It is 06th, May 2010 and Thank God! My name is finally in the UPSC Civil Services Examination, 2009 Final merit list with AIR-290. The three years of being inside the pressure cooker has been very painful. I can now relax somewhat and be satisfied with IPS. I could not celebrate the moment for at least half an hour. I had to rush to the airport. I had a lecture to take the next morning in Delhi.
So, how did it all happen? I have been thinking over it for quite sometime what could be the possible reason to qualify in this most strenuous and competitive exam.
My wife said our new born daughter brought the good luck to me. I was already very happy to welcome our new member in the family so didn't get into any argument. Then came the call from the owner of the house where I am staying on rent. He was 200% confident that I qualified because I stayed in his house. He claims that his house brings all the luck to the tenants. OK, I could not argue as I need to stay here till my training gets over.
May 11th article in TOI was quite generous. One call came from a guy who saw that article. He identified himself as the same guy who had sold his plot to me in 2006 (at least 30% more than the market price :-(). I started my UPSC preparations in 2007. So, he claimed that it is because I bought the plot from him, I could crack this exam. His plot brought me the luck.
Obviously, the other friends who are into Civil Service Preparations world agreed that i cleared because of hardwork and some amount of luck.
But, in one corner of my mind I was thinking what was the reason? Is it just a chance that I didn't fail anywhere? Essay could have spoiled my game. Or, it could have been the interview. But, all went fine with so many challenges and hurdles.
I think may be it is a chance or destiny. How is it possible that a village boy born to parents who don't know what is school could possibly come to this stage?
I feel Destiny created all the necessary hardwork, chances, and lucks required for me to reach here.
For me one question still haunts and may haunt forever. Is civil services worth all the sacrifices I have made? Will I be able to do what I have been dreaming all this while? I will write more on this in my next post.
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Congratulations Manju... way to go... keep us posted...
ReplyDeleteSachin
Manju,
ReplyDeleteIt is true that a huge number of random events govern our "reasonably certain" world. So by implication chance or luck whatever you choose to call it certainly plays a role. However, we all have heard that fortune favors the prepared mind right. So I guess it's a whole lot of painstaking work and some chance that got you your success. Now comes the crucial question of the "measure of chance", the "amount" of chance that lead to your success, That's perhaps something which we will never know and if you think about it, it does not matter. You see, you can probably never be certain if it is your daughter, your choice of apartment, your choice of land or even some weighted sum of all these things contributed to your success. What you can certain of is that your diligence and hard work contributed hugely to your AIR-290.
I am not a big fan of the destiny theory. The concept of destiny creates a false sense of certainty, indeed it can be highly counterproductive. I'd rather subscribe to the theory of chance. You got the AIR-290 not because you had to (you were destined to) but because you could (you were prepared enough to leverage your "chance").
Look forward to more posts from you
@Sachin (Lamsoge??)
ReplyDeletethanks man. let us keep in touch.
@Shakti
that's a reply man. Thank you for reading my post with interest. Yes, I agree that the foolproof preparation reduces the unfavorable chances and thereby increasing the luck factor. But, when the number of variables are too many and a very few have to be selected from a large pool of equally competent candidates, I tend to think that something else (destiny?) may also be at play. I feel really bad when some good deserving guys don't make it. Does destiny have something better in store for such guys? May be yes.
But, what the man ultimately has is only one choice - work smart and have faith on only that. Rest of the things are speculative.
Manju !!
ReplyDeleteThis is great news man .. Finally you are IN the system :) ... I am sure you will do great there ..
saw ur mesg on FB .. what;s ur number ? will give u a call .. gotta talk to u now .. I feel very happy for u my man .. :)
will drop u a line at FB as well.. let me know ur number for sure ..
cheers,
Amit
Congratulations Manjunath! Write about your mission and don't forget why you wanted this in the first place.
ReplyDeleteVijay
@Vijay
ReplyDeleteto see your reply is a very pleasant surprise. yes, i will put them soon. Hope you are doing great!
hello sir.... i m an ias aspirant too appeared for ias perlims for the first time and cleared it but cudnt clear mains....... scored 840 in mains ...but must say it was the greatest feeling to appear in the mains.....sir cud u please tell me ur score... i mean marks in all the subjects.....
ReplyDeletemy emain id is shaktiishere@yahoo.com
Congrats Manju, you've made us (cs2K01) proud!!
ReplyDelete@shakti: i'll mail u my marks. 840 is a decent score. i believe u can improve it with the right strategy and by strengthening the weak areas.
ReplyDelete@sanket: thanks! cs2k01 is cool and rocks!
thanks sir for sharing with us ur path to success,plz do guide about the preparation stragedy of mains and any other thingh u want to share.
ReplyDeleteonce agains thanks and good luck to u.