Dr K.

Vijayakarthikeyan is a medico turned bureaucrat currently working as commissioner,

Coimbatore Municipal Corporation, and is the youngest ever officer to have held this charge. He
is well known for his hugely popular initiatives as an IAS officer and has won several awards and
accolades for his pioneering work in land, solid waste and urban management. He has authored
three Tamil bestsellers, Ethum Doorathil IAS, Adhuvum Idhuvum and Orey Kallil 13 Maangai .
On sunny weekends, he can be found wreaking havoc on the cricket ground with his explosive
batting and deceptive spin.
 Published by
Rupa Publications India Pvt. Ltd 2018
7/16, Ansari Road, Daryaganj
New Delhi 110002

Copyright © K. Vijayakarthikeyan 2018

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents are either the product of the
author’s imagination or are used fictitiously and any resemblance to any actual person, living or
dead, events or locales is entirely coincidental.

All rights reserved.

No part of this publication may be reproduced, transmitted, or stored in a retrieval system, in any
form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the
prior permission of the publisher.

ISBN: 978-81-291-XXXX-X

First impression 2018

10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

The moral right of the author has been asserted.

This book is sold subject to the condition that it shall not, by way of trade or otherwise, be lent,
resold, hired out, or otherwise circulated, without the publisher’s prior consent, in any form of
binding or cover other than that in which it is published.
 Chapter 1

‘82506’ TYPED VISHY NERVOUSLY ON HIS TABLET. HIS FINGERS were trembling as
he typed those numbers. That was his roll number in the 2009 Civil
Services Examination; the preliminary results of the exam had just come
out. Vishy stared at the screen after entering his roll number in the official
website. The webpage seemed like it was last changed during the 1990s.
‘Sorry! Your roll number does not figure in the list of successful
candidates!’ read the screen.
Vishy was a tall, well-built, twenty-five-year-old Mechanical
Engineering graduate from Chennai. Like 99 per cent of his batch mates, at
the time of enrolling he had no clue as to why he was joining engineering.
However, by the time he realized his mistake, five semesters of college
were already over. Yet, he felt that it was better to be late than sorry… He
wasn’t someone who could be tied to the mechanical ‘office–home–office’
routine. He wanted challenges, and he always wanted to be around people,
not machines.
He had seen his father do an effective job as a doctor, balancing
material success with inner satisfaction, yet Vishy wanted bigger challenges
and a multidimensional future. And he wouldn’t get those challenges by
becoming an engineer, as he often proclaimed to his father. He felt that
getting into the civil services, encountering multiple obstacles and
providing solutions to them was far better than joining an MNC, getting a
hefty salary and leading a mechanical life. Getting into the Indian
Administrative Service (IAS) was his dream—but now, after leaving behind
his engineering career and putting in one year of preparation, his hopes and
dreams were dashed.
Vishy felt a choking sensation in his throat; he was barely able to
breathe. Reality had hit him hard. He had failed to clear the exam, his hard
work had been wasted, and his and his parents’ dreams were broken. Tears
rolled down his cheeks as he felt the pressure of life for the first time. For
the past twenty-five years, Vishy had always done well in academics. This
was his first big failure in life, and it hurt him badly.
It wasn’t only Vishy who was hurt—about 4,88,000 other aspirants
across the country, who were dreaming of entering the civil services and
shaping up a better India were also feeling the same. Dreams, aspirations,
love, hope, faith, trust, confidence, patience, dedication, determination—all
were broken as only 12,000 candidates were selected from the 5,00,000-odd
aspirants who had appeared for the preliminary exam.
Some gave the exam out of peer and parental pressure, some saw it as a
means of settling down in life and for some, this exam was life itself. For
Vishy, this exam was the gateway to his dream. The dream of being of some
use to his country.
His mother saw him crying and rushed to the room. She understood
what had happened and quickly comforted him.
‘Never mind boy, you tried hard, but that’s how things work sometimes.
Cheer up!’ she said.
Vishy continued crying, but a sense of resolve started creeping into him.
For every bout of tears, he thought This is the last time in my life that I will
cry because of an exam result .
He repeated the same thought to his mother, and then decided to cry
himself out.
An hour later, his father called him. ‘You haven’t failed. Your success
has been postponed,’ he said.
‘Ok Pa, sorry for letting you down. Next year this time I’ll convey to
you the happy news of me clearing the Prelims,’ said Vishy, in a low but
confident tone.
Both his father and his mother who overheard the conversation, felt
extremely happy. At an age where youngsters jumped into unruly ways at
the slightest of pressures, the way Vishy had regained his compusure made
them feel proud.
Although he had behaved so bravely and in such a composed manner
before his parents, Vishy still couldn’t sleep that night.
What went wrong? What went wrong? he kept wondering.
Meanwhile, his phone started ringing.
It was Rithika. She was his 2.00 a.m. friend from his school days. He
answered it.
 ‘Hello,’ said Vishy.
‘Result gone, is it?’ she asked.
‘Yup.’
‘Guessed it from your “hello”. What now?’
‘Will clear it next year for sure.’
‘Yes, you will,’ reassured Rithika.
‘I have one more thing to say.’
‘What?’
‘I love you, Rithika. Will you marry me?’
‘What the… What has happened to you? Why all of a sudden?’
‘What, why, how, when is all too much. Just let me know your reply.’
‘What do you want me to reply? Your mind is confused. Your heart is
insecure.’
‘Stop the gyan, please. And think. Think, and let me know. I am really
sleepy now. Goodnight.’
‘Good. Sleep well. Goodnight.’
Vishy woke up the next morning and brushed through the newspapers.
Thankfully I can read more cinema news now than current affairs, he
thought to himself. His father, who had reached home late that night had
just finished his morning walk and joined Vishy.
‘I wish to talk no further on the results, Son. Just put it behind you, take
a short break and start working again,’ he said.
Vishy nodded without taking his eyes off a picture of Deepika
Padukone on Page 3.
‘Moorthy had called. Hari has cleared Prelims it seems. His father is
jumping upside down, while Hari is doing somersaults and reverse
somersaults in their house,’ said Vishy’s dad.
‘Ha ha! Expected this. Hari’s Facebook status reads “On the way to
conquer the world”,’ chuckled Vishy, motioning to his phone.
‘Amma, I am going out. Won’t be home for lunch,’ yelled Vishy as he
checked his phone for the 3532ndth time since he woke up.
He then got ready and went to watch a movie.
‘1 new message received’, beeped Vishy’s phone as he was in the
middle of the movie. He opened it with his popcorn-dipped fingers.
‘Need time. To think, to assess. Let’s stay away for a month and then
decide based on our feelings,’ read the message.
 ‘Ah, here she goes again,’ sighed Vishy.
Again, that night Vishy had lots to ponder over….
His eyes fell on the words inscribed on an advertisement in a nearby
sign that read: ‘Never do the same thing over and over again and expect a
different result.’
Vishy felt that those words were written for him. ‘It’s the subject. I
made a mistake; I shouldn’t have gone with Mechanical Engineering as an
optional subject for this exam,’ he concluded finally.
The other side of Vishy’s brain was thinking about Rithika. On the
outside, Vishy felt pretty confident that Rithika would reciprocate his love
—after all they were best buddies from school. But deep inside he had a
fear that this ‘best buddy’ tag might not necessarily make Rithika respond
in his favour.
In fact, she would do just the opposite. That’s what she is… he thought.
Anyway, he was happy that he had expressed himself clearly to his
parents in terms of his career, and to his girl about his personal feelings. He
slept off with a loud snore….
Vishy spent the next few days loitering with his buddies, catching up
with all the new movie releases and completely taking his mind off of exam
preparation. After a couple of weeks of doing nothing, he realized that
doing nothing was the toughest job in the world, so he started putting the
books back on his study table. He felt that it was time to get back to
business.
He felt that he hadn’t done many practice and mock tests before the
exam, the first time around, and had mostly relied only on self-preparation.
He hadn’t joined any coaching classes for the exam, but decided to join the
bandwagon now.
 Chapter 2

VISHY ARRIVED AT ANNA NAGAR, THE HUB OF CIVIL SERVICES coaching centres.
He was immediately taken aback by the number of coaching centres that he
saw there.
Which is more, the number of candidates from Chennai or the number
of coaching centres in Chennai? he wondered. As he moved further down
the lane he saw cut-outs and posters of aspirants who had just cleared the
Prelims. Posters and cut-outs of politicians and film stars are quite common,
but posters of people who have cleared Prelims seemed quite ‘epic’ to
Vishy!
Vishy also overheard a parent talking about his daughter.
‘See that cut-out, it’s of my daughter,’ said the father.
‘Oh, is it? She has become a collector?’ asked the other man.
‘She has almost become one; I only have to make sure that I pay the
remaining fees to the coaching centre and they will coach her well and
make her IAS,’ the father said proudly.
‘Oh, is it? I’ll also ask my son to join the same coaching centre, he will
also become a collector then.’
And off they went, chatting happily.
Vishy almost fainted when he saw the next advertisement banner, which
read ‘SUPER IAS COACHING CENTRE—FOUNDATION CLASSES
FOR 9 th STANDARD STUDENTS FROM 1.10.2009’.
After seeing the epic banners, cut outs and posters, Vishy decided to test
out the coaching centres himself. He would join the one which he was most
comfortable with.
Coaching centre #1:
‘Full or part?’ asked the receptionist.
‘Full-time course only,’ said Vishy.
‘I asked about the payment—full payment or part?’
‘Full payment,’ said Vishy, with the confidence of 10,000 rupees in his
pocket.
 ‘Ok. Full payment would cost you ` 1,32,000 including taxes.’
‘Please excuse me, this is a Civil Services exam coaching centre only,
no?’
‘Yes,’ replied the receptionist with a grin and a stare.
‘Don’t you think this amount is a little too much?’
‘Sir, ` 50,000 is for the Optional Subject, ` 50,000 is for General
Studies, ` 20,000 is for Test Series and the rest is tax. Even kindergarten
seats cost ` 20, 000, Sir. You are going to become an IAS officer, then
what?’ replied the receptionist.
‘Okay, I’ll get back to you later!’
Vishy quickly walked away from the first coaching centre.
Coaching centre #2:
Vishy felt as if he was entering a photo gallery. There were photos of all
the Civil Services toppers with the coaching centre owner. Vishy walked
past the photos, but was particularly struck by one of them—a photo of the
coaching centre owner with the IAS topper, who was a Kashmiri guy. Did
somebody actually come all the way from Kashmir to join this coaching
centre in Chennai? Vishy thought. Then there were other photos of the
owner with the AIIMS topper, the IIT topper, the JIPMER topper, the 12th
Standard Board exam toppers, etc. Vishy could hardly control his laughter
as he entered the reception.
An automatic camera flashed as he entered the room. Oh they take
photos even when aspirants enter the coaching centre for enquiries ! he
laughed to himself.
‘Welcome, Sir. Thanks for joining our coaching centre,’ said the
receptionist.
‘When did I join?’ Vishy went dizzy.
‘Well, you will eventually, Sir. Just fill in the forms; your photo has
already been taken. We offer the cheapest fee in the whole country, Sir. Last
year all the 763 ranks in the Civil Services exams were obtained from our
students only.’
‘But there were only 680 vacancies last year.’
‘They added later, Sir. Don’t think about all that now, just join Sir. We
will make sure that you will clear the exam. Once you clear the main exam,
we’ll take you to Delhi for a special interview coaching at our own cost.’
Vishy had now understood about this coaching centre too.
 ‘What all subjects do you offer?’
‘We offer all the twenty-three subjects that are allowed by the UPSC,
Sir.’
‘Ok. I’ll get back to you soon. By the way, I saw that you have put up
last year’s Civil Services exam topper’s photo up there. He is from
Kashmir, how come he studied here?’
‘He studied via correspondence course, Sir,’ pat came the reply.
Vishy left without uttering a word. He didn’t know if he should laugh or
feel bad. He decided that he would first get reviews about the coaching
centres and then join the one that suited him the most. He started his car,
and then he saw Hari.
‘Hi, Hari! How are you?’
‘Hi, Vishy. Not coming for table tennis these days. Why is that? Are
you feeling bad that you have failed?’
‘No dude, it is just that I was taking some time off. Will join you soon.
Where are you going by the way?’ asked Vishy.
‘Super Best Coaching Centre. I have an interactive session with the
Prelims aspirants; now that I have cleared the Prelims, I can guide them,’
said Hari pointing to a poster nearby.
SUPER BEST COACHING CENTRE—INTERACTIVE SESSION WITH PRELIMS TOPPER
HARI —entry fee ` 100.
‘Bye, Hari. Never knew that they announced the Prelims marks and
toppers. I seriously thought that they tell only whether you have passed or
failed. Anyway, see you soon!’ said Vishy with a smile, and drove home.
‘Have you joined?’ asked Vishy’s father as he got back home.
‘No… they are all funny. Most of them are either looking at milking
money from the aspirants or using the aspirants as pawns to gain fame and
more money. This entire coaching centre thing is a huge money-making
industry today,’ replied a dejected Vishy.
‘So, you thought that they’d do it as a charity then? All professions are
moneymaking industries only. Even I charge money from my patients,
right?’
‘Yeah, but you don’t charge exorbitantly. You charge nominally, yet
give utmost care and quality to your patients. Similarly, there is nothing
wrong in the coaching centres charging fees, nobody needs charity, but it
should be reasonable, affordable and of good quality. That is what they are
forgetting.’
‘Just by visiting a couple of places, don’t generalize all coaching
centres that way. There must be some good ones also. Speak to your
friends, try and get some internet reviews. You’ll definitely find a good
one,’ said his father.
‘Ok, Pa. Thanks for the sermon number 14, 324,’ said Vishy as he got
back into his room.
He sat with his laptop and went through the list of coaching centres in
Chennai. It was a digitized version of what he saw at Anna Nagar that
morning. He spoke to a couple of his friends who were also preparing for
the exam, and to people who had cleared the Prelims (not Hari of course),
and they suggested he try the Great Minds Coaching Centre. They also
suggested he change his new optional subject to Public Administration
(which Vishy himself wanted to do after the fair bit of research that he had
done).
So Great Minds it was, and Vishy headed there the next day. It was
situated at the heart of Anna Nagar, sandwiched between two other
coaching centres. Vishy thought about Rithika as he walked towards the
centre. It had been fifteen days since Rithika last spoke to him. They were
in their ‘time out’ period, and Vishy was getting more restless and insecure
by the day.
He also felt it was important to respect Rithika’s idea of taking time off
and seeing how it works. So far nothing changed for Vishy except for the
fact that his longing for Rithika was growing. There had been no emails,
FB, Twitter, WhatsApp, phone calls or even the redundant red colour post
box…
The lobby of Great Minds Coaching Centre was situated on the ground
floor, and a strict-looking lady with spectacles, in her late fifties greeted
Vishy.
‘Good Morning. What is it?’ she asked.
‘I’ve come to enquire about the coaching here and then enrol myself if I
wish to.’
‘Okay. Our centre offers coaching in General Studies and four optionals
namely Public Administration, Geography, Psychology and Sociology. Five
thousand rupees per subject including tests, taxes, etc. But we are clearly
performance-oriented. We evaluate you every three months, apart from your
regular tests, and if your progress isn’t satisfactory you will be sent out
straight away.’
‘Hmmm… looks okay, I’ll join… but it is more or less a primary
school. Now I understand why there isn’t much crowd here. Should we
wear uniforms too for class?’ Vishy blurted out his mind’s voice.
‘Is that a joke by the way?’ asked the old lady, as she handed Vishy a
form to fill.
‘You will have a very short written test with multiple choice answers to
test your basic knowledge and aptitude, following which you will have a
short interview with me, following which I’ll admit you if I wish to,’ said
the lady sternly.
‘Who are you by the way?’ asked Vishy.
‘The director of this coaching centre, Mrs Geetha Natarajan.’
Vishy gave her a look and started filling the form.
He was then shown a small room and handed a question paper. Without
wasting any time, he began answering the questions. The questions were
rather easy and Vishy felt like they were asked just to make sure that the
aspirants had the bare minimum knowledge needed to take up coaching.
‘Time for the little interview,’ called out Mrs Geetha fifteen minutes
later, and she asked him to sit opposite her.
‘Vishy, what do you think gives you an edge and makes you think that
you will make the cut, and beat lakhs of aspirants competing against you?’
asked Mrs Geetha.
‘I only focus on my own performance Ma’am; just doing my
preparation systematically without worrying about what others think should
fetch me success,’ replied Vishy.
‘Which optional would you wish to choose?’
‘Public Administration, Ma’am.’
‘Have you given enough thought to it?’
‘Yes Ma’am, I have. I have selected Public Administration after giving
enough thought and getting positive feedback from several people. I have
already wasted enough time by blindly choosing Mechanical Engineering in
college, so I will not make the same mistake of blindly choosing things
again.’
 ‘This is going to be a do or die battle for the next year and a half, with a
tremendous degree of challenge and pressure thrust upon you. Are you up
for it?’
‘I do not know if I’ll “do or die” in this Ma’am. All I know is that Civil
Services exam preparation is a cycle of uncertainty; I may come out of it
either successful or unsuccessful. Rather than thinking about the results and
putting pressure on myself, I would like to just enjoy this process of
preparation to the fullest Ma’am,’ replied Vishy.
‘Classes start from Monday, 10.00 a.m. You are enrolled.’
‘Thank you, Ma’am,’ said Vishy, and paid the fee.
 Chapter 3

IT WAS MONDAY, 1 SEPTEMBER.

Vishy wanted to call Rithika before he started with the coaching classes,
but decided against it as it would violate their ‘time out’ agreement of
which another ten days remained. As most of the other coaching centres
also began their new set of batches from 1 September, the Rajaji street in
Anna Nagar wore a festive look. A sea of aspirants was flowing across
Rajaji street—left, right and centre. Vishy noticed that Super Best Coaching
Centre was right next to Great Minds. Vishy entered Great Minds, where he
was shown a classroom on the first floor. The class had already begun by
the time he entered.
‘May I come in, Sir?’
‘First day, first class and you are late. Auspicious! Go and sit.’
‘Is this Mr Natarajan?’ enquired Vishy as he sat in the last row.
‘Yeah, he is,’ replied his neighbour.
‘Hi… I’m Vishwanath,’ said Vishy.
‘Hi… I’m Vinod… Now listen to the class. Sir may have something
important to say.’
‘I’m the best teacher of Public Administration in the whole country.
You all know it. You don’t have to try anything out of the blue, just listen to
me, read my notes and you will be able to get a high score and get into
IAS,’ said Mr Natarajan.
The whole class nodded in a trance, as if Mr Natarajan was their Pied
Piper.
‘Why doesn’t he write the exam for us as well?’ commented Vishy,
making his neighbour laugh.
‘You! What are you doing there? Laughing? Is there a circus going on
here?’ yelled Natarajan. The typical classroom drama soon followed.
‘You come late the very first day, sit in the last row and laugh. You
think you are still in college?’ he continued.
 ‘Sorry Sir, but shouldn’t the students be advised to think on their own,
and think out of the box? Shouldn’t they take more initiative in
preparation?’ Vishy got up and asked.
‘I have made hundreds of IAS and IPS officers just by giving my notes.
You too should focus on the subject, and be more practical than sitting in
the last row and laughing.’
‘Sir, if just your notes are enough then all the hundred-odd students in
this hall plus the crow sitting on the window will clear the exam.’
The whole class burst into laughter.
‘My point of contention is that students should be allowed to think
freely and express their own views,’ continued Vishy.
‘Now you just shut up and pay attention to the class. I am the teacher
here and it’s me who tells you what to do; and you all know how successful
I am,’ shot back Natarajan.
‘Yes Sir,’ echoed the class in unison.
‘Ok, Sir,’ Vishy said and sat down.
He listened to the lecture for the rest of the class and found the subject
to be fascinating. Even though Natarajan’s way of teaching was good, his
imposition of ideas on his students didn’t sit well with Vishy.
‘When will these people let us innovate? Will they ever?’ he kept
murmuring to himself.
Soon the class was over, and it was time for a break. Super Best
Coaching Centre was so close to Great Minds, that if people in both the
buildings opened their window panes, they would literally be within arms
length of each other. Question papers, study materials, Natarajan’s
‘precious’ notes and even snacks were exchanged between the students of
the two coaching centres.
‘So, you are here to have fun and not study, isn’t it?’ asked Vinod to
Vishy.
Vinod was around Vishy’s age, if not slightly older. He was short, dark,
curly-haired and had sharp-looking eyes that were hidden behind his
spectacles.
‘Not at all. I somehow found his initial talk funny. I always call a spade
a spade,’ replied Vishy.
‘Look at you, dressed as if you are going clubbing with your gel-styled
hair and a fancy watch. You don’t even look like a serious candidate,’ called
out a new voice from behind.
It was Ashok, the guy who was sitting on the other side of Vinod and
who asked doubts to Natarajan every thirty seconds. ‘Doubt Ashok’,
Natarajan had dubbed him.
‘So, you have “doubts” with my appearance also?’ said Vishy, referring
to Natarajan’s comments in the class, causing a round of laughter from
Vinod, and Ashok himself.
‘Dress or appearance does not matter, boss, but efforts do. I’m Vishy, I
just joined here today and I live in K.K. Nagar,’ Vishy introduced himself to
Ashok.
‘Hmmm… Vinod and I have been here for the past two years. We both
stay in Anna Nagar. Come have a seat!’ offered Ashok. They had a brief
chat before Mr Prem, their General Studies faculty entered the class.
Soon their General Studies class began.
‘General Studies is… a vast ocean. You should pick and choose only
worthy and valuable stuff like oysters and pearls out of it, otherwise you’ll
end up wasting precious time with useless guppies and coconut shells…,’
he started.
‘He looks and talks funny, but gives us extremely valuable inputs,’
whispered Vinod to his new friend Vishy.
‘For those of you who are new, here is the booklist for GS. Buy these
books at Toppers Book House at the cheapest prices,’ Prem advised.
‘Does he get some sort of a commission from Toppers Book House?’
asked Vishy.
‘No. He owns it!’ said Vinod, much to Vishy’s shock.
‘Today we shall be starting with Geography. What is the difference
between weather and climate?’ started Prem.
‘Sir, I have a doubt,’ said Ashok.
‘Ashok, I have just asked a simple question. If I ask a question you
should answer or keep quiet, not just ask doubts. If I remember correctly,
for the past two years I have been asking the same question in the first class
and you have been asking the same doubt,’ said Prem helplessly, amidst the
roaring laughter of the class.
Vishy wanted to get up and say, ‘Weather is atmospheric behaviour over
a short period whereas climate is that which occurs over a long period.’
 But before Vishy could get up, he was interrupted by an answer from
the first row which was an exact NASA definition.
‘Wonderful Madhan! Keep it up!’ cried Prem.
‘Madhan must be writing NASA public service commission exams also,
he quotes NASA for everything,’ commented Ashok to Vinod.
Vishy noticed that the window panes of his classroom and of the
adjacent classroom of Super Best Coaching Centre were open, and he could
clearly see what was happening in their class. History optional class was
going on, and the topic was Mughal Administration. He could see Hari
seated in the first row and religiously taking down notes. In fact, he could
even see Hari hide his notes from his neighbour in the class while writing.
Meanwhile in his own classroom, Prem shouted, ‘I LOVE NIRMALA’
and the whole class looked puzzled.
‘That is the mnemonic to remember the regions receiving low rainfall
from the southwest monsoon,’ clarified Prem.
‘KISS DEEPIKA,’ he went on, saying that it was the mnemonic to
remember regions receiving moderate rainfall. The whole class stared with
jaws dropped and awaited some crazier mnemonic for the high rainfall
regions. ‘LOVE IS GOD,’ said Prem and enumerated the regions one by
one as per the mnemonic. The whole class, though disappointed with the
fact that the final mnemonic was not as spicy as the others, grasped the
contents quickly.
‘Funny yet effective—this mnemonic technique,’ said Vishy.
‘Didn’t I say so?’ replied Vinod.
They were done for the day, and Vishy went home after taking the
phone numbers of his new friends Vinod and Ashok.

Rithika was hurriedly brewing her coffee because she was late for office.
Rithika was twenty-five, and lived with her friends in a girls’ hostel. In
Vishy’s words, she was intelligent, bold and had good ‘Indian’ values. Like
every other college graduate in Tamil Nadu at that time, she had ended up
working in an IT company. She neither loved nor hated her work, but she
always worked to the best of her ability. She absolutely loved three things
in life:

• Coffee, which she made and carried along with her in a flask
wherever she went.

• Music, of any kind—from Mohammed Rafi and M. S.

Subbulakshmi to Halkat Jawani . She was a good singer too—at
school, college and more recently at the corporate music
competitions where she always made a mark.
• Now, coming to her third ‘love’… She had an emotional attachment
with Vishy since school, but was not sure yet if it was love.
‘I want Vishy to succeed in everything he takes up. I want Vishy to be
happy always. Good news or bad news, I want to share it first with Vishy
only. Does this mean love?’ she asked herself.
‘No. Not at all. Love is for dumb people to fall in. It’s not for Rithika!
Vishy is, and will always be my best friend,’ she murmured to herself
reassuringly. She was listening to her favourite songs and doing Sudoko on
the way to her office.
She was usually among the first to reach the office—9.00 a.m. every
day which was considered ‘early morning’, in her office parlance. Her
office was a typical urban IT office with state-of-the-art amenities—there
were even monitors in the loos to show employees the monthly target and
keep them ‘focused’. There were also automatic shoe polishing machines—
although 90 per cent of the employees came in fashionable sandals, a
sprawling library which was unused except by those who wanted to make
use of the jammed cell reception to avoid phone calls, a coffee shop where
guys and girls hit on each other, and wall posters with motivational captions
which nobody read but wrote pizza and burger delivery numbers upon. The
office had plush interiors and even more plush exteriors.
‘Morning, Sid. Still in boxers! Coming to office straight out of bed?’
asked Rithika.
‘Morning Rithika. Today is Friday and our office dress code is casual!’
hit back Singaperumaul Dhandapani, who had fashionably shortened his
name to Sid. Despite all the circus Sid did in the name of fashion, he had
always been Rithika’s good friend at office.
‘Early today, huh?’ asked Rithika.
‘All of us will be early today. Even the twins are on the way. Just met
them at the stairs. Team treat today. You forgot? All of us thought we’ll
come early and leave early,’ Sid replied.
‘Oh, I forgot about the outing, and as usual you have a reason to leave
early.’
Meanwhile ‘the twins’—Harini and Dharani had just entered the office.
The twins weren’t actually sisters.
‘We grew up together—same neighbourhood, same school, same
college, same office,’ they would explain with pride at the slightest chance
that they got.
‘Yeah same school, same college, same office, same husband,’ the twins
were the butt of many such taunts in the office. The more they were taunted,
the more the twins enjoyed annoying people.
Soon the others arrived, everybody settled down and ‘office’ began.
Thoughts of Vishy kept creeping into Rithika’s mind as they had from
the time she had stopped talking with him. Every day, while pretending to
play Candy Crush, she used to check out old text conversations between her
and Vishy. But Rithika, for some reason, thought she would never fall in
love, and that ironically pulled her back. She was always the most wanted
girl in high school and college, and that had brought about her current
situation.
‘Look at your cubicle!’ yelled Gopinath at Harini. Gopinath was their
manager and he was on his usual ‘rounds’. ‘Chocolate wrappers and
stickers, Barbie dolls, Ranbir and Virat Kohli posters with video games on
the monitor. Is this a working cubicle or some games parlour?’ he continued
yelling.
Hearing this tirade, Sid burst out laughing.
‘And you, Sid! Look at your place! Some vague numbers scribbled all
over, cricket website on the monitor all the time and you are always talking
about cricket on the phone. Are you a bookie or what?’ Gopinath continued.
‘The youth of today are spoilt. Reckless, useless and worthless,’
Gopinath was in no mood to stop.
 ‘Our colleague Ramesh respects you so much that he has your photo on
his cubicle, Sir,’ pointed out Sid as Gopinath eagerly went towards
Ramesh’s cubicle.
There was a life-size poster of Gopinath stuck on the wall adjoining
Ramesh’s cubicle. On top of it, in ‘Hari Sadu’ style was written G for Goon,
O for Oaf, P for Pathetic, I for Idiot, N for Nitwit, A for Ass, T for Tyrant
and H for Hitler!
And the whole poster was used by Ramesh for dart practice!
‘What the… Are you all school children?’ started Gopinath as the
whole team went mad with laughter.
 Chapter 4

‘IN 1905, BENGAL WAS PARTITIONED INTO EAST BENGAL AND WEST Bengal by
Lord Curzon,’ lectured Geetha Natarajan.
‘These things you people must be ready to say by heart even in your
sleep. Will you?’
‘Yes Ma’am,’ nodded the whole class obediently, like young school
children.
Vishy, Vinod and Ashok were seated in the second row by the window
that day.
‘Would you mind coming this side?’ asked Vinod, exchanging seats
with Vishy.
‘Ha, Ha! You know why he wants to sit by the window?’ Ashok
laughed.
‘Err… no idea,’ Vishy replied.
‘To “see” Neena who is sitting in the class in the next building at Super
Best Coaching Centre. This is what he has been doing every class, for
almost a year now!’
‘Oh! But the other day you people were sitting in the last row?’
‘Because Neena was also sitting in the last row that day.’
‘Very good. Let him continue,’ said Vishy, focusing back on class.
Soon Mrs Geetha finished her back-to-back classes of General Studies
and Public Administration.
‘I’ll come along with you guys and get your previous years’ class notes
on Public Administration,’ said Vishy to Vinod.
‘Welcome Bro! Let’s go once Ashok finishes clarifying his doubts with
Ma’am,’ said Vinod.
Half an hour later, the trio walked towards Vinod and Ashok’s hostel,
which was close by. On the way, they stopped at the Krishna Tea Stall,
popularly known among the Anna Nagar aspirants as ‘the gossip hub’, for a
round of Ragi malt. Krishna Tea Stall broke all the myths of a typical
roadside tea stall. It had neither vernacular dailies nor B-grade pictures of
actresses displayed everywhere. On the contrary it had ‘exam-oriented’
current affairs magazines, and world and India maps displayed—clearly
indicating its target customers.
‘All the question papers of the coaching centre tests in Anna Nagar
reach the Krishna Tea Stall first before reaching their own centres,’ Ashok
said.
‘Even Great Minds?’ quizzed Vishy, as an aspirant just entered the stall
and asked, ‘Krishna anna, two cups of tea and one geography paper.’
Ashok almost spit out his tea on hearing the aspirant.
‘No, Geetha ma’am is very strict, she makes sure that the questions are
printed in her house and brought to the centre herself.’
‘Hmmm… Geetha ma’am would have made a good boarding high
school warden,’ remarked Vishy.
‘Ha, Ha… but she is good at her job,’ intervened Vinod.
‘Yes, I can see that! Now you tell me the Neena story!’ Vishy
demanded.
‘Ah! That’s nothing man… It’s just one-sided,’ blushed Vinod.
‘One-sided, what? Omelette?’
‘I can’t describe it…’ started Vinod before being interrupted by Ashok.
‘There goes the broken radio again,’ he complained as he was getting so
used to the Ragi malt and Vinod’s love story.
‘If you like somebody then why don’t you go tell her?’
‘It’s not about telling her. What about our exam preparation? We are at
such a crucial phase of our lives. Don’t you think that a relationship will be
a waste of time now?’
‘Yes, preparation is important, but that’s not your life either. You have
been preparing for two years already and God knows what’s in store and
where you will end up. Keeping that in mind you can’t stay away from
other things in life. Life waits for nobody. So just do what your heart wants
as long as it’s morally good and doesn’t hurt anybody.’
‘Yeah, I agree with Vishy, Ragi malt and love should wait for none!’
quipped Ashok.
‘I thought that the class was over!’ remarked Vinod sarcastically.
‘Ok listen to me now…just go tell Neena that you have feelings for
her!’ said Vishy.
‘Yeah, just do it !’ chimed Ashok, pointing to the Nike logo.
 ‘Ok guys… I agree. I’ll talk to her soon!’ declared Vinod, giving high
fives to Ashok and Vishy.
Soon they entered Vinod and Ashok’s hostel.
‘Look at that!’ said Ashok, pointing at a Ganesha idol right in front of
the hostel.
‘Oh! Ganesha, my favourite,’ remarked Vishy.
‘It’s not just Ganesha… It’s UPSC Ganesha! You should come here and
see on the day of the results… This whole place will be jam-packed.
Ganesha will get special “question paper” garlands!’
‘I would love to come and watch the fun.’
‘Come, let’s get in!’ called out Vinod.
Their room was on the first floor. Vishy had to bend down to enter, as if
he were entering an igloo.
Vishy had thought that Rithika’s cubicle was the smallest living space
he had seen. But he realized he was wrong as he entered his friends’ room.
He was still undecided if it was their living space or their storeroom as even
the tiny space available was overflowing with books.
‘This is your storeroom, huh?’ Vishy asked.
‘No, Vishy this is the only room available to us. Both of us are
supposed to share this room. But we use it as our storeroom for our books
and to change. We mostly stay on the terrace!’ said Ashok.
‘In fact, the hostel warden allotted this room to three of us—myself,
Ashok and Babu. But only two of us occupy it now,’ added Vinod.
‘Why? What happened to the other guy Babu?’ asked Vishy.
‘Not here anymore. Babu was a very intelligent guy. He was one of the
brightest candidates in the hostel. His prowess was well known in the whole
Anna Nagar Civil Services Preparation circle. He studied in our coaching
centre and Geetha ma’am was certain that he would clear,’ said Vinod, in a
low voice.
‘What happened, then? Which service is he in now?’ Vishy asked.
‘None. He failed to clear the exam. Once, twice and thrice! That was
the last we saw of him. He was nowhere to be seen after the results of his
third attempt,’ said Vinod in a low tone.
‘I remember seeing him in the coaching centre on the day of the results.
I had just joined Great Minds. Babu was in Geetha ma’am’s room when the
result was announced. At that time, he got a phone call that both his parents
who were in a fishing village near Cuddalore were feared dead in a
devastating cyclone that had just hit Cuddalore. His brother who went
fishing into the rough sea was also feared dead. First the results came, then
the phone call. On hearing all this, Babu had turned completely to stone!
Not a single tear, but he looked completely disoriented for almost an hour.
People around him were consoling him but it was extremely difficult to
even ascertain if he was dead or alive,’ added Ashok, in a troubled voice.
‘Yeah, I was there too that day. Still remember those eyes… Ghostly is
a mild word to describe them! Geetha ma’am was trying hard to bring him
back to normal, consoling him saying that they all were like family to him
and that he also had one more attempt left. But he stayed mute and looked
aghast,’ said Vinod in a frightened tone, as if he was narrating the last
chapter of a horror novel.
‘Didn’t he say anything? At least to Geetha ma’am?’ asked Vishy.
‘Nothing whatsoever! Just got up after an hour and left,’ said Ashok.
‘He didn’t even bother coming to the room after that and was nowhere
to be seen after. Nobody knew his hometown address, and a few friends
who tried to contact him couldn’t get through to him,’ concluded Vinod.
‘Oh! That’s so unfortunate. Very sad to hear. Hope he did not do
anything foolish,’ said Vishy, glancing sadly at a photo of Babu, Vinod and
Ashok wearing Chennai Super Kings t-shirts.
‘That was before the Inaugural IPL… We won three CSK t-shirts along
with match tickets in a radio station’s slogan contest… We autographed
each others shirts and went to watch the match. Fun days, those were…’
Vinod went into flashback mode.
‘Ok guys. No point talking about it now. Let’s go upstairs to our study
hall,’ suggested Ashok.
Their ‘study hall’ was the large terrace on top of the hostel. It was very
clean and very green, filled with creepers, climbers and other ‘house’
plants. In a corner was a small tent which was covered only at the top. On
the ground were two mattresses and between them was a table fan. Behind
the mattresses was a small book rack, two foldable chairs and an earthen
pot filled with drinking water.
‘This place looks refreshing!’ said Vishy.
‘Yeah… it’s nothing luxurious but a small, clean place to sit and study
quietly. There is quite a bit of a crowd here in the evening. As the sun sets,
people start leaving because there are no lights here except in our little tent.
Ashok is the one who got this idea and created the tent. So, we call it
“Ashok’s Paradise”,’ said Vinod with a smile as Ashok was searching for
the class notes that Vishy had asked for.
‘Imagine Victor Varadharaj’s son living in a shabby place like this and
preparing for the exam?’ said Vinod.
‘Who, Ashok? The industrialist Victor Varadharaj’s son?’
‘Yeah, but he doesn’t show off. He is a very simple and humble guy.
Coming from a wealthy family and leading an ordinary life like this is
really a huge thing,’ said Vinod.
‘Hmmm… He doesn’t really show any of the attitude that typical rich
boys of his age possess,’ added Vishy.
‘He didn’t like his father’s shady business deals. He never endorsed his
father’s way of business. So, he decided to stay out of everything after
finishing his MBA and came here to prepare for the civil services. His dad
and his brother look after the business, and Ashok goes home only once a
month to see his mom. Here, he mingles well with everyone without any
discrimination. Look at me—my father is one of the poorest farmers in my
whole village and can barely make our ends meet. But Ashok has always
treated me as his best friend without even bothering about all that,’ said
Vinod in an emotional tone.
‘Here are the Public Administration notes,’ said Ashok as he handed
them over promptly.
Vishy took them with a smile, they had a brief chat and then left for his
house.
An hour after Vishy left, both Vinod and Ashok got text messages on
their phones from Vishy. It seemed like a forwarded quote which read, ‘A
winner is not the one who never loses, but the one who never quits!’
Putting their phones down, Vinod and Ashok continued with their
studies.

‘Hurrah!’ exclaimed Sid and struck high fives with Badri, their team leader.
They had just completed and delivered their project to the clients.
‘Thankfully you guys have a team leader like me—efficient, responsible
and intelligent, enabling you all to complete the project on time!’
announced Badri clearing his throat.
‘Here goes the crack…now no one can stop him,’ said Dharani as she
plugged in her ear phones.
Badri was the leader of Rithika’s team. He was that typical ‘first rank,
first row’ student that every school and college possessed, and every other
student of the class hated. He was someone who thought that the earth spun
only around him. Badri was one of Gopinath’s favourite sidekicks and was
an office-acclaimed miser of the highest order. The sight of Badri asking his
friends who had used his phone to make calls to pay him one rupee, never
failed to produce laugh riots all over the office.
‘Bye guys! See you on Monday!’ said Sid as he got up to leave the
office.
‘I’ll also join you Sid,’ said Badri.
‘Ah Badri, the usual drop off to toll gate, huh?’ (Badri usually parked
his car about a kilometre away from the office, near a toll gate so that he
didn’t have to cross the toll gate and pay thirty rupees every day.)
‘No, Sid. I didn’t bring my car today. There was a free car service
coupon I got at the mall. Thought of using it today as I was sure that the
project delivery will make us all leave at almost the same time and I could
get dropped in your car. Great thinking, isn’t it? ‘
‘Yes, it sure is!’ Sid gave a hopeless sigh.
‘Might as well do it every day!’ whispered Harini to Dharani as they
both got ready to leave too.
‘Shall I drop you also Rithika?’ asked Sid.
‘Yeah sure.’
Soon Sid, Badri and Rithika were on their way home.
‘Pretty hectic week. Feels great that the weekend is right in front of
us…What plans guys?’ said Sid.
‘Gonna download some movies tonight and watch them happily. My
neighbour uses an open wi-fi and doesn’t know that I use it,’ Badri said
with a sense of accomplishment.
‘What about you?’ he asked Sid.
‘Gonna go clubbing,’ replied Sid with a bigger sense of
accomplishment.
 Badri recounted a typical night-out for Sid (as told by Sid’s friends):
Clubbing was something Sid did every week just to show the world that
he was capable of doing it. Every weekend he’d get ready in his club-wear
and gel his hair. He would sketch out tattoo look-alikes on his arms using
sketch pens, and wear his tightest shirt that he had since he was in 12th
standard. Along with all this, he had a few charcoal-burnt jeans and his
‘club’ shoes. He would usually go out with a couple of his college buddies.
Needless to say, the first thing that Sid would do upon entering a pub was
his social media routine of updating his Instagram and checking-in and
posting a photo on Facebook. Sid would then have a couple of drinks, go to
the dance floor, do some annoying moves, piss off people around him and
then get fully drunk and black out. His friends would usually drop him off
early the next morning amidst his repetitive bouts of puking.
‘Better sit at home, watch midnight masala and drink. You will save the
trouble you give your friends and a lot of money,’ Badri gave his ‘expert’
advice.
Rithika was not paying attention to the conversation. She was browsing
through her phone gallery and looking at her photos with Vishy.
Wonderful moments! Will they return? Or will they just be memories ?
she thought to herself. Rithika developed a sense of longing for Vishy for
the first time. The month of their ‘time out’ was getting over the next day
and she hoped that they would speak.
Sid dropped Rithika and Badri off at their places, and went home to
‘enjoy’ his weekend.
Rithika sat with some hot coffee to watch TV. Thoughts of Vishy kept
coming back to her. She got up suddenly and frantically searched through
an old bag of hers… She pulled out an old photograph; it was a picture of
herself singing on stage taken during an inter-school ‘cultural show.’ She
had been in the 12th standard. Vishy and Rithika had gone together for that
event. Vishy participated in the quiz and debate and Rithika participated in
singing. Rithika remembered she had a terrible fever that day, and it was
Vishy who took complete care of her and successfully egged her on to win
the coveted first prize trophy, despite all her apprehensions and self-doubts.
‘You will win… you will win,’ he kept telling her after every round, when
she was getting tired and worn out.
 It was the first major social recognition she received. No matter how
many ever light-music events she won after that inter-school ‘cultural
show’, that first win was always special and close to her heart, and so was
her relationship with Vishy from that day on.
But as much as Vishy, and her fond memories with him lay etched deep
in her heart, thoughts of not falling for a guy kept surfacing into Rithika’s
mind. It was something that she strongly believed in, after seeing bitter
romantic experiences around her since childhood—‘love marriages never
work’ was a strong mantra that she had blindly followed.
‘Hi Vishy. How are you?’ she asked, brimming with love, pulling out
her phone at 12.01 a.m. and making a call to him.
‘Hi… I am fine. Good to hear from you again,’ Vishy replied formally.
‘So, how’s the preparation going? Knowing you, I know you would be
preparing in full swing by now!’ she said in a familiar tone.
‘Yeah going good. Let’s see. Hope your office is good too,’ Vishy kept
talking in a very polite, formal and officious manner. He sounded like a
customer care executive of a telecom company talking to a client.
After getting a couple more customer care replies, Rithika hung up.
‘See… this attitude! This is what I hate and this is why it won’t work!’
she yelled angrily to herself as she washed the coffee cup and got to bed.
 Chapter 5

‘HERE COMES I. SRINIVASAN!’ REMARKED ASHOK AS THEIR faculty walked into

the class.
‘Is that his initial?’ asked Vishy.
‘Nope. He is just I. Srinivasan along the lines of the iPad and the
iPhone.’
‘Tech geek, he must be!’
‘He doesn’t know the difference between a transistor and a cellular
phone.’
‘Then why the name?’ asked Vishy curiously.
‘He credits himself for everything that’s happening on planet Earth and
beyond,’ started Ashok, but before he could complete his thought,
Srinivasan spoke, ‘I was responsible for the change in syllabus that the
UPSC brought about in 1992.’
‘See there, didn’t I tell you?’ Ashok said with a sense of pride as his
analysis on Srinivasan was proven.
‘Next he will say he himself appointed the UPSC chairman,’ Vishy
added. Ashok burst into uncontrollable laughter.
‘As much as he is an I. Srinivasan, he is also a K. Srinivasan in the way
that he is knowledgeable and extremely good at his subjects—History and
Indian Polity. He also owns his own coaching centre near Krishna Tea Stall
and teaches the History optional. He comes to Great Minds only to teach
General Studies, History and Polity,’ explained Vinod defending Srinivasan.
‘I. Srinivasan also brought the revolutionary idea of selling his own
question papers before the test through Krishna Tea Stall, and he earns a
substantial amount through it!’ said Ashok.
‘On Saturday, I took you all to the days of Delhi Sultanate; today we are
going to see the Mughal Empire, and just by sitting here. That too for free!’
started I. Srinivasan with his usual ‘I. wit’.
‘Joke, it seems!’ Vishy heard the guys sitting in the desks before him
comment.
 Meanwhile, in the first row sitting next to NASA Madhan, Venkat was
taking down even the ‘I. wits’ of Srinivasan as he thought they would help
him in the UPSC interview. He assumed they would help him portray
himself as a guy with a natural sense of humour and give him an ‘edge over
others’.
Also in the first row was Deepti, who was tidily writing notes.
‘Is that girl sitting in the first row Deepti?’ asked Vishy.
‘Yeah, Deepti… How do you know her?’ asked Ashok.
‘She is from my school only,’ replied Vishy.
‘Oh! How was she in school? Here she behaves as if the first rank in the
exam is already reserved for her,’ said Ashok in his usual sarcastic tone.
‘She actually topped the school in the 12th standard board exams,’
Vishy said.
‘Ahaa! Interesting… Let’s wait and watch the fun,’ said Ashok.
Vinod was sitting sincerely as usual during class… He was multitasking
between taking down notes and ‘sincerely’ looking through the window at
Neena in the next class, at Super Best Coaching Centre.
Vinod was one of those textbook shy ‘all look, no talk’ guys.
‘This way you’ll end up flunking the exam as well as losing Neena,’
warned Ashok, pulling Vinod to his side as the class continued in full
swing. Meanwhile, I. Srinivasan talking about how he was the one who
formulated the National Rural Employment Guarantee Programme, but
sadly his idea was ripped off by the government and he wasn’t credited.
Venkat took that down religiously and even underlined it with a marker
pen.
‘I. Srinivasan started the class talking about the Mughal Empire but
look where he has come now—NREGA!’ said a baffled Vishy.
‘Let’s get back to the Mughals now… NREGA was just to give you a
mental break and get you relaxed before proceeding to face Aurangzeb!’ I.
Srinivasan continued, as though he had just heard Vishy.
Soon, the class was over.
‘So, there ends Mughal empire. I am the only person in this business
who can cover the whole Mughal Empire in one hour,’ said a proud I.
Srinivasan as he walked out.
‘So officially teaching has become a “business” now,’ said Vishy, sadly
shrugging his shoulders.
 Their next class was Economics, which was taught by Geetha
Natarajan. There was a grim silence as she walked in.
‘This Friday will be your first test in General Studies, and I hope you all
remember that those who score less than 40 per cent in two of the first three
tests will be removed from the coaching centre.’
‘Yes, Ma’am,’ nodded the whole class in unison.
‘In another eight months, you all will be writing the most important
exam of your lives, so I expect the effort of your lives in preparing for it.’
‘It is in fact the exam of my life and there is no life beyond it,’ Vishy
heard a boy seated before him murmur.
A sense of tension and pressure prevailed in the whole class as the
lesson went ahead in full swing. Soon the lecture was over in no time.
‘Hi Vishy! Great to see you after so long!’ exclaimed Deepti as they
were both leaving class.
‘Hi Deepti, never expected to see you here,’ said Vishy, surprised.
‘I should be telling you that, you last bencher! Studying was the last
thing you did in school and look at you now… always sitting in the last
bench and giggling! I’m really surprised to see you here—in such a serious
and dedicated environment. I am sure your parents forced you to join this
class.’
‘You have a good memory Deepti.’
‘Been a topper all my life Vishy. Bound to be so!’
‘Hmmm…’
‘Let me know if you need any of the notes or something.’
‘See you,’ Vishy smiled as they got onto the road.
‘Yup…see you. We are classmates again, after all!’
An hour later, Vishy’s phone rang as he entered his house.
‘So, you are best friends again with Deepti it seems.’
‘What the……. Rithika’.
‘Over centuries, times have changed, and newer modes of
communication have emerged time and again. Yet, no matter what amount
of communication or social media one has access to, nothing can beat the
girls’ word of mouth !’ Vishy exclaimed.
‘That’s extremely funny.’
‘Funny what?’
‘Whatever you are saying.’
 ‘It was you who spoke with her and you are acting smart.’
‘Oh, is it? And what else?’
‘It looks like you joined that coaching centre only to hit on her.’
‘Ah! Finally you care to know that I have joined a new coaching centre.
Thanks to Deepti.’
‘See how you talk now and how you spoke the other night—like a
customer care executive!’
‘You too… You also spoke as if you are giving the introductory speech
for a spoken English course!’ gave back Vishy.
‘So, what now?’ asked Rithika.
‘What now? Nothing… I am just living within the small personal space
of mine and trying my best to get to my dream. That is it. I am neither for
nor against any other story, screenplay or dialogue attached with this!’
There was only silence from the other end.
‘And it was only because of you and the fight that you picked with her
that I had to stop talking to her. Coincidentally, she is now studying in the
same coaching centre as me. Even that I found out only today. Saw her
while leaving the place and had a casual chat with her. That’s it.’
‘Hmmm…’
‘This is the longest we have spoken in a long time. Thanks to Deepti
again. Got some work. Bye.’ Vishy hung up the phone without waiting for
Rithika’s response. He continued to wonder how trivial news of him
speaking to an old friend would travel so fast to his wannabe girlfriend.
In fact, Vishy spent the next few minutes seriously looking for a spy-
cam or some tracking device in his pocket.
‘Girl talk travels quicker than G-talk,’ he concluded.
It was 11.00 in the morning. Vishy was sitting with his books but for a
change, he was quite bored. Their first ‘evaluation’ test was scheduled for
the next day. Vishy decided to pay his friends Vinod and Ashok a visit in
the afternoon. They were sitting in Ashok’s Paradise and were fully
immersed in their reading.
‘No matter how much we read, we will still end up missing something!’
Ashok was cribbing.
‘Yeah, we always make up those “silly” minute mistakes which lead to
negative marks,’ agreed Vinod shamefacedly.
‘Ha ha. Very true!’ exclaimed Vishy as he entered.
 ‘That is why I always compare our preliminary exam to batting in test
cricket,’ said Vishy.
‘How? How? How?’ curiosity got the better of Vinod and Ashok.
‘In test cricket, for a batsman to succeed he needs to learn to judge
which deliveries he has to hit and which deliveries he has to leave alone. If
he unnecessarily touches good deliveries, he will be out. The same applies
to our Prelims. We get a lot of questions. Some we know, many we may not
know. But if we can get into the habit of judging the difficulty of the
questions and attempt only the questions we know and leave the toughies,
we will succeed for sure!’
‘Very well said actually. It makes sense,’ replied Vinod.
‘Yeah. But only thing is we should at least know the bare minimum to
attempt a good amount of questions,’ Ashok said with his trademark smile.
The three then sat down with their books and there was pin-drop
silence.
‘You seem to have a natural flair with Public Administration, especially
considering the fact that you have been an engineer and appeared for the
exam with Mechanical Engineering as your optional,’ remarked Vinod.
‘Yeah. That was the mistake I made. Planning and choosing the right
optional is as important as studying for the exam itself, as far as the Civil
Services exams are concerned. Thankfully I’ve realized my mistake and I
am on the right track now—I chose a subject that I like, rather than just
choosing a subject because I graduated in it,’ replied Vishy.
‘Correct. The ability to identify one’s own shortcomings and then
rectify them puts you on the path to success,’ Vinod said.
‘All these gyan you both can talk after clearing the final exam, for now
just wake up to the reality and prepare for tomorrow,’ advised a charged-up
Ashok.
Later, having had some hot Ragi malt at Krishna Tea Stall, Vishy went
home.

