Expose youth to civil service exams: Indian Revenue Service officer

Extremely competitive exams at the national level, like the Union Public Service Commission examination, can be an arduous task. But in a highly populous country like India, these can also be an uncertain affair. With lakhs of persevering applicants, one never really knows if they will make the grade, and all those months of preparation can leave you dejected. But, for the lucky few who get in, it is an opportunity to join a force that practically runs the country-the civil services.
A few months after being posted to Goa as the assistant commissioner, S Sundar Rajan, an Indian Revenue Service officer, began wondering why Goans were not attempting the civil service exams.
"I cannot find a single service coaching centre here. Goan youth should be exposed to this (civil services)," said Sundar Rajan in a free-wheeling chat with TOI. He felt awareness of the civil services was lacking in the state. "In other states there is greater awareness and hence many UPSC coaching centres. Students should know it is a career option they can pursue. It will lead to more exposure for them and they can also do good work for the country."
Good work for the country. That was exactly what made Sundar Rajan-who had been working as an engineer with Tata Chemicals, Mumbai, for a year-and-a-half at the time-quit his job and begin his preparation for the exams. He chose a career in IRS "after leaving a highly remunerative corporate life".
His tryst with the civil services began when his elder brother emerged as the topper in the all-India results of UPSC in 2005, securing the coveted first rank. Born in Thiruvali near Kanyakumari, tall and lanky Sundar Rajan had completed an engineering degree from BITS in Pilani, and then pursued an MBA from Symbiosis, Pune.
In 2005, he endured a year of exam preparation in Delhi's Old Rajinder Nagar-a UPSC exam preparation hub teeming with coaching institutes-to crack one of the most sought after and highly competitive exams in the country. Only around 800-odd, out of four lakh applicants, manage to clear the gruelling exam and interview process.
Sundar Rajan secured the 177th rank in the 2007 UPSC exam (the exam and interview process take almost a year) and thus entered into the civil services in his very first attempt. Some fail to get in even after four attempts, the maximum possible. The 31-year old says he feels he is "doing something more purposeful in life now".
Recently, Sundar Rajan published 'Dancing with Maharaja' his maiden book. Set in Rajinder Nagar- an inseparable part of many civil servants' lives-the book attempts to provide a realistic insight into a person's journey in the field of UPSC exam preparation.
"People's notion is that only the studious get through the exam. It is not so. What goes into the preparation remains an untold story until the media interviews the UPSC toppers each year," Sundar Rajan reveals. Penned in "light English", the novel is written in a narrative and descriptive style.
Sundar Rajan began writing the novel in 2008, and within two months had completed 40%, writing three pages every day. But those two months he had spent all alone in a forest guest house with no mobile phone, internet or any other link to the outside world.
Later, when he had to also juggle official work, he could manage to churn out just half a page a day. He finally completed the book this year and credits his supportive wife Jayanthi, also an IRS officer, for enabling him to do so.
Set 10 years ago, around the dawn of the new millennium, the plot of the fiction novel revolves around Satish, a spoilt brat of a rich liquor store owner, whose father dreams of seeing his son become an IAS officer, something the son is loathe to doing. Incorporating real incidents from the period it is set in, the novel is woven around Satish's life, dreams, hardships and transformation.
"Everyone who has gone through the preparation and exam relates to the book," Sundar Rajan gushes, adding that from the feedback he has received "people are able to connect with the story. They feel they are reliving the old days". "Many people have even asked me whose story it is... who is the person behind Satish's character," Sundar Rajan chuckles.
For a person who admits to committing frequent spelling mistakes even in high school, penning the engrossing novel is a laudable feat. "I took a liking to writing while doing my MBA," Sundar Rajan recalls. "Writing is a hobby which I've followed seriously. It helps me sustain the pressures of work and life. I have written a few short stories too," he adds. "Chetan Bhagat showed all of us that anyone can write and if written properly anyone will read it," he states.
His other hobbies include photography and filmmaking, besides reading non-fiction. He says he was good at cricket in his academic days, and it is no surprise the sport figures prominently in his book. Ask him if he has received any offers from filmmakers for the rights to his book and Sundar Rajan reveals that after reading his novel, Tamil film director A Sarkunam, whose film won a national award, told him it has potential for a movie.
Together with his brother, Sundar Rajan has also co-authored a preparatory guide for the civil service exams. "A lot of people are misguided (about preparations for civil service exams)," he says, adding, "So many people who prepare seriously don't make it (through the selection process)."
While he is not thinking of taking his writing career "too seriously", Sundar Rajan says he already has his next book "vaguely in mind". "It will either be a psychological thriller or a biography," he adds.
"These days with work pressures, the time to write is decreasing. It may be published after two years," Sundar Rajan laments.
He need not worry. Reviews of his book on an online mega-bookstore have been largely positive. "I am not a proficient writer. I didn't have anyone to guide me (on the nuances of literature) and so I feel good when people like my book," he concludes.