“Khudi ko kar buland itna/Ke har taqdeer se pehle/Khuda bande se khud pooche/Bata, teri raza kya hai?” an old saying that completely fits Saltanat Praween’s journey in delivering as one of top scorer in the UPPCS-2022 exams.
A national-level volleyball player, Ms. Praveen, who is from a lower-middle-class family in Lucknow, cracked the UP PCS exams after giving in 7 years of her life and in her 4th attempt. She terms the exams “no less than psychological war”.
Ms. Praween was ranked sixth and got the post of deputy collector.
JOURNEY SO FAR
Speaking with Indian Masterminds about her success, Ms Praween got emotional and said, “Like others, my journey was also full of struggles. But what matters now is the win that came with overcoming all those hurdles that made me what I am today.”
She was a national-level volleyball player until 2016, and it was later that she moved toward civil services.
In her previous three PCS attempts, Saltanat, who originally hails from Salemgarh of Tamkuhi Raj Tehsil in Kushinagar district of Uttar Pradesh, could not reach the Interview Round.
She had succeeded in qualifying for UPPCS Forest (ACF/RFO) Interview round though, but could not make it to the final list lagging by just 10 marks.
“It was heartbreaking and I nearly lost hope. But something kept me going,” remembers Ms. Praween, who now lives in Aliganj, Lucknow, in a 35-member joint family.
Her father runs a general store and her mother is a housewife. She is the only girl child of her parents.
Sultanat Praween, who was always a meritorious student and a good sportsperson, completed her primary education in Salemgarh. After completing her Intermediate, she completed her B. Tech in Computer Science (CS) from Integral University, Lucknow in 2016.
PREPARING FOR PCS
She started preparation after completing B. Tech and cleared the Residential Coaching Academy (RCA) exam from Jamia Millia University for civil services coaching in the 2021 session.
She focused on topic-specific targets. “Until I achieved my target, I never stopped studying the topic,” she said.
Ms. Praween, a CS student, had to take up Anthropology as her optional subject as CS was not available.
What went down for her though were the objective-type questions in the preliminary exam.
“I could not succeed earlier in Prelims, though my Mains were better. One thing that also contributed to repeated failures was I never went in with an integrated approach,” Ms. Praveen accepts.
She says anyone preparing for the civil services should prepare for prelims and mains together.
“One does not need to stop socialising or be cocooned in a room but just don’t lose your prime focus — the studies, and also minimise social media use.
WORD OF ADVICE
Her suggestion to all civil service aspirants is to have a support system that will always motivate and stand by them.
“This exam is no less than a psychological war, where sometimes you feel disheartened and distracted. But if you have the right support system and people who care about you, then you will certainly overcome all those difficulties,” Ms. Praween said.
She said while studying one shouldn’t count the hours. “Studying fewer hours doesn’t matter if the focus is unwavering. Nothing is unachievable if you are determined and have faith in yourself,” she added.
