14 November 2026
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT

An IRS Officer With A Bard’s Heart

Indian Masterminds Stories

“It’s not the destination, it’s the journey”, this quote by Ralph Waldo Emerson perfectly describes the life of Dr. Kundan Yadav. He started his journey from the ghats of Kashi and then moved through Allahabad, Benras Hindu University, and Jawaharlal Nehru University. He even went to the USA on Full Bright Scholarship to finally return to be an IRS officer.

His father was in the police, continuous transfers made Kundan Yadav change schools 17 times before passing his 12th Board. Dr. Yadav was not always a scholar, in fact, he did not pass 12th in one go, had it not been his missed opportunity to secure a room in JNU, he would never have been an acadaemic.

Without a proper room in a hostel when he had to spend days in the library, his life took a 90-degree turn and he became only the second person to get a Full Bright Scholarship in Hindi and went to the USA. But America couldn’t get Banaras and India out of him and he came back here.

He even cleared NET but then circumstances propelled him towards the civil services. Before clearing UPSC CSE, he also passed UPPCS. Dr. Yadav joined IRS (Customs and IT) even though he had another chance for appearing in MAINS. He could have been an IAS officer but he doesn’t regret it. He believes that IRS has given him all that an all-India service could have given.

He has just started his journey as a writer and poet with his first book published “Gandese Guru Ki Shapath”. In an earlier video, Mr. Yadav shared his poem on the Moon. Here he shares his connection with the Hindi language.

SELECTION IN HINDI

Dr. Yadav gave his written papers in Hindi but gave his interview in English. He believes
that although aspirants are still getting selected in Hindi the path is tough with any vernacular.
During an exclusive video interview with Indian Masterminds, Dr. Yadav shared his journey and talked about why he craves to be a professor, besides tips and advice for Hindi medium aspirants.


Watch the third part of the interview here:


Indian Masterminds Stories
Join our WhatsApp Channel
Related Videos
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
NEWS
UP Police SSS Defence M72 carbines Induction
UP Police Reshuffle: 12 IPS Officers Get New Postings; Abhishek Anjani Singh Assigned to Gorakhpur 
UPSC
UPSC ESE 2027 Exam Schedule Released: Prelims on January 31, Mains on June 18; Check Paper Timings
Navi Mumbai Fake IAS Officer Case
Bihar Promotes 10 IAS Officers: Saran DM Vaibhav Srivastava Among Officials Elevated to Additional Secretary Grade
Ramgarh Road Infrastructure Development
Jharkhand Targets Construction of 12,500 Km of Rural Roads Under Viksit Bharat-G RAM G Scheme
Nalco
NALCO Q2 FY27 Results: Net Profit Rises 28% to Rs 1,835 Crore, H1 Profit Hits Record Rs 3,837 Crore
nmdc resized
NMDC Records 19% Growth in Iron Ore Production in Q2 FY27, H1 Output Rises 23%
MECON-EY-MoU
MECON Signs MoU with Ernst & Young LLP to Promote Investment and Infrastructure Development
Munak Canal Chhath Puja
Delhi CM Rekha Gupta, Nitin Nabin Inaugurate 11-Km Chhath Puja Ghat Along Munak Canal Ahead of Festival 
ADVERTISEMENT
UPSC Stories
Aniket Sagar ICoAS
No Coaching, Full-Time Job and Two Attempts: How Aniket Sagar Cleared ICoAS
Aniket Sagar, a chartered accountant from Bundelkhand, cleared UPSC ICoAS 2025 after working at PwC,...
IDAS Himanshu Tembhekar
Should UPSC Aspirants Give Up Their Hobbies? IDAS Officer Himanshu Tembhekar Explains
Should UPSC aspirants give up their hobbies? IDAS officer Himanshu Tembhekar explains how hobbies help...
UPSC Story
He Taught Students to Meet Expenses. Today, Sachin Bhadouria is a Scientist ‘B’ at CWPRS
Sachin Bhadouria overcame financial challenges and a Hindi-medium background to secure AIR 2 in a UPSC...
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
Latest
UP Police SSS Defence M72 carbines Induction
UP Police Reshuffle: 12 IPS Officers Get New Postings; Abhishek Anjani Singh Assigned to Gorakhpur 
UPSC
UPSC ESE 2027 Exam Schedule Released: Prelims on January 31, Mains on June 18; Check Paper Timings
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT