https://indianmasterminds.com

ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT

Civil Services is not a Joyride

One would do well to listen to the advice given by this woman IAS officer. Civil Services is mainly about serving people, and making small things count.
Indian Masterminds Stories

Life is not a bed of roses- nor is it meant to be. Ask Dr Akanksha Bhaskar, a successful medical practitioner till 2015 when she joined civil services, and she still remembers a host of comforts and conveniences which she took for granted in her pre-IAS days.

But have their deprivation made Akanksha upset? You bet they have not! In the end, she points out with an easy smile, things balance out, and it’s entirely up to you to pick the aspirations and dreams which matter the most to your life. “As a doctor, I was working in a self-enclosed system. There is nothing wrong in it. It’s a noble profession, still the career of choice for many. But civil services puts you in a different league altogether. Here you become an instrument of change for the society. The satisfaction of seeing your effort bearing fruit, making a large number of people happy, fills your life with joy. It gives you a very special kind of kick, something which you don’t get in any other profession,’’ she says in a video message.

Dr Akanksha states, as matter of fact, “if your expectations are not outrageous, you will be taken care of pretty well. Just don’t expect the moon.’’

Small Steps Matter

In the same breath, she adds a caveat which may sound ominous. But actually, it will make a young IAS officer more resourceful, perhaps more satisfied.  “Don’t expect you will change the world. You won’t,’’. she says, and then adds quickly, “but what you will do for the people and community, the small steps you take as a bureaucrat, will go a long way in changing their lives. And hopefully, yours too.’’

A number of such “small steps’’ she took for the people of her jurisdiction as a young IAS officer have meant a lot to her. These include:

  • For 20 years, there was no toilet in a girl’s school in her block, due to some local issues. Dr Akanksha took the matter in her hands, sorted out the long-pending issues and the school got the toilet.
  • A man kicked out his young wife from his house, snatching their two month old child from her. Effective intervention by her office led to the amicable patch-up for the couple.
  • At a Santhal village falling under her block, there was no water supply even 70 years after the Independence. “I followed up the issues with a series of meetings with my staff, dug up old records and within weeks, water reached the colony. Whenever I visit the village, I see happy faces all around me and my heart is filled with joys,’’ says the doctor turned IAS officer.

It Can be Lonely at the Top

At times, life for an IAS can be lonely with no real friends to hang around with. “I still get tagged on Facebook posts by my corporate friends in big cities. At the same time, a colleague of mine is working in a place which doesn’t even have a cinema hall. But like I said, a happy life is a balancing act actually. On one hand, you have extreme loneliness and lack of luxuries. But on the other, you get imbibed with a deep sense of meaning by accomplishing tasks for community which not even a very powerful Corporate honcho can accomplish,’’ she sums up.

It would be unwise to take up Dr Akanksha’s story as some kind of a working manual for aspiring civil servants. Rather, each one of them will have to create their own stories and narratives. Remember Dr. Sheldon Kopp’s bestselling book on psychotherapy, `If You Meet the Buddha on the Road, Kill Him’? The premise is simple but profound: each one of us will have to discover our own Buddha inside ourselves. If somebody offers us theirs, it will be a false Buddha and should be dispensed with swiftly.

But Dr Akanksha’s story does find a resonance with a number of successful and eminent civil servants; and there is one common thread binding them all. Each one of them is following his or her own distant star, call it the burning desire to bring social changes, work for the alleviation of deprived community or bring justice to a young woman thrown out of her house. In short, they make things happen.


Indian Masterminds Stories
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
Related Stories
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
NEWS
Digital arrest
SC Flags ‘Fake Arrest’ Cyber Fraud Surge, Calls CBI for Unified Investigation
Tenzin Yangki IPS Arunachal
Historic First: Who Is Tenzin Yangki, Arunachal Pradesh’s First Woman to Join IPS? Anand Mahindra Hails Her
Bhavya Mittal IAS
Vietnam-Based Cyber Scam Uses Collector Bhavya Mittal’s Photo to Demand Money - Know the Shocking Case & Stay Alert
BrahMos-II Missile Deal
India’s Next Big Defence Leap: Russia-Backed BrahMos-II Missile Deal Set for Launch Approval Soon
Special Campaign 5.0
Full Compliance with GFR 2017: Obsolete Assets Cleared, Shastri Bhawan Unlocks Valuable Office Space in Special Campaign 5.0
INS Sutlej
Mapping the Future: INS Sutlej’s 35,000 sq mile Survey Boosts India–Mauritius Maritime Ties
PTC industries
Atmanirbhar Bharat Takes Flight: PTC Industries Powers India’s Aerospace Dreams with Indigenous Turbine Blades
NAKSHA Programme LBSNAA
NAKSHA Urban Land Survey: LBSNAA Trains District Collectors on GIS Platform
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
Videos
WhatsApp Image 2025-10-23 at 10.40
Everybody Needs To Know What Is Transpiring Behind Closed Doors Of Courts
WhatsApp Image 2025-10-19 at 12.23
UPSC Journey Should Be Enjoyable, Not Cumbersome
WhatsApp Image 2025-10-16 at 15.16
The Many Facets of Former IRS Officer and Author, Giselle Mehta | Video Interview
ADVERTISEMENT
UPSC Stories
Parmeshwar Chaudhary RAS
From Taunts to Triumph: How Farmer’s Son Parmeshwar Chaudhary Rose from Lab Assistant to SDM, Securing Rank 3 in RAS 2023
Parmeshwar, once taunted over his SI selection, has scripted a stunning success—securing Rank 3 in RAS...
IAS Rupal Rana UPSC
How Rupal Rana Cracked UPSC CSE 2023 with AIR 26 After Four Attempts
UPSC Topper Rupal Rana secured AIR 26 in 2023 after four attempts. Learn her preparation strategy, booklist,...
Ankita Parashar RAS 2023
4 Attempts, 1 Dream, 0 Excuses: Meet RAS Topper Ankita Parashar, Who Fulfilled a Daughter’s Promise & Secured Rank 2 | Exclusive Interview
Ankita Parashar, a teacher-turned-officer from Pushkar, fulfilled her late father’s dream by securing...
Social Media
Tenzin Yangki IPS Arunachal
Historic First: Who Is Tenzin Yangki, Arunachal Pradesh’s First Woman to Join IPS? Anand Mahindra Hails Her
She secured an impressive 545th rank in the prestigious UPSC Civil Services Examination - 2022.
IFS Parveen Kaswan
Heartbreak by the River: 15-Day-Old Elephant Calf Rejected by Mother, Rescued by IFS Parveen Kaswan and His Team
Jaldapra, West Bengal: In a moving incident that tugs at the heart, a 15-day-old elephant calf was rescued...
Ashwini Bhide IAS and Anand Mahindra
Who Is IAS Ashwini Bhide, Hailed as a Role Model for Mumbai Metro Transformation by Anand Mahindra?
From heritage to high-tech: Bhide’s leadership in Metro Line 3 earns public praise and admiration
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
Latest
Digital arrest
SC Flags ‘Fake Arrest’ Cyber Fraud Surge, Calls CBI for Unified Investigation
UPSC Chairman Ajay Kumar
UPSC Turns 100: The Institution That Shaped Modern India
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
Videos
WhatsApp Image 2025-10-23 at 10.40
WhatsApp Image 2025-10-19 at 12.23
WhatsApp Image 2025-10-16 at 15.16
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT