This story takes us to a village in Araria, Bihar, where a father nurtured his son with full faith to bear him a great dream. He was a farmer but ensured the best of education for his son and wished to be proud of him in every way. Son, Avinash Kumar, too didn’t want to leave any stone unturned to make his father’s dream true.
The results of UPSC CSE 2022 were about to be announced. Avinash had already lost two attempts. But this time around it felt different. He gave his interview and hoped to make it but as always uncertainty loomed large.
Then the results came, and Mr. Kumar who started to looking for his name from the bottom of the list at 933, had to scroll up several pages to finally find himself in the Top-20. He secured All India Ranking-17.
Overwhelmed, he and his family could not hold back the tears of joy. All their wishes were finally fulfilled. In an exclusive conversation with Indian Masterminds, Mr. Kumar shares what was the biggest obstacle in his journey.
LEFT HIS JOB
Mr. Kumar after completing his 10th from Saraswati Vidya Mandir (Forbishganj, Araria) moved to Bokaro for his class 12 which he passed from Chinmaya Vidalaya Bokaro. His marks got him through to one of the top universities, Jadhavpur University, Kolkata where he studied Power Engineering. And even landed a job in Calcutta Electric Supply Corporation.
However, his restless spirit was searching for something more, so after one year he quit in July 2020. Speaking to Indian Masterminds he says, “In Bihar there is a different craze for civil services. It is a matter of pride. My parents also wanted me to be on such a position. So, I decided to prepare.”
He studied General Science on his own but chose Philosophy as his optional. This subject had a different impact on him and he really wanted to understand it. “I thought this is the best way to study philosophy deeply. It was my interest so had no confusion is choosing it as my optional,” says the topper.
PRELIMS IS TRICKY
He was studying hard and was getting good marks in test series. However, wasn’t able to move past Prelims in his first two attempts. He says that now a days prelims have become the trickiest part to crack. No matter how prepared you are for MAINS, there is not use if you can’t clear prelims.
The syllabus is vast. He was falling short in current affairs so he joined an online class to work on that. In UPSC CSE 2022 when he cleared prelims, he knew that it is a golden opportunity for him and he can’t lose that. He gave his 100% and got his rank secured.
DON’T LOOSE HOPE
The topper, who relies on meditation and vipassana for his calmness, says that only positive mindset can get anyone through UPSC. Advising aspirants to not lose hope he says, “If you fail in initial attempts then don’t worry. Keep doing hard your work and be positive. The result will be good.”
