From Times of India

Found a nice article in the times of india today:

Women have been on top for a while now – statistically, we mean. But it was still a surprise to many when engineer Shubhra Saxena topped the

UPSC exam, and the other two in the top three were also women.

The girls-can’t-do-maths variety of misconceptions persist, it seems, but the girls couldn’t care less.

‘Shaadi ho jayegi’
Shilpa Niyogi, who is doing an MTech in anthropology, says, “I topped my college in BTech. My parents and teachers were proud of me, but my relatives asked me how long I’d be studying all these subjects. ‘You’ll get married in a few years,’ they’d say. Now, I’ve also earned a scholarship for higher studies at the Singapore University. In terms of percentage, even if seven-eight women feature in the top 20, it still is high, considering that fewer girls than boys appear for these exams, and out of those who do, almost all make the cut...” Academician Sachin Sharma, who also works as a counsellor in many Delhi schools, says, “No one will believe how many parents want their extremely bright daughters to settle down in the ‘comfortable job’ of a teacher. They ask me to convince their daughter to take up teaching. You name a field where women haven’t made a breakthrough and haven’t shown what they’re capable of.”

‘Maths vaths hai rabba’
Niharika Sharma, currently pursuing an MPhil in plant molecular biology from Delhi University, will soon be moving to Australia for four years to pursue a PhD. “As opposed to the common perception, excelling in subjects like science and maths has nothing to do with one’s gender. Society expects a girl to finally settle down in marital bliss. My family is supportive, but at times, they also worry about my future. They know, however, that I’m not going to sit at home.” “It is still the common perception that girls do well when it come to languages and other subjects that don’t need analytical and reasoning powers,” says Sushmita Ray, an XLRI passout, who’s now working with a financial consultancy firm in Delhi. “When girls top the CBSE exams, everyone says, ‘Let’s see who’s on top at the university level.’ The percentage of girls who take admission in IIMs and IITs is less, but the numbers are slowly increasing. During placements, all the girls from our batch got placed before the boys. This is not to say that they weren’t good enough, but it was heartening to see that the companies were more than forthcoming when it came to recruiting girls.”

‘It’s a girl? How nice!’
Sociologist Rekha Dutta maintains that despite the general sentiment that it’s a more equal society now, somewhere, we’re still stuck in the old notions of what a woman should and can do. “Year after year, girls top the CBSE exams, a higher number of girls pass the exams as compared to boys, bell the CAT, and now, three women have topped the UPSC exams. Everyone thinks we have an egalitarian outlook, but our surprise when we read these things says a lot about our expectations. We’re pleasantly surprised because we’ve been conditioned to assume that boys will do better than girls in such exams, but when girls do better, we sit up and say, ‘Yeh hui na baat’.” Psychologist Anu Goel blames the Indian social setup, which still expects the mother to be at home if the child is unwell. “It’s always said that women make pathetic drivers, and when a girl zooms past them, people assume she’s the aberration. The same mindset also works when we compare boys and girls in the educational field.”

Stay hungry, Stay foolish - the UPSC story !

 

 

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Stay hungry, Stay foolish - the UPSC story !

via Youth Curry - Insight on Indian Youth by noreply@blogger.com (Rashmi Bansal) on 5/7/09

Sanjay Aakhade, son of a porter in Nashik, has cracked the civil service examination. He secured a rank of 263.

TOI reports: Son of Dnyandeo, an unlettered porter, and Vimal, a beedi worker, growing up was about bringing home some money. He cleaned tables at hotels, worked at a medical store, distributed newspapers and manned an STD booth through his teens.

Although a topper in school, Sanjay dropped out and pursued a course at the Industrial Training Institute; getting a job was priority. He'd attend class from 10 am to 5 pm and work at the STD booth till midnight. "I was a voracious reader and would read whenever there weren't any customers. If I liked something, I would jot it down in a diary,'' recalls Sanjay.

This is what is so amazing. Despite a really hard life, Sanjay did not wallow in self pity and curse his fate. He found a way to learn and grow, within his limited resources. And not for any particular reason. But somewhere deep down I'm sure he knew this was the only way to escape from the prison of circumstance. And make something of himself.

See any 'success' story and you'll find this common trait! They stay hungry - no matter what.

Self-study was what the Marathi-educated Sanjay depended on as he learnt English through newspapers. His drive was recognised by a regular customer, Digambar Vaishyampai, a teacher who started bringing him books and encouraged him to return to studies. It was with his backing that Sanjay enrolled for the HSC exam and subsequently pursued his BA, ranking first in all exams, despite not being able to attend lectures. His family started backing him too. His mother says she can't even read the clock, but wanted her children "to make it big in life''.

A UPSC advertisement Sanjay chanced upon got him interested in the services. He trails off into another incident that further strengthened his resolve-a narration that brings back memories of Slumdog hero Jamaal being interrogated by policemen. "A college friend of mine once had trouble with a cop, who smashed the windshield of his autorickshaw. When I questioned the action, I was thrashed,'' says Sanjay, adding that he could perhaps join the IPS and reform the system.

But achieving his goal wasn't easy. He first gave the UPSC exams with history as his subject in 2006 and failed twice. Although from a minority community, Sanjay applied through the open category as he wanted to play fair. "People would tauntingly call me collector sahib and tell me how life would never change, but I believed otherwise,'' says Sanjay.

This is the 'stay foolish' bit. Never mind what the world says.. you have to believe in yourself.

He married his cousin last year and has a four-month-old son named Yash. His interview in Delhi was his first trip to the capital. "I gave my interview in English, as I didn't want to lose the essence of what I said during translation.'' Employed with an insurance company, he dutifully returned to the rut, praying all along for his results. When his phone rang on May 4, also his birthday, he knew good news was on the way. "My friends called to say I had cracked the exam.'' His newly rented flat buzzed with visitors on Thursday.

"Entering the services will not change our lives at home, but help me change the lives of many others like us.'' He says his background has helped him better understand what the government needs to do. "I will be handling child labour, for instance. I know what it is to be a child labourer."

I think this is certainly true. Sanjay's own experience would make him so much more sensitive to the plight of millions of Indians living on the edge of poverty. Devoid of hope, or opportunity.

Hearty congratulations and warm wishes to Sanjay. Keep the idealism, keep the faith!

Another heartwarming story is that of Maharashtra topper Aniket Mandavgane who secured an all India rank of 29 . The 22-year-old's father takes care of their ancestral temple at Varangaon in Jalgaon.

However Aniket was sent to live in Pune with his grandmother from the age of 5, and that's where but he completed his school and college education. He is a graduate of Sinhagad College of Engineering (2008 batch).

Interestingly, he began preparing while in third year of engineering itself and this was his first shot at the exam. That should certainly enthuse some of you out there to start preparing early if the UPSC is your dream!

Aniket plans to join the IFS.

Then there is 24-year-old Balaji Manjule from Jeor in Solapur, who cleared the exam on his third attempt.

TOI reports: Manjule, who has poor eyesight, studied under a kerosene oil lamp and lost his left eye as he had a cataract that was diagnosed late. "My village does not have electricity and I had no option but to study in such conditions,'' says the 57th ranker, who was asked in the interview if his eyesight would pose a problem at work.

He replied: "Having just one eye has never been a hindrance in achieving anything, not even a high score in the UPSC.''

A few months ago, this Wadar community (one of the most backward communities in the state) boy was also short-listed for the Maharashtra Public Service Commission exam and was offered a posting as a deputy CEO. Manjule's parents are daily wage workers who break stones for building roads. Their son wants to become an IAS officer and "progress of India's countryside'' is high on his agenda.

I think this is real progress. Here's to many more spirited young men and women taking India forward!

P.S. 'Stay Hungry Stay Foolish' is an attitude which applies to all walks of life. And hence it will be the theme of the weekly show on careers I am hosting from this evening on UTVi.

Do tune in if you can - at 7 pm. Channel no 541 on Tata Sky.

 

 

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