Failed Twice, Then Tragedy Struck: IFS Officer Shares ‘Life Altering’ UPSC Journey

Stories of success and failure inspire us in different ways. For UPSC aspirants, such stories are a boost to continue their challenging journey towards their goal of being a civil servant.

Anisha Tomar, an IFS officer from New Delhi who cracked the exam in her third attempt in 2019 with an All India Rank (AIR) 94, shared her arduous journey on Quora.

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Like every other aspirant, Anisha started off with so much energy and confidence. But soon after the first prelim, she realised it was going to be a tough task.

In addition, she was diagnosed with Idiopathic Intracranial Hypertension (IIH) in February 2018, the period when she started preparing for her second attempt. “With prelims just a few months away I felt like my dream was slipping out of my hands. Somewhere in the midst of medicines, MRIs and spinal taps, I gathered the courage to study through the pain,” reminisced Anisha. By losing two months, she thought could never get back on track.

Surprisingly, she cleared the prelims that year but failed the mains by six marks.

Nevertheless, she wasn’t ready to give up on her dream. Anisha cleared the prelims again with ease and focused on the mains preparation. This time, she devoted more time to ethics, essays and optional subjects. “To the point where the pinky finger of my right hand was completely swollen and bruised. I was pretty satisfied after the exams and it seemed that an interview call was inevitable,” she wrote.

As expected, she cleared the mains and attended the interview. Anisha recalled that she was rather calm and collected all through the interview.

But the delay in publishing results made her restless. “It was a mixture of dread, anxiety, fatigue and tiredness. The thought of preparing for prelims was haunting me,” wrote Anisha.

However, the youngster’s hard work paid off. Seeing her rank 94th brought tears to her eyes.

Anisha ended the post by noting, “Growth is gradual, life is unpredictable, hope is all we have.”

These wise words of an ambitious lady gives anyone motivation – be it a UPSC aspirant or not. Through her struggles she emphasizes on how important it is to take care of yourself come what may.

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Edited by Yoshita Rao

Image credits: Instagram/ Anisha Tomar