Deputy Collector of Madhya Pradesh’s Singrauli district, Ms. Sampada Saraf Gurjar, made news when she was recently seen on the hot seat of popular TV show Kaun Banega Crorepati. She managed to win Rs 3 lakh 20 thousand in the show. She had actually won Rs 12 lakh 50 thousand but gave a wrong answer to a question that left her with only Rs. 3 lakh 50 thousand in the end.
Speaking to Indian Masterminds, Ms. Gurjar recounted her experience as a contestant on the show.
COMES FROM FAMILY OF GOVT OFFICERS
A resident of Jabalpur, Madhya Pradesh, Ms. Sampada Saraf Gurjar did B.Tech in Electronics Communication from Jabalpur Engineering College from 2012-16. She was selected for DSP in 2016 in the first attempt of MPPSC. After this, in 2017, she gave the examination again. This time, she was selected for the post of Deputy Collector. After getting selected in MPPSC, her first posting was in Singrauli district.
It’s just not her, her family is full of government officers. Her husband Shashank Singh Gurjar is SDOP in Budni, Sehore district. Her father Adarsh Sarraf has retired from service as the Deputy Director of Prosecution. Her mother Nandani Sarraf is a law officer. Her father-in-law JS Gurjar is the Deputy Director of Agriculture Department, Bhopal.
KBC EXPERIENCE
While sharing her experience at KBC with Indian Masterminds, she said, “My experience as the contestant at Kaun Banega Crorepati was quite nice and exhilarating. It was a unique experience, one that you don’t get to experience on a daily basis.”
She did not get much time to prepare herself for it. Her preparation was mostly based around what she had prepared for the civil service examination earlier. “The basics were those, and meanwhile, the elections were taking place in Madhya Pradesh. So, I did not get much time to prepare dedicatedly. I just brushed up on some current affairs in the last few months, and that was it,” she said.
MOTHER’S LOVE FOR THE SHOW
Ms. Gurjar further shared that she didn’t constantly kept trying to register for the show. But, her mother was! It was she who had been registering for the past 22 year, ever since the time the show started.
“She was the one who used to tell all the family members to keep registering and it was because of her that I downloaded the SonyLIV app and made the registration. She used to coax me again and again to try just once. So, just for her peace of mind, I tried registering for 5-6 days maximum, and there I was.”
PRAISE FROM STATE ADMINISTRATION
As news came of her selection to the show as a contestant, the whole administration supported her. She said that they were all very happy that, through her, the face of the administration, specially during the tough Covid-19 time, was reflected.
During the Kaun Banega Crorepati show, Ms Gurjar also talked to Sonu Sood, who shared how she played an important role during the tough times of the pandemic and helped Covid victims. Ms. Gurjar told Indian Masterminds that during the first Covid wave, she had come in contact with actor Sonu Sood and she had told his team that if they required any kind of help, they could always contact her. “After they started getting lots of request from various districts of MP, they connected with us and we tried to help the victims in whichever way we could,” she said.
Her colleagues are very happy that she represented the state administration on such a popular platform like KBC. “Everyone was happy that Madhya Pradesh government and Madhya Pradesh administration were represented in such a way. I have received so much appreciation and good wishes from all seniors and juniors alike.”
