Features: Magazine | Literary Review | Life | Metro Plus | Open Page | Education Plus | Book Review | Business | SciTech | Friday Review | Young World | Property Plus | Quest | Folio |

On top of the world

Grit and hard work paved the way for Kavitha Padmanabhan's success in the Civil Services Examination. Deepa H Ramakrishnan reports

Grit, determination, hard work and belief in God enabled 25-year-old Kavitha Padmanabhan to make it to the Indian Administrative Services, thereby fulfilling her late father's dream. Daughter of R. Padmanabhan, former Chief Secretary of Pondicherry and the Andamans, Kavitha has secured the 20th rank in the all-India Civil Services Examination.

For the last few days, the telephone at her home in Indira Nagar, Pondicherry has been continuously ringing with friends, relatives and well wishers calling to congratulate her.

Kavitha says, "I had just six months to prepare for the examination. In that time I had to study for the main exam as well as the optional papers. I had also decided that I would give the examination a shot only once because I knew I didn't have it in me to try again. Therefore, I put in my best effort. For the prelims, I spent about six hours a day and for the main exam about 14-16 hours a day. Since I am a night bird I studied more at night." Explaining how she had gone about with the preparations, she continues, "For the general studies paper which carries 300 marks, I had planned to score 100 marks an hour. At that time, the Sethusamudram project was a hot topic. So I had planned to draw the map of the project in a minute's time, make a fact file and do an analysis of the pros and cons of the project. I prepared for every probable question like this, with a map, a fact file and an analysis.

Flair for languages

Though I attended coaching classes in one particular institute, I did a series of tests with other institutes. But, I didn't merely copy what they taught me," says Kavitha, who calls her work "intelligent hard work". Her optional subjects were public administration and Pali language and literature. She has a flair for Indian languages and knows Tamil, Hindi and English and has a smattering of Marwari and can understand Marathi. She would now like to learn Malayalam and Bengali.

Since she was born in Pondicherry and her father had also served in the Union Territory, Kavitha wants to serve in Pondicherry. "I have opted for the Pondicherry cadre as my first preference. If I can be even one-tenth of what my father was, I would consider myself a good officer. Though my father had a commerce background, he was well-read, intelligent and extremely knowledgeable. I had always looked up to him as he was honest and efficient," says Kavitha of her father.

Geetha Padmanabhan, her mother, is relieved and at the same time elated at her daughter's success. Relieved because for the past few months Kavitha has been cooped up inside her room studying for the exam. She says,

"It was Kavitha's father's dream that she would one day become a fearless, dynamic and honest IAS officer. I am thankful to Pradeep Singh, an officer in the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, and his wife Devinder, who were a real support to Kavitha, when she was in Delhi for coaching."

Support from all

Kavitha says, "Though I had only a short time to prepare, my friends, Sarika and Kavita and my relatives, including my sister Nithya, supported me. After my father passed away, it was my mother who encouraged me to appear for the exams." She is looking forward to joining the training institute at Mussourie and, thereafter, taking up her first assignment.

Kavitha did her schooling in St. Joseph of Cluny in Pondicherry and at the Atomic Energy Central School in Mumbai. A student, who used to come within the first five ranks in school, Kavitha graduated from the Pondicherry Engineering College in 2002 in ECE and worked in a telephony company.

Printer friendly page  
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail