‘Meri zarooratein kam hai, isliye mere zameer mein dum hai’ (My needs are very less, and that’s why my conscience is strong)
This rousing dialogue from the action-packed movie ‘Singham’ is Saurabh Bhawania’s philosophy, of life which he hopes to live up to while discharging his duties as an Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officer.
A native of Dumka district Jharkhand, Saurabh cleared the UPSC Civil Services Examination (CSE) in 2018 with an All India Rank of 113. The 32-year-old scored third highest marks (201) in the interview round that took place in April this year. Saurabh cleared the competitive examination in his second attempt after he failed to crack the Mains in his first attempt in 2017.
Forging ahead despite many concerns, objections and ‘it’s not a good idea’, Saurabh topped the competitive exams while being a full-time parent and a working professional in the Reserve Bank of India (RBI).
Life Before UPSC
Born and raised in a joint family that lay emphasis on education, Saurabh grew up perfecting the balance between studies and extracurricular activities.
My childhood was sans internet. I was provided with everything, and my childhood was a balance between my studies and interests. I could never compromise on cricket, poetry and books at any point of time in my life, including now, Saurabh shares with The Better India (TBI).
Saurabh’s academic life was pretty much on an auto-pilot mode. He moved to Kolkata and pursued a bachelor’s degree in Commerce from St Xavier’s College and later, went for CA and CS followed by an MBA from the Faculty of Management Studies from the University of Delhi.
He worked Capgemini for 1.5 years before joining RBI Kolkata in December 2016. His wife, mother and father also moved to Kolkata to be with him.
It was during his preparations for the RBI tests and interviews when Saurabh realised his interests lay in more than just banking. So while studying for the tests, Saurabh also capitalised on exploring the do’s and don’ts of UPSC.
“I liked my job and banking was and is still interesting for me. But I always wanted my work to benefit people. Multiple factors advanced my liking for UPSC. My father owned a printing press where government officials often visited. He always held high regard for them,” he says.
One of the biggest influences for him was a District Collector of Dumka who interacted with people to understand their problems, “I saw a genuine curiosity [in her] to find out people’s problems and resolve them. She tried very hard to bridge the communication gap between the people and the government. Back then, I wished to be like her.”
Saurabh had casually mentioned UPSC to his wife Parul once, but then he got busy with his RBI job.
‘What happened to your IAS dreams?’ asked Parul a few months later.
I had just turned 29 when I joined RBI, and so for me age was like a time bomb. It was now or never. I decided to take a risk and start preparing for UPSC. My wife and father, as expected, became my biggest cheerleaders. Meanwhile, my mother had certain reservations, he smiles.
Two months into the preparations, Saurabh received the happy news that he and Parul were expecting. And like all expectant parents, Saurabh and Parul’s responsibilities had increased, but the duo was firm on Saurabh’s dream. He looked at parenting and his full-time job as an advantage as each second of his life had become more valuable.
Preparations: Reading Books In Clinics & More
It took Saurabh nearly four to five months to get into the cycle of decoding study patterns, the preparation strategy, and memorising the content. Since there was no time left to join classes, Saurabh relied entirely on self-study.
Dedicating around nine hours a day is a standard plan adopted by most civil services aspirants. But due to a full-time job, Saurabh could only clock in four to five hours daily.
Setting a routine was the most challenging part, “Despite having a knack for Commerce, I chose Management as my optional. That was my first mistake. Beating myself up for not studying for five hours at a stretch was another,” says Saurabh.
Saurabh dropped the rigid approach and started studying whenever he would get time. “If I did not wake up early, I would cover it up by studying at night. I also used my coffee and lunch breaks for scrolling through the news. I tried to end the psychological pressure by thinking of ways to make up.”
Just a week before Prelims in June 2017, Parul delivered a baby boy, and Saurabh balanced his responsibilities well during this period. “I was never a fan of last-minute studies anyway, so my baby boy did not affect my preparations in any way. In the hospital, I was with my books right next to my wife and Pranav throughout.”
His hard work paid off when Saurabh cleared the Prelims with 117 marks and went straight to prepping for MAINS. But now his time had further divided among his family, work and studies.