It was the day of their first class evaluation test. That morning they had a
test in their optional subjects, and in the afternoon they were tested in
General Studies.
There were the ‘first benchers’—NASA Madhan, ‘topper’ Deepti,
‘carbon copy’ Venkat and others who gave off the impression that they were
the only ones capable of clearing these exams. Then there was the second
row, which had ‘first bench ‘and’ topper’ wannabe candidates. Then there
was a small group of utterly disinterested candidates who had joined Great
Minds only because of parental pressure. There was another group—those
who ‘wished for it but never worked for it’; they imagined day in and day
out that they would become district collectors and go around wearing suits
(irresepective of weather) in VIP vehicles with ‘red lights’, but they never
worked seriously towards achieving these dreams. Prabhu was part of this
group. He sat in the corner of the classroom, peeping at a paper in the next
room through the window. He was blindly copying whatever the person
across the window was writing without even realising that he was copying
from a Super Best Coaching Centre student giving a geography test! Prabhu
only wanted the end result—to be in the prestigious IAS, but he was never
careful about how to achieve his dreams. It wasn’t only Prabhu…there were
lots and lots of Prabhus out there…
In terms of numbers, the ‘Prabhu’ type candidates were perhaps second
only to ‘Vinod’ type candidates—the exceedingly hardworking and
exceedingly desperate candidates who took the Civil Services exam very
seriously, perhaps more seriously than life itself. In fact, an overtly anxious
Vinod completed chewing off all of his ten fingernails within the first hour
of the exam, prompting Vishy to put his left hand inside his pocket. As for
Vishy, he was sitting next to Vinod in the last row and writing as though it
was just another test in his life. Vishy was taking one step at a time and
enjoying the whole process of preparation with a fair amount of confidence
even though he had lost out on his previous attempt in the preliminary
exam.
Thus, the way in which the candidates approached their first
‘evaluation’ test itself spoke volumes of their mental framework and their
attitude towards challenges and towards life.
Soon the test was over. Madhan and Venkat had already started
checking the answers. So had Deepti. In fact, Deepti had begun an
argument with her neighbour whom she accused of copying her answers!
Inspired by Ashok’s epic love proposal stories, Vinod decided to profess his
love to Neena that day. So, Ashok and Vinod went to the Super Best
Coaching Centre looking for Neena.
‘Good luck, Vinod!’ wished Vishy.
‘Good luck for?’ asked Ashok
‘Love proposal to Neena!’
‘That’s the ritual he has been doing for a year. Goes, stares and comes
back. I am sure it will be the same today also. Even for such “stares” his
highness Vinod needs company!’ said Ashok.
They all laughed, and walked outside.
Vishy got out of Great Minds and began walking on the road when he
heard a familiar voice.
‘Want a lift?’ asked Rithika, sitting on her Scooty Pep.
‘Oh God! I thought the “test” was over,’ murmured Vishy.
‘Sorry, Vishy. I was rather rude that day on the phone. You know me
more than anyone.’
‘Yeah, that is the problem. I know you too well!’
‘How did the test go?’
‘As usual… ok-ok sort.’
‘Great! Your ok-ok means you’ve done well.’
Vishy smiled. Rithika gave her familiar smile back.
He got on to her scooty.
‘So? Where to now?’ asked Rithika.
‘Our usual chit-chat place only,’ replied Vishy.
They had a twenty-minute drive to their usual spot, which was below
the busiest structure in Chennai city—the Kathipara grade separator with a
massive flyover over it. Thousands of vehicles crossed the grade separator,
yet Vishy and Rithika found a secluded spot beneath the flyovers to enjoy a
classic Chennai moment with each other. The tiny walkway below the grade
separator, between the two under bridge roads that were ‘under
construction’ for more than two years now paved way for them to enter
their ‘spot’. They got there by getting off the road through a gap in the side
rails. They jumped off the scooty and sat on the wall that was under
construction. They were soon happily looking at each other while the whole
city was bustling above their heads.
‘So? How’s office?’ asked Vishy.
‘As usual. The new boss yells at Gopi, Gopi yells at Badri, Badri yells
at us! Targets… targets… and more targets…’
‘Ha ha, I get the ecological food chain of your office! The vulture eating
the snake, snake eating the frog…’
‘Hehehe,’ chuckled Rithika.
Meanwhile a tea seller came to supply tea to the construction workers.
Vishy went and got two cups for them.
For the next one hour, they sat under the wall happily, sipping tea and
chatting. After all, it was each other’s company that they enjoyed more than
anything else.
Soon it was dark, Rithika went back to her room after dropping Vishy
home.
 Chapter 6

‘CORPORATE SINGER IS HERE!’ EXCLAIMED BADRI. ‘FIRST OF ITS kind! And guess
what?’ He read the poster, ‘The overall winner among all companies will
get to sing a song in a Tamil feature film whose music will be composed by
a legend of Tamil cinema. Plus, there are other attractive prizes to be won .’
‘Wow! We are in!’ exclaimed Dharani and Harini together.
‘You guys know what? I was the Kishore Kumar of my college,’
boasted Badri.
‘Well, in our country 50 per cent of the population think they are Sachin
Tendulkar,’ said Ramesh.
‘What about the other 50 per cent, Ramesh?’ asked Badri eagerly.
‘Think they are Kishore Kumar,’ said Ramesh, with uncontrollable
laughter.
‘Rithika sings really well by the way, I’ve seen her sing on a few
occasions. This is a great chance to announce herself on the big stage. Is it
not, Rithika?’ urged Ramesh.
‘Yeah. When there is an opportunity, why not give it a try,’ nodded
Rithika confidently.

‘Most of you have done well. Except for a few of you,’ echoed the loud
voice of Mrs Geetha.
‘I am particularly impressed with the test performances of Madhan and
Deepti,’ she certified.
Their eyes were filled with a sense of pride and victory, whereas the rest
of the class looked on awkwardly.
And people like Venkat were visibly disappointed. They looked as if
they had failed the final exams itself.
 ‘Ashok Victor has also done well in the test, justifying the doubts he
asks every thirty seconds,’ smiled Mrs Geetha, giving way to the chanting
of ‘Doubt Ashok, Doubt Ashok’ across the class.
‘All your answer sheets have been distributed. Those who couldn’t
make the cut in the tests for the third consecutive time, I am afraid you have
no place in Great Minds. You might as well leave now.’
About 8 to 10 people stood up and started leaving.
A few were sad that despite their best efforts they couldn’t compete
even at their coaching centre level, a few looked ‘relieved’ that the torture
of Civil Services exam preparation was over. They could tell the same to
their parents and start on their desired path once and forever. A few had a
‘wicked’ smile on their faces as they left.
‘Came here for the material, and I got it. Now I have material from all
the top institutes. I can consolidate everything and top the exams!’
murmured a girl happily as she left the place.
‘There is hardly a week left for the exam notification, once it is out then
you won’t even have time to turn the pages of your book,’ concluded Mrs
Geetha, winding up the class.
Vishy, Vinod and Ashok went straight to Krishna Tea Stall after the
class. All three of them had done fairly well. Ashok, as mentioned earlier
was one of the toppers, Vishy finished within the top twenty and Vinod also
made the cut within the first thirty. Generally, getting into the first forty to
fifty students in Great Minds was considered good enough to qualify for the
UPSC Prelims. So all three were happy with their respective performances.
‘Great performance, Vishy!’ said Ashok.
‘Picking up a new subject like Public Administration, preparing that on
one hand and also performing well enough in other subjects in such a short
time… deserves an applause!’ he continued.
‘Deserves a ragi malt!’ smiled Vishy.
Suddenly, they saw Neena approaching to the tea stall.
She stood there waiting, as the owner Krishna, was not around.
‘Hi Neena, I am Ashok, and this is my friend Vinod. We both are
studying at Great Minds Coaching Centre. My friend Vinod is interested in
you… very much… no… he is mad about you,’ blurted Ashok.
‘Please don’t say no… I love you… and I really mean it!’ exclaimed an
excited Vinod.
 ‘He is a really good guy at heart,’ Vishy joined in.
Neena was stumped. She stood there like a rock—completely
emotionless.
‘I don’t have anything expensive to propose with, not even flowers. All
I have is…’ Vinod looked around. ‘All I have is….hot vada!’ Vinod said,
grabbing a fresh and hot vada and giving it to Neena, along with the paper.
‘I love you Neena, even if I propose to you only with a vada!’
Neena started laughing, took the vada and began to leave.
‘The paper beneath the vada…’ continued Vinod.
‘Neena, the paper beneath the vada…is your geography question paper
for tomorrow!’
Everybody including Neena was in splits. Neena left soon, smiling at
Vinod.
‘I messed up my lines, didn’t I?’ enquired Vinod.
‘Yeah, big time. What else would you have said?’ asked Vishy.
‘Not sure. Maybe… you are hotter than this vada ?’
‘Thank God you did not say something like that!’ sighed Ashok and
Vishy.
‘Anyway, she likes you too. It’s quite evident. It’s going to be a happy
love story da!’ said Ashok.

Preliminary auditions were about to start for the ‘Corporate Singer’ at

Rithika’s office. Her company was allotted three slots to qualify for the
main competition, which would include the winners from all other
companies.
Rithika was the first participant and she turned out to be one of the most
popular ones as well. Her rocking performance was augmented by the
peppy chartbuster song that she chose to sing. There was a huge round of
applause as she finished singing and came off the podium.
‘Wow! Awesome Rithika! You rocked!’ gushed Sid.
‘I know it’s too early to tell but you are a strong contender to qualify for
the finals,’ he continued.
 ‘If she is a strong contender to qualify for the finals, then I have already
won the finals,’ interrupted Badri in his usual style.
Soon, other people went on to have their shot on the microphone.
Some were good, some very good, some mediocre—giving plenty of
entertainment to the crowd.
For instance, the crowd went on to chant ‘Johnny, Johnny, Yes Papa’
when Harini was singing (or rather, trying to sing).
‘I am backing out of this!’ cried Dharani.
‘If Harini was ridiculed, then imagine me!’ she said.
‘Oh yes. Thank God you are backing out!’ laughed Sid and Ramesh
together.
The final contestant of the day was Badri. He proudly stepped on to the
podium; as Sid, Ramesh and others expected the crowd to chant ‘multiples
of 2 or 4 tables’.
But to everyone’s surprise Badri SANG, and he sang well too. Though
his awkward dance moves annoyed the crowd at times, he managed to put
up a decent show and got a good round of applause.
Badri was a good singer, but not good enough to get through to the
finals. Rithika and two others were shortlisted for the finals. Badri was put
on the waitlist as Candidate No.1.
‘Waiting list! Always a waiting list! My dream itself has become an
IRCTC railway ticket! There is no justice!’ Badri started cribbing.
‘No respect for talent. People only appreciate sleaze and glamour! I
even wore a thousand rupee denim shirt but nobody noticed my glamour,’
he continued with his cribbing.
Rithika meanwhile was delighted. She opened her phone to find Vishy’s
text which was sent to her about three hours ago; it read, ‘You will win for
sure. Congratulations in advance. Let me be the first to wish you.’
Rithika immediately called up Vishy and screamed with joy, much to
the despair and disappointment of Badri, who was standing behind her.
‘Doomed! We all are doomed!’ Ashok came running to Vinod.
‘What is it? Does Neena have a boyfriend already?’
‘Idiot, why should I be doomed for that?’ said Ashok.
‘The notification for the Civil Services exam is out. UPSC has changed
the Prelims pattern. No optionals this time for Prelims. In its place, we have
a separate paper on “Civil Services Aptitude” whatever that means,’ said a
panic-stricken Ashok.
‘Oh my God! We are doomed, really! We put in so much effort and time
in preparing for the optional and now they have removed the optional
itself!’ Vinod’s voice was literally shaking now.
By now the news had spread all over Anna Nagar and panic was in the
air.
A couple of nervous guys near Ashok and Vishy even broke down
crying.
Both Ashok and Vinod were thoroughly perplexed. Half their
preparation was deemed a waste. Now they had to start preparing
something completely new, that too in a very short span of time—three
months to be precise. Even if they were ready to put in their heart and soul
into it for the next three months, they still couldn’t be sure of clearing the
Prelims.
They saw Vishy walking toward their hostel.
‘After slogging it out like donkeys for two years, getting a mastery of
sort with the optionals and finally feeling confident enough to clear Prelims,
we are dropped a bomb that optional subjects in Prelims are scrapped off!
Isn’t it the worst thing that can happen? God knows how many more years I
have to slog like this,’ said a visibly shattered Vinod to Vishy.
‘Just a pattern change. It doesn’t just affect you and me. It’s for all and
it’s good for all,’ Vishy was calmer than ever.
‘All this you can say, but you will know the reality when you sit for the
exam!’ shot back Ashok at Vishy.
‘Yeah, that is exactly what I am trying to say. It’s not your preparation
alone that has gone to waste. It’s the same pattern for the whole country.
Now all the five lakh candidates are equally good or equally bad at this
point of time. Nobody is neither behind, nor ahead. The race begins only
now and the early bird will catch the worm,’ said Vishy.
‘Yeah, I see your point but still picking up a completely new syllabus in
aptitude will require a lot of hard work and luck too,’ said Ashok.
‘Smart work, rather than hard work. And luck, let’s leave it to God.
Let’s make the best use of the next three months. It’s now or never.’
‘Yeah. Now or never,’ a couple of boys who were listening to the
conversation nodded to Vishy emphatically.
 ‘Vinod. I know you are still not convinced. Look over there… Look at
that SLR coaching centre! Do you see their advertisement?’
‘ Experienced coaching for aptitude 100 % success guaranteed’ it read.
‘It hasn’t even been two hours since the UPSC notification came out,
and look at their advertisement! Don’t you trust yourself and back your
ability as much these coaching centres trust themselves?’
Vinod couldn’t help smiling. Together they went off again, for their
favourite ragi malt.
‘Yeah. Many in my office were also talking about the change in pattern.
They are all preparing for CAT exams, so this aptitude paper in UPSC Civil
Services exam is a blessing in disguise, they say. People who never had
such an idea of giving the exams are all to set apply and appear this time.’
‘In a way, it’s good. It throws in that opportunity to all. Up to the
individual to make full use of it now.’
‘Correct. And as always, I’ll keep reminding you—you are destined to
be an IAS officer Vishy,’ said Rithika before putting down the phone.
‘Why did I avoid him in his most difficult situation? Why am I still
holding back?’ she kept wondering before falling asleep.
 Chapter 7

THE NEXT MORNING, VISHY WENT TO GREAT MINDS AND FOUND Vinod and Neena
sitting together.
He could clearly hear the reassuring voice of Vinod, which went…
‘It’s not your preparation alone that has gone to waste. It’s the same
pattern for the whole country. Now all the five lakh candidates are equally
good or equally bad at this point of time. Nobody is behind, or ahead. The
race begins only now and the early bird will catch the worm…’
‘Which bird, Vinod?’ Vishy interrupted.
‘Early bird Vishy… Early bird,’ blushed Vinod.
‘Oh! I thought it was Angry Bird,’ chuckled Vishy as he came out,
saving Vinod from further embarrassment.

The next three months flew by in a jiffy.

Vishy, Vinod and Ashok worked hard day in and day out. All of a
sudden, they had to prepare for quantitative arithmetic, and logical
reasoning in addition to their usual classes.
There were all sorts of techniques, theories and shortcuts doing the
rounds to enable people to get a quicker grasp of the syllabi of the aptitude
paper.
Anna Nagar was buzzing.
During the day, Vishy would go to Great Minds, attend classes, tests
and then spend the rest of the day at Ashok’s Paradise, studying along with
Ashok and Vinod.
Ashok and Vinod followed the same schedule too.
Krishna Tea Stall got so much business that they started another air-
conditioned, posh branch.
 Much to Rithika’s surprise, her office also turned into a mini Civil
Services preparation hub.
Harini, Dharani and Badri applied for the exam much to the annoyance
of Ramesh; he clarified that they hadn’t applied for a fancy dress
competition, but for one of the toughest competitive exams in the country.
After hearing Ramesh’s comment, Harini and Dharani went into a huddle
and declared that they had reconsidered their decision to write the exam;
‘these exams are so boring!’ echoed the twins together.
Badri, on the other hand was even more annoyed on hearing Ramesh’s
comment, and he shot back saying that he could sing on the mic, write the
exams and succeed in both! They were all making optimum use of office
time for their exam preparations. Badri did not buy a single book, but
managed to make photocopies from others’ books using the office photo
copy machine. Sid did not apply as he felt that UPSC was not cool enough
for him, and a cool dude like him should only attempt CAT.
Badri also claimed that he could clear the exam easily as he had a good
‘aptitude’ and ‘sound’ general knowledge. He said that he could answer
passage comprehension questions without reading the passage and
quantitative aptitude questions without reading the problem.
Meanwhile, Rithika was using this time to fine-tune her vocal skills for
the Corporate Singer finals. She enrolled for a crash course in Carnatic and
classical music. She also visited some of her friends in music college for
their guidance and rehearsals. Her preparation was going ahead in full
swing. Ironically, the zonal finals of the Corporate Singer and the UPSC
Prelims were scheduled on the same day.
‘Thankfully I didn’t qualify for Corporate Singer zonal finals,’ cried
Badri. ‘Otherwise I would have been in a delicate position with both
Corporate Singer and the UPSC Prelims scheduled on the same day!’ he
said.
Three months went by and preparations were drawing to a close. It was
the evening before the 2010 UPSC preliminary examination. Some were
prepared, some were over-prepared, some under-prepared and some did not
prepare at all. Some decided to stop all last-minute efforts and thought of
various modes of entertainment to keep themselves relaxed before the
exam.
Ashok and Vinod nervously flipped through the pages.
 Vishy was with Rithika at the Ananda Vinayagar temple at Adyar.
‘About fifty people are appearing for the exam from my office alone,’
she said.
‘Oh! That is good. This is why we need the aptitude exam. Now anyone
with ten rupees can apply. Girls don’t need even that!’ Vishy gave his usual
dose of sarcasm.
‘No matter what and how tough the competition is, remember that you
are born to be an IAS officer, just go out there and rock it!’ said Rithika.
‘Hmmm. You too. I absolutely love your passion for singing. Tomorrow
is going to be your day too! Just kill it!’ smiled Vishy as his phone started
to ring.
Vishy answered the call and looked very tense.
‘What happened?’ asked Rithika.
‘Dad met with a small accident, injured his leg and has been taken to a
hospital. He was in Coimbatore for a conference. Amma is leaving for
Coimbatore now. I have to leave,’ he said as he hurried across the road to
his car.
‘Don’t worry Vishy, Uncle will be fine. I’ll call you!’ shouted Rithika as
Vishy nodded and went past her in his car.

‘Nothing to worry. You better feel relaxed and have a great exam
tomorrow,’ Vishy’s father spoke to him from the hospital. His mother had
left for Coimbatore and he was alone at home that night. He could hardly
sleep though he was neither too relaxed nor too anxious. In a sense, Vishy
felt fortunate that God had been kind enough to him and hadn’t created a
situation where he would not be able to write the exam. Imagining what had
happened to Anand and Pradeep made Vishy’s heart flutter. Anand used to
live in Ashok’s and Vinod’s hostel and used to study at Super Best
Coaching Centre, where he was projected as one of the potential toppers for
that year. However, currently, he was back in his hometown helping his
father in the family grocery shop. He had been careless in filling his exam
application form and it was summarily rejected. Anand found out only after
the last date due for the exam applications. It was his fault, but wasn’t there
an element of bad luck in it?
Pradeep, another bright candidate from Great Minds was presently
admitted in Government Hospital, Royapettah after suffering a life-
threatening road traffic accident a month back. Only sincere preparation is
in our hands, but there are so many things that are beyond our control ,
thought Vishy, before he dozed off the night before the big day.
Rithika was chirping romantic songs one after the other, sipping her
coffee and getting ready for her zonal finals that day. The zonal finals were
to be held in Puducherry, and she was going to be picked up by her friends.
Soon, her friends had arrived to pick her up. Sid, Dharani, Harini and
Ramesh were all there.
‘Come out soon it’s getting late!’ they shouted.
‘Yeah, otherwise Badri might finish his exam and join us. Let’s start
quickly before he comes,’ said Ramesh.
‘Yeah, as such, his highness Badri has already ordered two cases of beer
from Pondy as liquor is cheap there!’ echoed Sid.
‘One case is ok. Why two?’
‘He wants to sell the other one and make a profit it seems.’
Everybody in the car gave disgusted looks.
‘Coming,’ said Rithika, as she walked out of her house.
‘Music is in the air,’ she got into the car sounding extremely pleased.
Soon they got on to the East Coast road; Sid was busy boasting to
Ramesh about how he hangs out on the East Coast road every weekend.
Harini and Dharani were playing a game.
Rithika pulled out her phone to call Vishy.
‘Hello! Time to rock, Vishy!’
‘My hall ticket is missing,’ he said.
‘What the… Have you checked everywhere?’
‘Yeah, no use!’
‘Ok, Ok, don’t worry. Just be calm. We have an hour and a half left for
the exam. We will find it.’
‘Going down to search my car. Last hope. You check your two-wheeler
storage too. Could’ve misplaced it there,’ Vishy said.
‘Could be, but I am already on the way to Pondy on the East Coast
Route.’
 ‘Oh! Leave it then! You concentrate on your competition first. I’ll try to
work out something,’ Vishy sounded really low.
Rithika could only think about Vishy at that time. His exam… His
dream… Her competition was nothing to her now.
‘Stop the car! Stop the car!’ she shouted, after putting down the phone.
‘What happened? You wanna go to the loo?’ Sid asked.
‘No, idiot. I am going home!’
‘What about the competition?’
‘To hell with the competition!’
‘Are you nuts or what?’ shouted Harini and Dharani, sounding like the
two-in-one tape recorders from the 90s.
‘All of us have left all our important Sunday commitments and have
come for you, but you are asking us to go back?’
‘Not asking you people to go back, it’s just that I am getting off.’
‘Oh my God! This is unbelievable!’ said Ramesh.
‘Look guys, I am not doing a Ripley’s-believe-it-or-not here. My Vishy
is stuck in a huge problem. He has lost his hall ticket right on the morning
of the exam. This exam means everything to him, and he means everything
to me. Understand? Thanks a lot for taking time out and coming here for
me. Now, there is a taxi there. Just drop me there and attend to your Sunday
commitments please.’
Soon, they turned their vehicle around and headed back to Rithika’s
house. Rithika’s friends had decided that it would be ‘inappropriate’ to
abandon her, so they dropped her to her house.
‘So you guys are finally getting back to your Sunday “commitments”,
huh?’ Rithika asked.
‘No, no… I was anyways going to watch The Simpsons only,’ said
Ramesh.
‘Yeah, even we had planned to go to the parlour only next week,’ said
the twins.
‘Besides, we need to buy beer for Badri. So, we are going to Pondy,’
added Sid.
‘Ok, ok… Have fun guys,’ Rithika hurriedly shut the door behind her
and ran to her two-wheeler. She couldn’t find the hall pass there.
She called Vishy.
‘Any luck?’
 ‘Nope, not in the car.’
‘Holy crap, I remember now!’ yelled Rithika at the top of her voice.
‘Do you remember we placed it inside the temple last evening to do a
pooja to it!’
‘Oh my God! What a fool I have been!’ Vishy finally calmed down.
‘We still have an hour. I’ll go to the temple, get the hall ticket and come
to your exam centre. You leave now and reach the exam centre. Otherwise
you’ll be late,’ said Rithika.
‘But what about your competition?’
‘Not going.’
Rithika hung up the phone.
Her heart was in her mouth until she found Vishy’s hall ticket—safely
tucked beneath the idol of Lord Ganesh.

There was a huge queue outside UPSC Vinayagar temple in Anna Nagar
that morning. It was the BIG DAY for five lakh candidates across the
country. After a huge struggle, Vinod and Ashok marked their ‘attendance’
at the temple and reached their centre. Their centre was different from
Vishy’s. They called Vishy to wish him luck, but Vishy didn’t want to spoil
their mood with his dilemma on the exam day. So, he didn’t tell them
anything; he just wished them luck and put down the phone.
‘Here you go boss,’ said Rithika as she handed over the hall ticket to
Vishy.
It was 9.50 a.m. and ten minutes were left for the exam to commence.
Vishy had arrived at the centre ten minutes ago and was standing like a fool
who, twenty minutes before the exam, didn’t even know if he would be able
to take it.
There was a visible glow on Vishy’s face.
‘Ah, thanks!… got to go now. Please go to Pondy now. You still have
time,’ said Vishy, as he started to walk towards the hall.
‘Vishy!’ Rithika called out loudly, as all the others who were outside the
hall turned towards them. Vishy turned towards her.
‘You know what? I love you!’
 There were distinct chuckles and murmurs among the other people
present there.
The hundred-watts glow on Vishy’s face turned to thousand-watts.
‘I love you too Rithika,’ he said, with his usual smile. He walked even
more confidently towards the exam hall.
About five lakh other aspirants were also entering the hall at the same
across the country. All of them received wishes, even gifts and ‘prasadams’;
but not even one of the five lakh aspirants would have received their hall
ticket and an I LOVE YOU, just ten minutes before the exam.
 Chapter 8

THE EXAM HALLS ARE THE PERFECT COMBINATION OF SHEER seriousness, an

insane amount of pressure and inexplicable tension.
‘Exams are also like cricket—no matter how much a player practices
before the match, he still has to deliver on the match day. Likewise, no
matter how much we study before the exams, we need to have a cool head
and perform to our potential on the exam day,’ Vishy had said to Ashok and
Vinod at Ashok’s Paradise. Today was his match and he needed to perform
to his potential. As Vishy was walking through the corridor towards his
exam hall, he saw someone in a blue shirt turn away and go past him.
It was 10.10 a.m.; the morning paper was the aptitude paper. Vishy
ideally should have started writing his exam on time, but as fate would have
it there was a delay in the question papers being delivered to his centre. It
was 10.20 a.m.; the whole country would have roughly finished one-sixth
of the exam but Vishy hadn’t even gotten to see the question paper yet. The
girl sitting in front of Vishy started crying, triggering similar outbursts all
over. Vishy however, was feeling ‘numb’, neither tensed nor confident.
Soon the question papers arrived and the exam started. Thankfully,
everyone got an extra twenty minutes at the end to complete the paper.
Vishy’s exam went well. He was happy with his performance. As he came
out of the room, the person in the blue shirt once again turned away and
walked past him.
‘Rithika! You are still here? Are you out of your senses? Had you left at
10.00 a.m., you could have almost reached Pondy by now. It is a potential
red-letter day in your life and you are squandering it…Leave now at least,
you will still make it,’ advised Vishy.
‘It has already turned out to be a red-letter day in our lives!’ Rithika
gave Vishy a naughty smile and clutched his hands.
‘All this is wonderful. But tomorrow you’ll feel bad that you’ve missed
a golden opportunity.’
 ‘Come on Vishy. Stop being old school. I’m happy being here. Allow
me to cherish these wonderful moments.’
‘Ok then, let’s go out for lunch.’
‘What? You still have only an hour and a half before your next exam.
Don’t you think it’s a crazy idea?’
‘Well, this is a very sane idea considering the crazier things we’ve done
all our lives.’
‘You sure?’
‘Yep.’
‘Let’s go then!’
Soon they were at the Blue Elephant beach side restaurant.
‘Fish curry rice and fried pomfrets. Super quick please!’ ordered Vishy
as he went out toward the beach.
He returned with a bunch of white-coloured flowers that grew by the
shore.
‘To my love,’ said Vishy and gave them to Rithika.
‘Wow! They look awesome!’ exclaimed Rithika.
‘What are they called?’ she asked.
‘No idea,’ said Vishy and pulled out his phone and started Googling.
‘The scientific name is Parnassia palustris, commonly called Grass of
Parnassus,’ he promptly told Rithika after googling.
‘I’d rather call it the grass flower,’ she said.
After a hearty meal, they headed back to the exam centre where
thousands were desperately studying for the afternoon exam.
‘Don’t you feel tense? Seeing all these people study so hard?’ she asked
Vishy as they were entering the exam centre with ten minutes to spare as
usual.
‘No point studying now. Now we have General Studies. It’s an “ocean”
as one of my teachers at Great Minds put it. Anything under the sun may be
asked. It only requires a broad knowledge of day-to-day affairs and some
common sense,’ replied Vishy.
‘Hope you are not saying this to justify the fish curry,’ said Rithika as
they both burst out laughing.
Vishy ran into the hall, after bumping into the person wearing blue shirt
once again. He was yet to catch a glimpse of his face.
 The exam started soon. Vishy opened the paper and read the first
question.
‘Which of the following is a marine plant?’ One of the answer options
was Parnassia palustris.
Vishy ticked that option and began his exam with a broad smile.
As he had told Rithika just before, most of the questions that day were
from the day-to-day worldly affairs, and Vishy rightly applied his common
sense and worked out many answers.
Soon the bell rang, and the 2010 Preliminary Exams were officially
over. Vishy got out hastily. Rithika was still there. Vishy waved at her, went
past her searching for something. He wanted to find out who the person in
the blue shirt was. Soon he found the guy, walked over and saw his face.
‘Hari! You are here? I heard that you had cleared the exams?’
‘Yeah Vishy I cleared. Got 785th rank, so I was not satisfied. I want
only IAS, nothing else. You know it, no?’
‘Yeah… How was the exam today?’ Vishy asked.
‘Very easy, UPSCs standards are going down by the day. Any Tom Dick
or Harry can write this paper. By the way, how was yours?’ Hari answered.
‘It went okay, Hari,’ replied Vishy.
‘Don’t feel bad if you don’t clear Prelims again this year. I’ll guide you.
Let me know if you need anything. I am quite busy, but I’ll help you out.’
‘Ok Hari, that’s very kind of you. Good luck. Bye.’
Vishy and Rithika went to the temple again, and then went out for
dinner.
‘Really had a great day. Owe it to you, but I am disappointed that you
missed out on your Corporate Singer,’ Vishy told Rithika.
‘Never mind. You wrote the exam well; Uncle’s health is fine now.
That’s more than enough for me!’ replied Rithika, with a broad, contented
smile.
Vishy pulled her to his side by holding her waist. He brushed aside the
hair that fell over her eyes, and kissed her—the first of their lives.
‘I thought we kissed very briefly and too gently!’ Vishy said to Rithika,
as she was opening the door and getting out.
‘Inexperience, baby!’ she said.
Vishy gave a sassy smile.
 ‘Inexperience at least for me. Today you are alone at home, you better
catch up on some sleep. You really need it. But by the looks of it, you are
gonna watch some B-grade movie and look to improve your “experience”
quotient,’ she said.
Vishy gave another naughty smile, waved at her and left.
Vishy went home and immediately pulled out his laptop and his
question papers. He wanted to check the answers for all his exam questions
at once. This had been his habit since school days. While the computer was
loading, he checked his phone—twelve missed calls from Vinod and
Ashok, and texts from them saying that they had done fairly well on the
exam. There was another text from an unknown number stating ‘IAS
Coaching Prelims 2011, don’t worry if you fail this year, our experts will
help you pass next year.’
‘How auspicious!’ he murmured to himself as he started checking the
answers. He wanted to call Vinod and Ashok only after he was done.
It was about 3.00 a.m., when he finished checking all the answers. He
was happy with his performance and hoped to get through. He saw that
Vinod was online, so he dialled his number.
‘Hey Vinod! How did it go? Mine was good.’
‘Hi, Vishy. I tried calling you so many times. Yeah, mine was ok. Did
better than I expected!’
‘Ashok?’
‘He did decently.’
‘And Neena?’
‘Neena did very well. We both checked the answers after the exams.
Her estimated score is more than mine and Ashok’s!’
‘Hmmm. Good then. What next?’
‘Me and Ashok are too mentally tired. We are going to take a week off
from preparation.’
‘Going home?’
‘No Vishy. Staying here only, going to catch up on some movies, play
some cricket and relax for a week.’
‘Great! Enjoy… guys.’
‘What about you? How’s Uncle?’
‘Yeah he is better now; Appa and Amma are coming home tomorrow. I
am also planning to take a couple of days off and then start with the
preparation again. Our classes resume after ten days only, no?’
‘Yeah.’
‘We’ll meet soon then. Bye. Take rest, you deserve this rest.’
‘You too.’

‘Very happy to hear that you have done well,’ said Vishy’s father as he
limped into the room.
‘How are you feeling now?’
‘Much better. The pain has subsided considerably.’
Natesan Park was overflowing with people. It was the end of May and
schools hadn’t re-opened yet. Men and women were out jogging and
strolling through the park; people were playing everything from football to
card games. However, there were two kinds of people—the playing kind
and the ‘playful’ kind, which comprised young couples who were scattered
in secluded corners of the park. Natesan Park dished out a colourful canvas
for people of all ages to have a good time.
Speaking of a good time, Vinod and Neena were enjoying themselves in
one of the secluded corners of the park. Vishy had just entered the park. He
saw Ashok playing cricket and went towards him.
‘Hi, Ashok.’
‘Vishy! What are you doing here?’
‘Thought of joining you guys at the game.’
‘Most welcome, buddy. The more, the merrier. Play from next game,
ok?’
‘Ok. Where is Vinod?’
‘Look over there, his match is going on there!’ Ashok pointed to Vinod
and Neena; Vinod had just bought cotton candy and was feeding Neena.
‘Oh my god! I can’t believe it. Is it really Vinod?’
‘Even though he is in such a romantic setting, look at his pant pocket—
he has a pocket atlas! So that has to be Vinod only!’ laughed Ashok.
‘I never expected this. I am stumped!’
‘He went for two movies with Neena and came back to our room at 2.00
a.m.; if you are stumped now, I was bowled over last night!’
 ‘Vinod! Vinod!’ Vishy shouted.
Vinod turned and smiled sheepishly, then cheekily posed as if he was
offering his cotton candy to Vishy. He then gestured to Vishy to join the
cricket game and proceeded with his all-important work.
Vishy shook his head in disbelief, and then joined the game.
 Chapter 9

