Next time your parents want to lecture you on screen time, or for being a Movie-buff, pause… for this UPSC topper floored his interviewers with his knowledge of Bollywood, Hollywood and European Classics.
Despite coming from a family of bureaucrats, Abhinav Siwach from Haryana took 15 months of a 9 to 5 job, to choose his true calling. A resident of Gorakhpur village in Fatehabad district, this MBA from IIM Kolkata brought honour to his state with an AIR-12 in the recently declared UPSC CSE 2022 results.
Abhinav’s father is an HCS officer posted as DETC in Gurugram; his uncle is a Deputy Commissioner (DC) in Sonipat, his paternal uncle works for the Municipal Corporation in Hisar, and his younger brother is also preparing for the Civil Services examination.
Indian Masterminds exclusively spoke with Mr. Siwach to know more about his UPSC journey.
EARLY DREAM
A graduate of Delhi Technological University, Abhinav worked as a management consultant at a large firm for over a year before taking the UPSC exam and following in his family’s footsteps.
“I realized that a corporate job is not something that I see myself doing for the next 30-35 years. I wanted to touch people’s lives and bring about a change, which is why I decided to pursue Civil Services so I quit my job to prepare for UPSC,” Abhinav told Indian Masterminds.
In his first attempt in 2020, he was selected for DANICS. However, Abhinav’s heart was stuck on IAS and he decided to prepare once again in 2021. He believes it is God’s grace that he was not only selected for IAS this year but also achieved an amazing rank, in his third attempt!
SOCIOLOGY
Despite his engineering background, Abhinav picked Sociology as his optional. He had always been interested in the subject, and the availability of ample materials and guidance at home encouraged him to pursue it.
After two failed attempts, Abhinav had to rework his strategy and resolved to focus as much as he could on his optional subject, which he did not do previously. His main goal was to improve his grades and he nailed it completely.
“I focused on Sociology and jumped forward by around 80-85 marks which helped me to shine in the results,” he shared.
INTERPRETOR OF MOVIES
While the interview panel started off with Abhinav, asking him about his decision to leave a secure job for government services, they soon focussed on his hobby of analysing performances of Bollywood movies.
He was asked about Indian filmmakers’ interpretations of Shakespeare and European writers’ works, and how they have turned them into films, like Omkara from Othello, Haider from Hamlet, and Maqbool from Macbeth. He furnished them with an elaborate answer that floored them completely.
REDUCING FUTURE GAPS
Abhinav will ensure that all government policies are implemented well so citizens can lead better life. He is keen to work in a range of sectors like health, education, infrastructure, and the eradication of hunger.
“We need to reduce the gap between the administration and citizens. More transparency and communication is required in this field and I will make sure to work on it,” he told Indian Masterminds.
HEART & SOUL
“Aspirants should put their heart and soul into their preparation. They may not be able to qualify on their first attempts but those are just temporary setbacks and they shouldn’t be disheartened by it,” he shared.
“Burn bright with optimism till you succeed!” that’s his tip.
