There is no dearth of UPSC success stories but there are some that leave a deep impression on us because of the hard struggles of the protagonists. We bring you one such story today. The story of a family’s struggle to provide education to their children. The family’s daughter Deepesh Kumari fulfilled her dream by securing 93rd rank in UPSC CSE-2021 in her second attempt. She got fourth rank in the EWS category. But behind this success was the incredible struggle of her family.
Her father Govind, who lives in a small house with two daughters, three sons and wife, has been selling snakes on a cart for the last 25 years. The UPSC result brought reward for a lifetime of struggle and his happiness knew no bounds. His wife has not stopped shedding tears of happiness since then.
All’s well that ends well. We will now take you through the struggle that the family endured to see this big moment in their lives.
FAMILY SUPPORT EVERYTHING
Deepesh Kumari, who secured AIR 93 in this year’s CSE results, believes that family support was the biggest thing in this long journey. Her mother always encouraged her by saying to her that she can do it and even if she cannot, then also, her hard work will make them happy. She assured her daughter that they will not leave her side even if she failed in her journey. No wonder Deepesh says that her mother’s courage was the biggest power for her in the UPSC journey!
BEGINNING
Deepesh Kumari hails from Bharatpur, Rajasthan. Her father Govind sells snacks on a handcart. Her mother Usha is a homemaker. After studying till 12th from Bharatpur, Deepesh completed her BE degree in Civil from MBM Engineering College, Jodhpur, a state government college. After engineering, she obtained an M.Tech degree from IIT Mumbai. She did her study on fellowship.
Deepesh is the eldest among five siblings. Her younger sister has completed MBBS and is a doctor in Delhi’s Safdarjung Hospital. Two of her brothers are currently studying MBBS from Latur and AIIMS Guwahati. Sumit is in MBBS 1st year in Maharashtra and Amit in MBBS 2nd year in Guwahati. The third Son Nand Kishore is 12th pass. Seeing the dedication of elder daughter Deepesh in studies, the younger siblings were also inspired. The father says that Deepesh was smart in studies since childhood. She passed 10th with 98% marks and passed 12th with 89% marks. She even invested her salary money on the education of her siblings.
After doing her M. Tech, she worked in a software company for a year. Then, she resigned from the job to prepare for the UPSC exam. She said, “I wanted to prepare for UPSC since school days, because some of my teachers used to say that you have that spirit, you should do it.”
FATHER’S STRUGGLE
The house in which Govind lives in the narrow street of the city is very small. He is a happy man now because of his daughter’s success. Anyone can see happiness on his face, but at the same time,the struggles of decades are visible on his body. He is proud of his daughter, but still very humble and down to earth. Even the very next day after the UPSC result of his daughter, he took his handcart and went out on the streets of the city to sell snacks.
Govind says that happiness and sorrow keep coming and going in life. One should not turn away from hard work.The reflection of honesty towards work is also visible in his life. His children have observed and understood this closely. That is why they never shied away from hard work in studies and excelled in them.
COLLECTOR REACHES HOME
After the UPSC result came, Bharatpur Collector Alok Ranjan reached Deepesh’s home to congratulate her.
He said, “This is really a great achievement. She belongs to a very simple family. So, I will say to all aspirants that never ever have pessimistic thoughts. Never think that shortage of resources will stop you. Some people think that those who get success in big exams must have taken coaching from big institutions. Nothing like that. Just try hard and you will do it too. Deepesh is an example.”
UPSC PREPRATION
Deepesh could not clear the UPSC exam in her first attempt. But she reached till the interview stage. In her second attempt, she cracked the most prestigious and toughest exam of India by obtaining 93rd rank at the All India level. Her optional subject was Mathematics. She got very good marks in interview this time, scoring 195 marks.
She started her preparation in 2019. She had joined a coaching centre in Delhi but because of Covid lockdown, she came back home and prepared from there.
SUGGESTIONS FOR ASPIRANTS
For aspirants, Deepesh has this to say: “This exam is really tough. So don’t worry if you fail in your first attempt. The important thing is to never lose hope. Start your journey again with renewed hope, dedication and hard work.”
