Motivational speaker Les Brown once said “Not Over Until You Win!” and a girl from Prayagraj, whose childhood is deeply rooted in the hills of Arunachal Pradesh assimilated Brown’s words to chart her future.
Even after many failures, she did not give up and today, Prajakta Tripathi has been ranked 8th in the UP PCS-2022 exams.
Her struggle and attempts at the UP PCS were so many that she has lost count, Ms. Tripathi told Indian Masterminds, as she shared her inspirational journey.
“This journey has been long and challenging because I have been in government service for nine years. It was extremely difficult for me to prepare for the exams and also do my job faithfully. And finally, when I tasted success, I can never express that feeling in words.”
DOUBLE WHAMMY
Prajakta Tripathi, who is currently employed with the Ministry of Home Affairs, joined the much-needed government job in 2014 after completing her education as her family was facing some tough times and choices.
With a job in a high-profile union ministry, Prajakta always faced a hectic schedule, never getting the opportunity to prepare seriously for her dream “civil services”.
“Even after clearing prelims, I did not have enough time for Mains’ preparations,” she said.
In the PCS-2021, she could not even clear the prelims.
“Initially, due to my job, I could never give PCS seriously. Even during job training, I cleared
prelims, but could not get through mains. After 2020, I decided to be ‘dead’ serious. In UP PCS 2022, it was my first-time interview round, and things just fell into place,” said an elated Ms. Tripathi
ROLE MODEL
Prajakta took inspiration from her father to join civil services. Her father motivated her to work for the downtrodden and told her that civil services will help her achieve it. “I had decided very early that civil services only it will be,” said the proud daughter.
Since 2014, what kept her dreams afloat was her never-give-up attitude. She continued with her preparations despite the dismal outcomes.
CHALLENGING TIMES
Her father is posted in Arunachal Pradesh as a teacher. So Prajakta’s primary education till class 9 happened in the Northeast state. “I still feel emotionally connected to the NE, many of my loving memories are from Arunachal,” she added.
After her 9th grade, Prajakta moved to Prayagraj with her mother and took addmission to Jagat Taran Golden Jubilee School from where she completed her classes 10th and 12th boards.
“My mother had to sacrifice a lot for her children with my father being far far away,” remembers Prajakta, the youngest of three siblings.
She is a science graduate, who did her Masters in Physics from the Allahabad University before landing her MHA job.
Her mother played the part of a single parent, it was a trying time for the family. “At times, decision-making was delayed leading to struggles.
But her parents taught her, to “never be in panic”. “That one mantra from my family took me all the way to a success that I have been long waiting for,” Prajakta said.
MANY AVATARS
Shuttling between her MHA job and preparation for the CSE, Prajakta never had enough time or scope to join coaching classes.
“I only wrote mains exam test series in a few coaching institutes. I also did not give any mock Interviews,” said Prajakta, who only focused on self-study.
She believes that state services demand more perseverance than UPSC as one has to study
state-specific syllabi as well.
Despite not getting positive results, she was regular in her civil services preparations even after working a 10 am to 6 pm job.
“I had very less time to do further study. Sometimes even this schedule was extended if any important work came up. So my study was disturbed for almost four years in my first posting,” Prajakta said.
It was only after her second posting in Delhi, that she managed time to prepare for the PCS.
For her optional, sociology, she prepared online. “I used to listen to lectures on various platforms,” said Prajakta, whose advice to aspirants is “know your syllabus”.
“So that if anything happens in current affairs, you should be able to correlate it. My secret to success is being regular in my preparations. I studied daily and completed my targets,” she said.
“Sometimes you will be exhausted and tired, but still you should study and never break your continuity. One should not lose faith or give up hope, even in the face of terrible bad luck,” she added.
CRACKING INTERVIEW
“One should be genuine in Interviews. Never lose confidence even if you don’t have the answer,” she said, adding that her interview was cordial. “I presented myself just the way I am. No pretense.”
She was asked about her job portfolio. She had to answer questions on women’s empowerment women in the health sector.
Prajakta advises aspirants to keep their basics clear. “Prepare with a plan. Go through NCERT. Current Affairs should be like the back of your hand if you really want to make it in CSE,” she said.
And as they say “Nothing succeeds like success”, Prajakta Tripathi has a new pair of wings.
