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
bureaucracy news
Major Bureaucratic Reforms on the Anvil as Centre Hires Consultant to Map Bottlenecks & Draft Roadmap - Details Inside
MTNL
MTNL Defaults on ₹8,585 Cr Bank Loans from Seven PSU Banks; Debt Soars to ₹34,484 Cr
HSL CMD Khatri
Upskill to Stay Ahead: HSL CMD Cmde Khatri’s Call to Maritime Sector at BIMSTEC 2025
IPS A.B
HC Clears Former Top Cop: Andhra Ends All Legal Action Against IPS Venkateswara Rao
Minister Sonowal
Hydrogen Tug Project Gets Boost as Minister Sonowal Backs Hindustan Shipyard (HSL)’s Vision - Details Inside
IOCL and SJVN
PESB Invites Applications for Director Posts in IOCL and SJVN; Deadlines Set for August 11
IREDA logo 1
IREDA Seeks Shareholder Nod to Raise Borrowing Limit to ₹1.5 Lakh Crore; Pushes for Massive RE Financing
Indian Police Services IPS Officer
Punjab Promotes 8 IPS Officers to DGP Rank, Now Has Nation’s Highest Number of Top-Rank Police Officers
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
Videos
promila gupta
The Secret of The Secret – How To Make The Universe Conspire For You
AI 171 CRASH
AAIB Initial Probe In AI-171 Crash Questioned By Aviation Experts
Ravi Kapoor
Why Ex-IRS Officer Ravi Kapoor Walked Away from Power
ADVERTISEMENT
UPSC Stories
WhatsApp Image 2025-07-14 at 15.58
The Economist Who Became an IFS Officer
How Abhimanyu Gahlaut balanced global economics and civil services dreams to crack UPSC with AIR 38
Disha Dwivedi UPSC
How Disha Dwivedi Conquered UPSC on Her Sixth Attempt
Disha Dwivedi’s UPSC journey from five prelims failures to securing AIR 672 in 2024 showcases strategic...
Sushmitha and Ishwarya Ramanathan
Their Home Was Washed Away — Sushmitha & Ishwarya Built a Legacy Instead
Sushmitha and Ishwarya lost their home to the 2004 tsunami. But with books, belief, and each other, they...
Social Media
Standing Leopard
Leopard Stuns Internet by Standing on Two Legs Like a Meerkat
A rare video of a leopard standing on two legs in Kruger Park stuns viewers and goes viral across social...
G S Roshni
Kerala’s Fearless Forest Officer G.S. Roshni Rescues 16-Foot King Cobra with Bare Hands, Garners Praise & Critique
Beat Forest Officer G.S. Roshni’s first-ever king cobra rescue goes viral, earning her the title of ‘Green...
Kaziranga Baby Elephant
Chotu the Baby Elephant Reunited with Mother in Kaziranga: Retired IFS Officer’s Post Goes Viral
A baby elephant's emotional reunion with its mother in Kaziranga, shared by retired IFS officer Susanta...
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
Latest
bureaucracy news
Major Bureaucratic Reforms on the Anvil as Centre Hires Consultant to Map Bottlenecks & Draft Roadmap - Details Inside
MTNL
MTNL Defaults on ₹8,585 Cr Bank Loans from Seven PSU Banks; Debt Soars to ₹34,484 Cr
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
Videos
promila gupta
AI 171 CRASH
Ravi Kapoor
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT