Relief is the foremost emotion that Arya V.M. felt when she heard she had secured the 36th rank in the Civil Services examinations. “More than happiness”, says the Balaramapuram resident.
It was Arya’s second crack at the Civil Services examinations. She failed to clear the preliminary examination in her first attempt by a thin margin. “That gave me hope that if I tried again, I could succeed,” says Arya who did her schooling from Sree Vivekananda Memorial Public School, Aralummoodu, and Viswabharathy Public School, Neyyattinkara.
Arya, who completed her graduation in English from the Government College for Women, Vazhuthacaud, with first rank and postgraduation, also in English, from Pondicherry University, chose English literature as her optional subject for the Mains.
Arya says she was “a tad uncertain” about her choice as no coaching or test series is available for English literature. However, since it was a subject she was very familiar with, she found enjoyment in it too.
For her first attempt, she attended classes and prepared accordingly. But the second time, she concentrated on a few areas that she felt were important. This gave her the confidence that she had done her part. The Hindu, she says, helped tremendously in her preparations.
While she kept a low profile during her preparations, she remained in touch with people closest to her for her “emotional health.” She studied eight hours a day, but it could vary according to her “mood.”
Her stress busters were movies and OTT series. “Everyone prepares differently. I realised that I should do what works for me,” says Arya. So when she felt like watching an OTT series instead of putting in more hours, she did.
Arya, who has taught as a guest lecturer at the Kerala Institute of Tourism and Travel Studies for a year after her postgraduatiom and at Government Polytechnic, Karamana, for some months after her preliminary examinations, says passion and perseverance are her mantras.
Her mother, a retired teacher, and father, who retired as a clerk in the Health department, have been of huge support. “I could keep myself isolated from various social pressures, but they were the ones who had to go out and face these,” she says.
Arya confesses that she had not expected herself to do this well. She had even thought about going in for a third attempt but is happy she would not have to try again. “It feels great to have got through the IAS, for that is what I wanted. I hope I will get the Kerala cadre,” she says.
