(SUCCESS STORY)Breaking Barriers with Sheer Will Power - The Inspirational Story of Purana Sunthari (UPSC Topper AIR-286)
Her phones haven’t stopped ringing ever since the final results of UPSC Civil Services Examination 2019 were announced, but Purana Sunthari is still in disbelief. The 25-year old visually challenged Madurai resident has secured an all India rank of 286 in one of the toughest exams in the country. Having given this examination 5 years of her life, refusing to bow down to her disability, Purana’s story will inspire millions for years to come.
Former Team India Member, cricketer Md. Kaif Congratulating Miss Sunthari
Humble Beginnings and A Heartbreaking Turn
Purana is from a small family of four from the Madurai town of Tamil Nadu. A board topper in her school, she has always been academically brilliant. Hailing from a middle-class family, her father is a sales executive in the field of marketing, while her mother like millions of other women in the country, is a homemaker. Her little brother is also preparing for competitive examinations.
Purana started losing her vision at the age of 5. Soon enough, it was hard to make out shapes. She was diagnosed with a rare degenerative disorder by the doctors at Aravind Eye Hospital in Madurai. Her right eye had been completely lost. In a last-ditch attempt to save some of her vision, the doctors performed a surgery on her left eye, but unfortunately, it was unsuccessful.
Purana was left blind in both her eyes. Such a blow at a delicate age couldn’t break her spirits as she continued on the path to success.
Miss Sunthari with Her Family
Education and Why Civil Services?
Purana was in standard 11 or 12 of KNPM Madurai Pillaimar Sangam Higher Secondary School when she was first introduced to the work District Collectors did and their contribution to society. She immediately knew that she wanted to be a part of the ranks. She believes even today that if more diverse people joined the forces, more inclusive the policies will be. However, she had no idea on how to achieve those dreams at that age. But this lack of guidance was soon rectified once she joined her Fatima College, Madurai with BA in English Literature.
Meet Visually Impaired Purana Sunthari Who Cleared UPSC
In college, she met friends and professors who introduced her to the Union Public Service Commission and the Civil Services Examinationsit conducts every year in order to recruit the finest of the youth to the Indian bureaucracy. Her seniors introduced her to source material and previous year’s questions in their college library. Thus, began Purana’s journey towards her Civil Services goals.
The first time Purana heard the Syllabus of UPSC Civil Services and found the array of source material online, she was on the verge of giving up. Despite the world becoming more and more inclusive, finding audio versions of books and current affair magazines is still next to impossible. This is when her friends introduced her to Non-Visual Desktop Access or NVDA software. This software takes Word or PDF files and reads them out to people who need audio assistance. There were still hurdles with making notes. But her friends and family were incredibly supportive. When she found herself at a loss with making notes of heavy books such as Laxmikanth, her friends shared their audio notes with her to support her through her preparation. Purana never forgets to credit her friends whenever asked about her success.
There were other hurdles too. Being from an economically middle-class background, she could not afford expensive reading material or coachings. Although the need for overpriced braille books had been taken care of by computer software and her generous company, the availability of coaching remained an issue. This was then solved when she found herself enrolled in Manidhanaeyam Free IAS Training Academy in Chennai. From there, she moved to the Tamil Nadu government’s own All India Civil Services Study Centre, also in Chennai. Even then, when expenses of living in Chennai got tough to acquire, her professors lent a helping hand. Purana says she has been extremely lucky to have been surrounded by so many kind people.
Message to Aspirants
“Yes, I can!” has been her mantra throughout this 5-year journey, Purana says. No matter how supportive your environment is, or how encouraging your friends and family, if you fail to reassure yourself, you will not succeed. If she could say just one thing to the aspirants, it would be to never lose faith in yourself.
The journey towards landing your Civil Services dream is going to be long and arduous. But it is your positive attitude, and confidence that you will achieve your goals is what will keep you on the right path.
(SUCCESS STORY)From Miss India to an IAS Officer – The Inspirational Journey of Aishwarya Sheoran (AIR 97)
From Model To UPSC Role Model
Aishwarya Sheoran’s story is what a hit film story is made of. The Miss India 2016 finalist has taken the news cycle by storm by securing an all India rank of 93 in the UPSC Civil Services Examination 2019. A jack of all trades, Aishwarya has proven her mettle in two very distinct fields. Hailing from an Army background, moving all over the country every two or three years, Aishwarya credits a part of her success to the adaptability the army life has taught her.
Family Background :
Aishwarya’s family hails from the Shekhawati region of Rajasthan. Her grandfather was a farmer, and her father is in the army. Due to the nature of an army job, she would move around the country, shifting from one place to another every two years. Her mother is a homemaker, while her brother is an under-23 cricketer. From their early childhood, Aishwarya and her brother have been encouraged to cultivate diverse hobbies alongside their education.
Aishwarya Sheoran Interview
In college, she met friends and professors who introduced her to the Union Public Service Commission and the Civil Services Examinationsit conducts every year in order to recruit the finest of the youth to the Indian bureaucracy. Her seniors introduced her to source material and previous year’s questions in their college library. Thus, began Purana’s journey towards her Civil Services goals.
Having moved around a lot, Aishwarya has attended several schools. However, the one worth mentioning is Sanskriti School in Delhi, where she enrolled in the middle of her 10th class and continued the rest of her schooling, up to her 12th boards. Although from a Science background in school, Aishwarya chose to do her graduation in Economics from Shri Ram College of Commerce, Delhi. She completed her graduation in 2017 and has been preparing for her UPSC dream ever since.
Why Civil Services?
Aishwarya believes that army kids are blessed with the skill of adaptability. And along with this, and exposure to the world beyond the civil life. This helped her zero in on Civil Services as her ultimate goal. In fact, when she was in the 12th standard, she had already decided that she wanted to crack UPSC in the next 5 years. Aishwarya says her true passion has always been civil services.
Miss India Org's Instagram Post COngratulating Miss Sheoran
Modeling just happened by chance in college and remained with her as a hobby. She tried her hands at many fields in college by being a part of many societies such as dance club, debate club, as well as the global non-profit, Enactus. She chose these fields carefully based on what she liked and what allowed her to grow as a person and develop her overall personality.
However, on graduating, her father was transferred to Mumbai. She immediately took it forward, completed all her ongoing modeling assignments, and started hercivil services preparation. She says there is always the easy choice in life which can get one instant fame, success, even financial gain. However, she being the person she is, will always choose the hard path that would allow her to do more good in the world. The satisfaction that comes from such work is unparalleled and Aishwarya would always choose the harder path.
Message to UPSC Aspirants :
“Never let anyone tell you can’t do something”, Aishwarya says, “and if you think you can do it, you are already halfway there.” UPSC Civil Services is one of those battles that can take years and lead to an array of ups and downs, both situational and emotional, in one’s life. Aishwarya says she has been a victim. But she told herself if every year some eight hundred others can crack this exam, why not her?
Consistency is key; if you are going to crack this examination you can’t lose hope. Believing in oneself is the key to success in UPSC. Remember that as long as you keep working towards your goal, soon enough, your name will be on that final merit list too. Never give up!
