputation Extensions: Neeraj Surendran, Arun G, Anand Mohan Among Key Names
PM Modi CM Nitish Kumar
Bihar Receives Rs. 10,219 Crore from Centre: A Festive Gift On Vijayadashami to Fuel Development & Welfare, Backed by GST Reforms
Chhattisgarh government
Chhattisgarh CM Charts Development Roadmap: Push for Capital Expenditure, Biometric Attendance, & Transparent Governance
Vishnu Deo Sai CM
Chhattisgarh Gets Rs. 3,462 Crore Boost from Modi Government: Here's How CM Sai Pledges To Spend It!
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
Videos
IFS Ravikant Meena UPSC IFS
Ravikant Meena on IFS Preparation, Optionals, and Life in Forest Service
Siddhartha Saxena UPSC CAPF
How Siddhartha Saxena Cracked UPSC CAPF AIR 326 Against All Odds
Dr. S.K
Technology Meets Ecology: IFS Dr S K Srivastava’s Game-Changing Innovations in Forest Management | Eco Warrior Awards 2025 Interview
ADVERTISEMENT
UPSC Stories
UPSC Chairman Ajay Kumar Live Interaction
From Cut-off Dates to Coaching & Reforms: UPSC Chairman Ajay Kumar Assures Aspirants of Fairness, Transparency & a Future-Ready UPSC | UPSC@100
A Century of Service: The UPSC’s Landmark Year Begins. Chairman Ajay Kumar on UPSC’s Centennial: “Merit,...
Giriraj Parihar MPPSC 2024
From Constable to Deputy Collector: Giriraj Parihar’s 9-Year MPPSC Journey | Farmer’s Son, Brother to Five Sisters
From a jail guard to MPPSC 2024 Rank 8, Giriraj Parihar’s nine-year journey of self-study, hard work,...
Ankit MPPSC 2024 Rank 3
From Village Dreams to Deputy Collector’s Chair: Meet Ankit, MPPSC Rank 3 Hindi Medium Topper
Ankit, a Hindi-medium aspirant from Balaghat, secured Rank 3 in MPPSC 2024 and became Deputy Collector...
Social Media
World Rhino Day India
On World Rhino Day, IFS Officer Parveen Kaswan Shares Rare Insights - India Now Hosts 80% of the World’s One-Horned Rhinos
September 22 Marks Global Call for Rhino Conservation; India Holds 80% of World’s Greater One-Horned...
Parag Madhukar Dhakate
Relentless Rains Wreak Havoc in Dehradun: IFS officer PM Dhakate Warns Citizens Amid Flash Floods
Cloudbursts in Dehradun triggered flash floods. IFS officer Dr. PM Dhakate warned citizens to stay indoors...
Forest Guard Tiger Encounter
Tigers Clash in the Wild as Forest Guards Capture Rare Footage , Retired IFS Mohan Pargaien Posts Viral Video
Retired IFS officer Mohan Pargaien shares viral video of three tigers brawling in Ramnagar, as forest...
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
Latest
India’s Missile Strikes on 11 Pakistani Airbases Forced Islamabad Into Panic: Ex-UK Envoy Reveals Secret Saudi Defense Pact
India’s Missile Strikes on 11 Pakistani Airbases Forced Islamabad Into Panic: Ex-UK Envoy Reveals Secret Saudi Defense Pact
Devendra Kumar Tiwari Alka Tiwari  IAS Jharkhand
First IAS Couple in India to Hold Both Chief Secretary & State Election Commissioner Posts Consecutively - Know This Powerful Pair
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
Videos
IFS Ravikant Meena UPSC IFS
Siddhartha Saxena UPSC CAPF
Dr. S.K
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT