An IAS officer in the making? This Bengaluru bus conductor's journey will inspire you

“The future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams.”

Madhu NC, a 29-year-old bus conductor with Bengaluru Metropolitan Transport Corporation, was pleasantly surprised when the Union Public Service Commission Mains list, which was released earlier this month, had his name in it, according to a Bangalore Mirror report.

Being the first in his family to be educated was a dream he had achieved long back. But now he had cracked one of the toughest exams in the world.

Having cleared the UPSC Preliminary examination in June last year, Madhu cleared the Mains held in October. The Mains comprise an Essay, four General Studies papers (including International Relations, Environmental Science, Science and Technology, Polity, Economics and Ethics and Integrity), and an optional subject.

Madhu opted to write his Prelims in Kannada and Mains in English.

However, Madhu was not alone in his journey. He found help in IAS officer and his present boss C Shikha, who is the Managing Director of BMTC. Shikha used to give Madhu two hours of guidance every week.

Any success story is replete with failures. And Madhu had his fair share of them. He failed the Karnataka Administrative Services (KAS) exams back in 2014. His first UPSC attempt in 2018 also didn’t bear any fruit. Still, the failures were not enough to dent his aspirations.

When he was preparing for the exam, Madhu’s day started at 4 am. He would finish half his studies before work and the rest after his job. Regardless, he put in five hours daily towards his dream.

“I always wanted to achieve something big in life. I started working early to support my family but that did not stop me from studying further,” Madhu was quoted as saying by Bangalore Mirror.

Madhu had taken no coaching and believed in self-study with some help from the senior officials in the BMTC.

Now, all that stands between him and his UPSC dreams is the interview that are going to be held on March 25.

Please wish him all the success for his UPSC interview in the Comments section below: