Mayur Barot, a 34-year-old man from a quaint village in Mehsana, Gujarat, held the UPSC result sheet in his trembling hands. Tears, a bittersweet concoction of joy and sorrow, welled up in his eyes. AIR-11, the bold letters seemed to mock the countless battles he had fought to reach this point. His journey to becoming an Indian Forest Service officer wasn’t a walk in the park; it was a relentless war against poverty, loss, and his own failing memory.
ROOTED IN RURAL GUJARAT: A DREAM TAKES SEED
Born into a family where the land yielded their livelihood, Mayur’s childhood was steeped in the earthy fragrance of his father’s farm. His mother, a pillar of support, ensured his education, even with their limited means. Gujarati, the language of his village, cradled his early learning. He went on to do Engineering in Instrumentation and Control from Ahmedabad. However, Destiny, a cruel puppeteer, had other plans.
In 2021, the insidious claws of Covid-19 snatched away his mother. Mayur, who was battling the virus himself, was kept in the dark about her passing. When he emerged, weak and disoriented, from the throes of the illness, the world he knew had fractured.
“My mother passed away while I was still in the hospital suffering from COVID-19. Her final rites took place while I was on the ventilator, and I could not even attend her last rites. Nobody informed me of my maa’s passing, thus I was not even aware that she had died. When I recovered a little and was discharged from the hospital, my memory loss was already traumatic for me. The only solace was that I could go home to the embrace of my mother. But my world turned upside down when I was informed of her passing away, which had happened a few days before I got the discharge. I shattered at the moment and lost every single hope in the world,” he shared with Indian Masterminds.
THE INITIAL CLIMB: STRUGGLES AND SETBACKS
Mayur, an engineer by qualification, had toiled away in the private sector to support his family. Government exams, particularly the ones promising stability like Patwari or clerk positions, including Patwari, junior clerk exam, assistant exam, senior clerk exam, assistant tribal development officer exam, Deputy SO, and another clerk exam, were his initial targets.
He cleared a staggering seven of them, a witness to his dedication. But the yearning for something more, a purpose that resonated with his soul, nudged him towards the UPSC dream. Little did he know that this path held trials far more daunting than any exam paper.
“I joined the secretary services as Deputy SO and made several friends who were preparing for UPSC and state PSC. I decided to try my luck in state PSC and opted out of UPSC as I was very underconfident then. I prepared for the exam, gave three attempts, and failed continuously, which disheartened me a lot,” he told Indian Masterminds.
His first three attempts at the state PSC were agonizing failures. Each rejection was a blow, but nothing could have prepared him for the sucker punch of 2021.
COVID, A MERCILESS THIEF
Tragic events twice affected his life in 2021, on his fourth attempt. Mayur was placed on a ventilator by the physicians after receiving a Covid diagnosis and being in such terrible condition. His chances of survival were slim, yet his frail body refused to give up. He had six doses of the Remdesivir injection to recover quickly, but this caused him to lose his memory after the COVID-19 pandemic. He had completed all of his preparation prior to that, but he had to start over from the beginning because of memory loss and forgot everything he had learned.
The absence of his mother, a gaping hole in his life, mirrored the void in his mind – a post-Covid amnesia that threatened to erase years of dreams. COVID-19 stole not only his health but also his most ardent supporter – his mother. The grief, a suffocating weight on his chest, was compounded by the amnesia, a cruel twist of fate. Studying, a familiar comfort, became a herculean task. Every fact learned, every concept grasped, felt like building on sand.
FACING THE ABYSS: LOSS, AMNESIA, AND A STAUNCH WILL
But Mayur, a man forged in the crucible of hardship, refused to surrender. His wife, his rock throughout this ordeal, became his anchor. Together, they charted a new course. Birdwatching, a newfound passion, became his solace, a way to reconnect with nature and find peace amidst the chaos.
“My wife supported me a lot during that time. I was not able to focus on anything but the grief, but she stood by me like a rock and helped me move forward in life. I chose to divert my mind by making bird watching a hobby. I rigorously followed it and know more than 100 species by name and look, near me, today. There’s always a sense of satisfaction accompanied with bird watching,” he stated.
Geology and Forestry, his chosen optional, became his battleground. He poured his heart and soul into their study, and the memory of his mother was a constant source of strength.
The 2021 UPSC prelims were a bittersweet victory. He cleared them, but the Mains, a battlefield of emotions, proved too much to conquer. Dejected but not defeated, he took solace in a Sales Tax Officer position secured through the Gujarat PSC. Yet, the dream of the IFS flickered within him, refusing to be extinguished.
A STRATEGIC SHIFT AND RELENTLESS PURSUIT
This time, his preparation for the UPSC IFS was laser-focused. He switched to English, a strategic decision gleaned from past toppers’ experiences. Every waking moment was dedicated to the exam. The nights, alive with the rustle of leaves on his study walks and his wife’s support on the phone, were a testament to his relentless pursuit.
“Moving from Gujarati to English was tough, but I religiously read English newspapers, especially The Indian Express, on a daily basis, which helped me to improve my English. I didn’t take any classes due to time crunch and did all my preparation by myself with the help of the Internet,” he told Indian Masterminds.
VICTORY LAP: A SON’S TRIUMPH
He solely prepared for UPSC IFS in 2023 and gave it all his heart. Finally, the result arrived. AIR-11. He got one of the highest marks in Geology – 282 out of 400. The letters, stark against the white sheet, were a validation of his struggle, a proof of the unconditional love for his mother that fuelled his fight. This wasn’t just a rank; it was a victory lap, a triumphant procession past the ghosts of his past.
“I received guidance for interviews from Mahesh Bhagwat sir. I found it useful throughout the interview,” he added.
Mayur’s story is an ode to the human spirit’s indomitable will. It is a testament to the power of love, loss, and the pursuit of a dream. As he embarks on his new journey, he carries not just the weight of his achievement but also the cherished memory of his mother, the silent force behind his extraordinary triumph.
