Jammu, July 7: Work hard and focus on your goals is the simple mantra of almost all those candidates who made it to the top 10 in the Combined Services Examination (CSE), results of which was declared Friday.
This year fairer sex excelled by clinching most of the top positions in the prestigious examination. Among the first 10, 9 toppers are female candidates, some of whom said they learnt from the failures.
Mohit Raina, who topped the list said; “It was a pleasant shock for me when I came to know that I am the topper. I simply worked hard and did qualitative studies. My parents and friends always have been very supportive for me”.
“In viva I was asked few questions. The answers of which were not known to me and I simply admitted before the interview panel that I don’t know the replies. Rest of interview went smoothly,” Mohit added.
An Electronic and Communication Engineer, Mohit said it was a dream come true for him. “This was the third time I appeared for the exam,” he said.
Puja Rasgotra, second topper scored 1424 marks. A resident of Nanak Nagar in Jammu, Puja says it was her third attempt. From every failure, I learnt and recognized my weak points and started working over them shunning out all disappointments”.
“In my first two attempts, I had Chemistry and Botany as my optional subjects but from my last two failures I realized that I should change Botany as I was scoring less in this particular subject. I switched over to Anthropology this year and it worked for me”, shared Puja.
“I was expecting that I must stand among 50 toppers but I was little surprised when I found myself second in the list,” she goes on to add.
Anissa Nabi, the third topper who scored 1391 marks said; “I cleared my KAS in first attempt. No doubt it was all because of my hard work but so many things and so many persons were supporting me in various ways. All those things worked together and brought this brilliant success to me”.
“My father is also a bureaucrat so he was an inspiration for me. I want to hold a position like him”, she said.
“I am married and have a baby so it was a little bit difficult for me to prepare for KAS but my in-laws, husband and my parents always extended their support to me that acted as a bonus point and added to my success. I would say that the family atmosphere and the persons among whom we live, play a great role. Without their cooperation, love and trust nothing was possible”, shared Anissa.
Puja Sharma holding sixth rank said, “In my interview I stuck at few simple questions. Like I was asked how many times president rule has been imposed in India. I was not sure for the reply so I told panel that I am not able to reply”.
She is also married but says her family support was the only reason she made it to the top. “Having supportive in-laws, especially husband is a bonus. It was not a target that I have to become a KAS officer but my husband inspired me to go for it”.
Expressing her feelings she said, “I am very happy. I would say that it is not something difficult provided one should have patience and great dedication. It is a long process and one needs strong will power. I am blessed that I have every thing whether it is family support or will power”.
Neha Bakshi is the tenth toper, who scored 1348 marks. She said that the quality studies rather than working all along the day was the click point. “I gave equal time to all the subjects. I studied 10 to 12 hours a day but with great concentration and focus”, she said adding that she always studied with an aim to figure among the top.
Syed Sehrish made headlines after successfully cracking IAS examination, this year. The family had more jubilation in store when another daughter of Member Legislative Council from Kishtwar Syed Asghar Ali cracked the KAS examination. Syed Farhana Asghar could not make it to the top ten but said that she will continue to study and will try her luck in IAS.

Lastupdate on : Sat, 7 Jul 2012 21:30:00 Makkah time
Lastupdate on : Sat, 7 Jul 2012 18:30:00 GMT
Lastupdate on : Sun, 8 Jul 2012 00:00:00 IST