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A diplomat in the making
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Satturu Ashwini, selected for the IFS, says the exams are all about getting your basics right
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Photo: G. Krishnaswamy
In focus Ashwini Satturu
What does it take to get into civil services? Extra long hours of study, giving up extra curricular activities and constant burning the midnight oil? Not exactly. Two hours of focused study is better than grappling with 20 hours of half-hearted attem
pts, says 24-year-old Sattaru Ashwini, who has just been selected for the Indian Foreign Services.
A computer science graduate from Muffakham Jah College of Engineering, she was drawn to the services since her father S. Umapathi is an IPS officer. “Dad being in the service did give me a few insights. But I was clear I wanted to be a diplomat,” she says. Unlike most of her ilk, she didn’t want to eke out a living as a techie. She doesn’t buy the oft-raised observation that civil service has lost its sheen. “The competition hasn’t got any easy. People feel that students want to take up a job soon after graduation. But the reverse is also true. Some of my friends, having worked in private companies for two years, have felt the need to do something challenging and creative and decided to appear for the civil service examinations,” she says.
An alumnus of Kendriya Vidyalaya, Uppal and Ratna Junior College, Ashwini has been a bright student academically. “I was more focussed during my engineering. The long hours of study prepared me for the gruelling civil service preparations later on,” she says. Her first attempt soon after graduation turned out to be futile. “I thought it would be a cakewalk. I realised the need for in-depth understanding of the subjects. My dad and mom (a high court lawyer) were hugely supportive,” says the youngster who now holds the 56th rank nationally.
She chose public administration and anthropology as electives since “they were considered high scoring options. Thankfully I was also inclined towards these subjects.” Having spent the last two years coaching at Brain Tree, Himayatnagar, she says, “It is a misconception that centres in Delhi offer the best coaching. This exam is about having a thorough understanding of your basics.”
Ashwini will be off to Mussoorie for training in a few weeks and says, “People are usually sceptical about women taking up such jobs since one wonders how to balance a family life with the career later on. I guess despite what work you do or your don’t, there are bound to be issues. I’ve taken inspiration from a lot of other women who’ve been there and done that.”
She is aware that a diplomat in the making will have to be a multi-faceted personality and says, “I never gave up my other interests — trekking, swimming, yoga and reading.” Having taken an interest to learning Spanish, she hopes she will get to work in countries where Spanish is the spoken language.
SANGEETHA DEVI DUNDOO
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