The Upsc Odyssey Daring To Dream An Ias Officer A Thrilling Marathon Between Choice And Destiny

This is the thrilling story of an IAS aspirant whose journey began in the humble settings of a modest village. The story runs through four crisscrossing streams. First, is an ambitious but reluctant youth embarking on a journey to achieve the unimaginable. Second, is a vulnerable human being hanging between the contrasting pulls of choice and destiny. The third stream is a silent student of the book called life, where in the course of this odyssey, some invaluable and timeless lessons of wisdom dawn on the traveller. The fourth stream is that of an experiential guide and master who has insightful lessons to share with his fellow travellers and their guardians. The narrative has a universal appeal, resonating with the quest of all who dare to dream and desire to achieve.

This is the thrilling story of an IAS aspirant whose journey began in the humble settings of a modest village. The story runs through four crisscrossing streams. First, is an ambitious but reluctant youth embarking on a journey to achieve the unimaginable. Second, is a vulnerable human being hanging between the contrasting pulls of choice and destiny. The third stream is a silent student of the book called life, where in the course of this odyssey, some invaluable and timeless lessons of wisdom dawn on the traveller. The fourth stream is that of an experiential guide and master who has insightful lessons to share with his fellow travellers and their guardians. The narrative has a universal appeal, resonating with the quest of all who dare to dream and desire to achieve.

Sundar (S.Sundar Rajan) is an Indian Revenue Service officer, hailing from one of the southernmost districts of our country, Tiruneveli, Tamil Nadu. Before joining the civil services in year 2007, Sunder had a brief stint with Tata Chemicals Ltd. An engineering graduate from BITS, Pilani, and the author completed his MBA from SIBM, Pune (2004). A person with no specific interest, Sundar is fond of many things in life like – movies, writing, a bit of reading, traveling, photography, some cricket, music etc. Married to one of his IRS batch-mates, Jayanthi, the author is currently serving as an Assistant Commissioner of Income Tax in Goa. This is the author’s first work of fiction. Earlier he had co-authored along with his elder brother, S.Nagaranjan IAS, a preparation guide for the civil service exam – “Topper’s Tips”.

If you do not become what you once aspired to become, does it matter? ‘The Aspirant’ looks for an answer to this perennial question. It is the story of a young man who once wanted to become a Carmelite monk, but ended up becoming a monk of a different order - a civil servant. The disillusionment with the way monastic life was practiced, made him take this new direction. The journey ahead as a bureaucrat in CAG’s institution took the author to many places across the globe and caused him to meet several people – ordinary people with extraordinary stories – and those stories add extra layers to this memoir. And all through his life’s varied voyages, a part of him remained as a monk. ‘The Aspirant’ attempts to demystify two venerable institutions - the church and the bureaucracy - with a tinge of irreverence but without an iota of malice.

Meena, a young, attractive, fun-loving girl from Bareilly, finds her life in a state of disarray. On the one hand, she is compelled to play the role of a dutiful daughter, living out the ambitions that her father had dreamt for her being an IAS officer. On the other hand, she remains perpetually confused and bored. Worse, she falls out with her best friend, is unable to sustain long-term friendships and falls in love but struggles to make choices. Meena is forced to confront a few loaded questions. In blindly following her father's aspirations, has she missed out on living a life on her own terms? Will she grow to adjust to a new job, and equally, will she be able to work out her romance with her colleague and mentor? Most importantly, will she find herself? Find out in this story of self-discovery and resilience.

Rajesh Patil was born to poor farm workers in the backward Khandesh region of Maharashtra. He worked as a child labourer picking cotton, selling bread, and doing small jobs. But what set him apart was that, unlike most of his peers, he was driven by an intense desire to improve his lot through education. Against great odds, he moved to Nashik for a B.Sc. and then to Pune for an M.Sc. in statistics - all this with the help of freeships, scholarships and the support of his teachers, friends and well-wishers. By dint of his hard work, he managed to get into the Indian Statistical Service, but the Indian Administrative Service was his goal. Unsuccessful at first, he persisted until eventually he cracked the competitive exams and qualified for the IAS. Maa, I've Become a Collector is the inspiring account of Rajesh's struggles that has been a bestseller in Marathi, Hindi, Gujarati and Odia and motivated thousands of students in India's hinterlands in their quest for a better life. At the same time, it is much more than one man's story - it is a riveting and revelatory account of rural India