Farmer’s son, auto driver’s son are new babus

Of the few to clear the civil services exam, 3 were from Ahmedabad. They talk to us about their hardships and give students' tips.

Dr Kalpesh Rupavatiya
Coming from a small village in Rajkot, Kalpesh is the first in his village to clear the civil services examination with 311 rank. Dr Kalpesh, 26, has completed Bachelor in Dental Surgery (BDS).  While a student of a gurukul in a small village near Junagadh, Kalpesh never imagined that one day he will become a civil servant.

"My father is a farmer in Moti Khilori where not many people are highly educated. There is one more doctor in our village and my brother is a CA in Ahmedabad," said Kalpesh, who had chosen Gujarati as his medium in the examination. He is hopeful of getting a seat in the Income tax department.

His tips to students: "What matters most is scoring maximum marks. For that one has to study and prepare in such a manner that helps in getting more marks. One should refer to previous years' papers and focus on sections that are more scoring."

Dr Karan Raj Vaghela
Karan, a resident of Satellite in Ahmedabad has completed MBBS from VS hospital. A student of Diwan Ballubhai in Kankaria, Karan has secured 579 rank in all India civil services examination. "I had completed my studies in Gujarati medium. However, I studied medical in English medium. I cleared the civil services examination in my second attempt and first interview," said Karan, who serves at a community health centre in Singarva in rural Ahmedabad. He had also chosen History and Gujarati literature as his subjects in the main exam. Ask him to share tips, he says, "Never give up. If you want to clear the civil services examination, it becomes important to continuously prepare for it without losing hope." He added that he studied old NCERT books to prepare for the exam apart from subject specific books.

Deepak Zala
His family's financial condition was not such that could allow Deepak have the luxury of preparing for a civil services examination. But Deepak, 29, overcame all these hindrances to clear the examination and secure the 749th rank in the civil services examination. Brought up in the narrow lanes of Amraiwadi, Deepak's father is an auto-rickshaw driver in Ahmedabad. He completed his BE in electronic communication from a college near Anand. Ask him how one should prepare for the exams, and he is quick to say: "Read newspapers carefully. No matter what number of trial is it for you, one should always believe in oneself and never lose hope. One should never be concerned about their past academic records or financial status, as what is required to achieve goal is sheer hard work," he said. 

Deepak had also taken History and Gujarati literature as other subjects. Gujarati was his medium of language in the examination.