“I would say that whatever your problems are, they are like iron. Either you can melt that iron and make a shield for yourself, which you can then hide behind. Or you can melt that iron and make your own sword that you can fight with. There is same iron, same problem, and it is with everyone. Now it’s your choice, your opinion, your way of thinking.”
These are the exact words of Samyak S Jain, as told to Indian Masterminds, while talking about problems and pessimism in everyone’s life. Samyak’s life is a true example of his spoken words. At the age of 21, he became visually impaired and was not able to read and write anymore. But this same person cracked one of the most prestigious and toughest exams of India – UPSC CSE 2021 – in his second attempt securing all India rank 7. His UPSC journey was full of difficulties but still very enjoyable, he says. “I enjoyed my journey. Today, when I look back, I feel that every single moment of my preparation was as much fun as I am getting today after achieving this grand success.”
Indian Masterminds interacted with Samyak S Jain at length to know about his inspiring journey.
BEGINNING
The boy who loves to watch movies and read books and going for long walks was diagnosed with a serious problem in his eyes at the age of 18 and at the age of 21, he lost his ability to read and write. He hails from Delhi and lives in Rohini now but is born and brought up in Shahdara in East Delhi. He completed his primary education there and lived there till the age of 13. But, after that, his father got transferred to Mumbai. So, he did his 10th and 12th from here. His father and mother, both are in service in Air-India. His father is country manager in France and currently posted in Paris.His mother is manager in finance department of Air-India headquarter.
Speaking to Indian Masterminds, Samyak said in very joyous mood that right now his father is eagerly waiting to come back to India to celebrate his son’s success.
After completing his 12th, Samyak came back to Delhi. He completed his graduation in English Honours from Delhi University’s School of Open Learning (SOL). Then, he did a diploma course in English Journalism from the Indian Institute of Mass Communication (IIMC). After this, he joined the prestigious Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) for his master’s degree in International Relations. At the same, he started preparing fro UPSC in 2020, when the whole world got gripped by Covid-19 and lockdown was clamped. Around that time, with nothing much to do, he thought that he should start his UPSC preparation.
UPSC JOURNEY
This was his second attempt. His first attempt was in the year 2020, when he failed to clear the exam. But he has an attitude of never giving up, and so appeared in the UPSC examination in 2021 again. This time, his hard work paid off and he secured the 7th rank. His optional was Political Science and International Relations (PSIR).
“I belong to PWD category as I am visually impaired. That’s why I need help with both reading and writing. However, there is no problem in reading, because due to digital advancement, everything is available on the computer. There are many types of software, which read out books. So, I used to read books in audio format. My mother was my writer. She has written my exams. I used to dictate and my mother used to write. She has worked hard in this journey of mine.”
INTERVIEW ROUND
About his interview round, he said, “I would say that my interview was very cordial. My chairperson Smita Nagaraj was very polite. The questions asked to me were very on the line. Maximum questions were from my educational background. Because I belong to IIMC, so they also asked media-related questions. And my master’s was in PSIR, so there were questions from international affairs, too.”
He further said that they asked him more analytical questions rather than facts and knowledge, so that his opinion comes out. “They are not very much concerned about facts, as they already know that you have come here after cracking prelims and mains. So, they want your opinion on a particular issue.”
He was also asked about government change in Pakistan as Shahbaz Sharif was taking over from Imran Khan at that time. They wanted to know about his take on this change.
PREPARATION DURING COVID TIME
Covid time was really hard for everyone, but for students it was especially tough as there were no offline classes.
Samyak said, “I think that it was a difficult period for us all as you are not able to meet friends. When you chill out with friends,your tiredness goes and you can relax,which is necessary for study. However, I really benefited a lot as I had nowhere to go.I took online classes from here and there,that proved to be a boon for me. I and my laptop, we both were together always during that time.”
ROLE OF SOCIAL MEDIA
On the role of social media in one’s life, he said that in today’s time, you cannot be away from social media. “So, I thought that there should be balanced use of social media in our lives, neither too little, nor too much. If you are using it too less, then you would miss out something somewhere. But, if you are using it more, then there are harmful side effects as well. So, there should be a balanced and mature approach towards social media. And it’s also a responsibility for all of us and social media itself, that there should be sensible and mature content on it.”
AIM IN SERVICE
About his aim in service, he said, “I think that if the policy implementation can be improved in our country, then we can solve the problems of common citizens. So my focus will be on that.That would be my first priority. Secondly, I would also focuss on education, especially girl child education.”
MESSAGE FOR UPSC ASPIRANTS
Lastly, he gave a message for all UPSC aspirants through Indian Masterminds. He read out few lines of renowned Hindi poet Dushyant Kumar: “Kaun kehta hai ki aasmaan mein suraakh ho nahin sakta, ek pathhar toh tabiyat se uchhaalo yaaron. (Who says the sky is impenetrable, try throwing a stone at it with conviction.) I would just say that you remain positive, be confident, keep trying, it will definitely happen. If not today, then tomorrow, but surely it will happen.”
