She decided to become an IAS and for her anything less than that was a failure. She missed her first attempt by 18 marks but in her second attempt she secured the 179^th position. Although she opted for IRS but her childhood love i.e. dream to become an IAS failed to die. In her third attempt her rank dropped down to 290 but she overcame this setback to secure the first position in her fourth and last attempt.  Haritha.V.Kumar the 27 year old gritty girl gave Kerala its ‘IAS no.1’ after two decades. She herself was surprised by her self-determination, you can guess it from her words (published in http://iasmadeeasy.blogspot.in/):

"I did not believe that I got the first rank. My friends told me that I am the topper but I refused to believe. They dragged me and showed it to me on Internet and then only I believed them".

You must be thinking that it’s a story of another boring bookworm but in an interview to The Hindu she revealed that she has learnt Carnatic music and Bharatanatyam and Mohiniyattam. She is also a big fan of Malayalam cinema.

She is an engineer but she opted economics because again in her own words

 “No matter what kind of administrative services you take up, an understanding of Economics is essential”.

She was from Malayalam background but she gained command over English after joining IRS academy which played a important role in her selection. So those who think that English is an obstacle can learn from her.

Nothing is complete without parents support and blessing and in her case 'IAS' was her parent’s dream before becoming her dream. So if you have a dream similar to her here are some tips from the topper herself:

1)      Without you, you are nothing: work with confidence, determination      and dedication.

2)      Stop counting number of hours: realistically divide the syllabus into parts and religiously cover the part decided for a particular day before the day ends.

3)      Fall in love with your pen:for the mains exam you need to have a lot of writing practice.

4)      Company matters: find an interactive company for discussions to prepare for the interview.

5)      Never surrender your dreams: various unexpected hurdles will try to divert or stop you but smile at them with patience and permanent commitment to your dream, the hurdles will surrender soon. Family and friends support is always a crucial anchor for such massive dreams.

As IAS is a tough nut to crack and its preparation may brings with it a series of multiple failed attempts for the majority but at the end it is always worth it. So, be prepared to give your best.

“Satisfaction lies in the effort, not in the attainment. Full effort is full victory.” 

― Mahatma Gandhi