UPSC Aspirants and Their Tryst With Love

People always ask me about the love life of UPSC aspirants. They wonder whether they have love affairs? To all these people I would say only this:

Are you kidding me?

What do you think IAS aspirants are?

Robots devoid of all human emotions?

They are like you and me, made of flesh and bone and they feel the same emotions as everyone else, the joy of success, the sorrow of failure, the bliss of love and the pain of separation.

It is tough to be in a relationship while preparing though, especially when you are with a demanding partner, for the simple reason that UPSC itself is so demanding. The major problem is of ‘time’ and since every relationship demands time, it becomes very difficult to manage both. Add to that the mood swings of both the partners and it becomes a deadly cocktail.

Also since this exam takes a lot of time and is really unpredictable as to when would you get selected (if you actually get selected), many partners move on simply because they can’t wait. No one wants to ruin “their” lives simply because you decided to ruin yours. It is the harsh reality.

Moreover, parents generally disapprove of UPSC/Govt Exam aspirants especially if you are grinding yourself for some time. It’s a lot like Amitabh Bachchan’s old movies in which he not only fought against society but also for his love 😀

On the flip side, I have also seen partners who are so understanding that they actually help their partner out with whatever they can. I had a friend whose girlfriend actually went with him to the exam center and brought fruits and other things with her. She also sharpened his pencils. I can also give examples of Shubhra Saxena (Topper, 2009) and Rupa Mishra (Topper, 2003) and countless others who were married when they topped and were supported by their husbands/wives.

I wasn’t so lucky by the way. My girlfriend left me when I started preparing in 2010 and she was married off to someone else. Also during the course of the preparation, I dabbled in relationships but none worked out, simply because I could not devote time to them.

You see, I already had made my commitment to someone else! 😀