VISHY HAD NOT BEEN ABLE TO READ A WORD FOR THE PAST FEW days. All he
could do was repeatedly refresh the UPSC website for the Prelims results;
he would get ready and go to Ashok’s Paradise and check the UPSC
website for the results; he would have lunch with his friends and then go
home and repeat this ‘website refreshing ritual’. The pain of failure was still
lingering in him, bringing out a lot of bad memories from his previous
Prelims result day.
Vishy was sitting lazily one evening and thinking about his results. He
wondered if he would pass. What would I do if I fail ? Did I write my roll
number properly ? Is this my conscience talking to me, as in movies ?
Suddenly he got a lot of notifications from the Facebook ‘IAS aspirants’
page. The Prelims results had just come out. Vishy’s internet was stuck as
usual, and the website was loading too slowly. His fingers trembled as he
typed the URL…
It started raining outside. It was cinematic , Vishy thought. It became
even more cinematic when the power went off. To add to that there was also
no one else at home.
‘I had better go out to a browsing centre and check my results,’ Vishy
murmured to himself; he didn’t have the courage to tell his friends to check
his results for him.
He set out on his two-wheeler, wearing a heavy raincoat. In the
darkness of the night, his emerging figure looked like one of the villains
from an ‘80s Tamil movie. Needless to say, after half an hour of relentless
rain, the streets of Chennai were flooded, and the notorious Chennai traffic
was at its worst.
Vishy was battling his way through the traffic and was completely
drenched in rain. All the internet parlours that Vishy checked out on the
way were closed. Vishy was getting frustrated now. He put his hand in his
pocket to pull out his mobile phone, and realized that he had left it in the
bathroom at home.
 ‘What now?’ Vishy yelled at himself. He was feeling hungry now too.
There was a roadside biryani shop which was re-opening for business, as
the rain had just stopped. The owner of the shop was whistling happily
while arranging the kitchen vessels and listening to the radio. For Vishy, the
aroma of biryani was divine, and he decided to take a ten-minute break and
indulge in the ‘divinity’ of biryani. He parked his bike on the side and went
in to eat.
‘Anyway my results are not going to change, whether I eat biryani or
not! So let me eat first!’ he said to himself.
Raindrops were sporadically falling, a pleasant breeze was blowing
from the nearby Marina beach and a romantic song that a boy had dedicated
to his girlfriend was playing on the radio. For a moment, Vishy forgot all
the pressure and frustrations he had had, and just enjoyed himself.
‘This is Rithika calling from Adyar,’ said the voice on the radio.
‘What the…’ exclaimed Vishy.
‘I wish to dedicate a song to my boyfriend, who has just cleared the
Prelims of UPSC exams!’ Rithika said to the radio jockey.
‘Wow that is great! Where is your boyfriend treating you, Rithika?’
asked the RJ.
‘That mug hasn’t even picked up my calls yet. I don’t even know where
he is now!’ exclaimed Rithika.
‘Wherever you are, pick your girl Rithika’s call, and also all the best
Collector Sir!’ said the RJ before playing Rithika’s chosen song. This RJ is
one of 8797390 other Indians who think that if a candidate clears just the
Prelims, he or she becomes a collector the very next day!
‘Was it me that they were referring to? Or was it some other Rithika
from Adyar who had a boyfriend, who had cleared the Prelims? Did I pass?
Or have I failed again?’ Vishy could hardly swallow the biryani.
Vishy could not wait any longer. He asked for the biryaniwala’s phone.
The biryaniwala agreed reluctantly, after Vishy offered to purchase another
‘quarter’ portion of biryani.
Vishy and Rithika had a long history of phone conversations ever since
the ‘Reliance 501’ plan was introduced a decade ago, but Vishy could never
remember her phone number; in fact, he couldn’t remember anyone’s
number.
 ‘Sorry, this is Paneerselvam Petrol Bunk,’ said the voice at the other
end, as Vishy hung up for the twelfth time. He had made twelve wrong
guesses while trying to figure out Rithika’s number. Meanwhile, the
biryaniwala intervened, ‘Order another “half” portion if you want to call
one more time, otherwise give me back the phone.’
‘Ok ok, Anna, one last call, and I am ordering another half portion of
biryani.’
Vishy pulled out his wallet and pulled out a piece of paper on which he
had written down the landline number for Great Minds Coaching Centre.
‘Hello,’ said the voice at the other end.
‘Hello Geetha ma’am. This is Vishy.’
‘Oh Vishy, Congrats! You have cleared the Prelims. Both your friends
have cleared too,’ said Mrs Geetha.
‘Thanks a lot, Ma’am,’ said Vishy as he put down the phone.
He felt no happiness, no overwhelming joy, just a deep sense of relief.
He exhaled such a loud sigh of relief that the dog sitting nearby got startled.
He kissed the chicken leg piece he was holding, and ate the remaining half
of it peacefully. He then got a parcel of two more portions, and thanked the
biryaniwala.
Afterwards, he went straight to Ashok’s Paradise where there was a
huge party going on already. Those who cleared the exam were drunk with
happiness, and those who did not were also drunk, with sadness…
Ashok could hardly stand. He was jumping, and running all around the
terrace like a madman.
‘Hey Vishy, congrats. How many times do we have to call you!’
‘Congrats to you too Vinod. Yeah, I was caught in a mess; leaving my
phone at home was a small part of it. Anyway, very happy for you and
Ashok and all our friends who have cleared.’
‘Who all cleared in our class?’
‘Madhan, Deepti, Venkat…’ Vinod went on.
‘Prabhu?’
‘Nope.’
‘Prabhu will clear only if he tries to be himself, not Madhan.’
Ashok was really getting naughty now. He was trying to break the DTH
antennas on the terrace.
‘You don’t drink, do you?’ asked Vinod.
 ‘Nope. What about you? You don’t look drunk.’
‘I used to drink. Not anymore. Thanks to Neena,’ blushed Vinod.
‘OMG. Congrats Vinod. You have completely been Neena-fied!’
Vinod blushed again.
‘What about Neena? Did she clear?’ asked Vishy.
‘Dude! Is that even a question? Of course she did,’ Vinod went from
blushing to boasting.
Ashok meanwhile jumped on to the terrace of the next house, while
shouting loudly.
‘Hey Ashok, watch out!’ echoed Vinod and Vishy.
‘Ashok, IPS has the power to interrogate and investigate any place!’
Ashok shot back.
‘Why is he doing this?’ asked Vishy.
‘He has done worse,’ laughed Vinod.
Meanwhile, Ashok climbed down and went off down the road.
‘Ashok! Ashok! Wait!’ shouted Vishy and Vinod. They both got down
and ran behind Ashok.
But Ashok was nowhere to be seen.
‘Where has he gone? This is really bad.’
‘He won’t go anywhere. He will either go to the liquor shop to buy
more, or he would have picked up a quarrel with someone on the road by
now.’
They heard a faint cry from Ashok, coming from behind the park.
Vishy and Vinod followed the cry and found Ashok being thrashed by
the policeman on night duty.
‘Don’t you dare try to beat me. I am your boss,’ Ashok kept reiterating
his ‘IPS-ness’ to the police constable, which invited further thrashing.
Vinod had to plead with the constable for quite some time before Ashok
was let off.
‘I am glad that you have realized the power of an IPS officer!’ Ashok
said to the police constable before his friends gagged him and brought him
back to Ashok’s Paradise. Since people were still in the party mood, Ashok
started his hide-and-seek routine again. Vishy and Vinod then pulled him
aside and brought him to their room. By the time they settled down, it was
2:00 a.m., and it had started to rain heavily. Vishy just sat in a corner
waiting for the rain to stop. Vinod meanwhile was busy talking to Neena on
the phone.
Vishy waited and waited for the rain to stop, and finally fell asleep…
‘Hey Vishy! Lazy! You don’t pick up the phone, and then you come
here and sleep till 10:00 a.m.’
Ashok woke Vishy up with a stern tone.
‘Good morning, Ashok IPS.’
‘What? Have you gone mad? I’ve just cleared the Prelims. Fourteen
thousand others have cleared it across the country as well. You are being
overconfident by calling me Ashok IPS.’
‘Yeah, very true. What were you doing last night though?’
‘Got drunk and fell asleep. That’s all I know.’
‘Yeah, getting drunk was the start, and falling asleep was the end, but in
between there was a mini ‘Dhoom 3’ that happened!’
Ashok gave an embarrassed smile, Vishy laughed loudly after a long
time and left to go back home.
It was around 11.00 a.m. when Vishy rang the doorbell to his house.
Rithika opened it.
‘What the…’ started Vishy.
‘I should be saying that. Come in,’ she invited him.
Vishy saw the fruit basket and the healthy drink on the table, and stared
at Rithika.
‘I thought you fell down somewhere or something like that,’ said
Rithika.
‘How wonderful of you to have thought that. I left my phone at home
and as the internet was down, I went out to check the results and got held
up.’
‘I know. Your phone has fifty-seven missed calls, forty-two texts, and I
did not even count the WhatsApp messages. And congratulations!’
Vishy shook his head and went inside. His mother was in the kitchen.
‘Hey Vishy, congrats da. Appa and I felt very happy last night. Saw the
message you sent us from Vinod’s phone. Appa has gone out. Have a wash
and eat something,’ his mother said. She was extremely happy and it was
visible on her face.
‘Aunty, I am leaving. I have office today.’
‘Why don’t you eat something and go?’ asked Vishy.
 ‘I already have! Bye Mr Vishy. Now don’t waste time, start preparing
for the Mains,’ Rithika said as she left.
Vishy walked towards his mother.
‘It was good to see Rithika again after so many days, Ma.’
‘Stop the nonsense. She told me everything. Now go and study for the
Mains. We will talk about these things later!’
Vishy felt as though he was drenched in happiness even before his
mother could complete her sentence.
‘It is not happiness that you are drenched in, it’s the rain coming
through the window. Now close the window and go take a bath,’ he
murmured to himself.
‘The past twenty-four hours have been the happiest of my life. No
matter what happens now, I should try to maintain everything I’ve gained in
the past twenty-four hours,’ Vishy kept telling himself.
‘Clearing the exam is good, but the manner in which you have done so
is commendable. Taking up a new subject, studying it for three to four
months and thinking you have mastered it, then waking up to the shattering
news that the entire subject system has been scrapped, and adapting to the
new pattern only three months before the exam, then toiling hard and
succeeding! All this with a smile on your face for the most part! I am proud
of you. I will be proud irrespective of your final result!’ his father’s words
made Vishy tear up.
 Chapter 10

THE UPSC MAIN EXAM PATTERN WAS ENTIRELY DIFFERENT FROM the pattern of
the Prelims. It was completely descriptive and also had a paper on an
optional subject, which the candidate could choose. Vishy had to choose an
optional subject now and he was thoroughly confused. Was it going to be
Public Administration (which he had studied for three months before the
entire optional set up was scrapped off for preliminary exams) or
Mechanical Engineering (with which he had already once failed the
preliminary exam), or was it going to be a new subject altogether? Vishy
was browsing through the internet for some guidance, but it made him even
more confused. The only thing he was sure of was that the main exam
notification was out and that he had to make a decision about which
optional subject to choose. There was no doubt about this. But he kept
thinking about what to choose.
Rithika called him just then.
‘Decided on the subject?’ she enquired in a nonchalant tone.
‘Not yet. The more I research, the more I get confused. What’s your
gyan on this?’
‘I don’t know. You take the call.’
Rithika was somebody who knew almost everything about the exam—
subjects, syllabus, pattern, questions. Vishy always felt like he had a
helping hand with her around.
After more thorough research over the next few days, Vishy had
narrowed it down to two subjects—Anthropology and Sociology. Tired of
all the research and ‘expert’ opinions, he thought of using more ‘scientific’
methods such as ‘Coin-toss’ or ‘Inky-Pinky-Ponky’. Just as he was thinking
this, there was a voice from the television that said, ‘Man is the most unique
being on Earth. Man is the most fascinating subject.’ Hearing this, a spark
struck Vishy; he felt like some supernatural force wanted him to choose
Anthropology. For good or for bad, at that moment Vishy trusted his
instinct and decided to choose Anthropology as his optional subject.
‘Anthro it is!’ he texted Rithika.
‘Good. I won’t question your choice, but why not Public Administration
that you studied for four months? Also, you could finish everything off at
Great Minds itself,’ Rithika texted back.
‘Yeah, I thought hard, but somehow felt that for a descriptive exam, the
syllabi of Anthropology looked more score-able. The subject is interesting,
and I am sure I will live up to the challenge.’
‘Great! All the best. Challenge Mode on!’

The next day, Vishy was in the Old Mahabalipuram Road IT corridor. He
stood in front of Inspiration IAS Coaching Academy. As per the reviews
online, and from his few friends, it was the best coaching centre for
Anthropology. Inspiration Academy was situated in the same building as
the Food Court—Planet S which was an annex to the IT park where Rithika
was working. The IT park and Planet S were connected by an aero bridge.
Vishy wanted to surprise Rithika, so he went there without even telling
her. The main reason he chose Inspiration Academy, apart from its high
standard of teaching, was because he could be closer to Rithika. He thought
of telling Rithika only after he had joined. Vishy parked his two-wheeler in
the parking lot and began walking.
To his shock, he saw Rithika walk out of Inspiration Academy with
books in her hand. Along with her was a guy who Vishy didn’t recognize.
He wasn’t one of her usual office friends. It appeared that they both were
classmates, and they were discussing the subject after class. Walking
towards her scooty, Rithika waved goodbye to that guy and left. Vishy’s
heart briefly stopped beating… and then started beating again, faster than
ever!
‘Was Rithika preparing for the Civil Services exams too?’
‘Why did she not tell him about this for all these days?’
‘All the thoughts that she shared with him regarding the exam
preparation were all from her own experiences?’
‘She made a clown out of him?’
 ‘And she is carrying her coffee flask too!’
Vishy walked towards the watchman and asked, ‘Do you know that
madam who just left?’
‘Yes, Sir. She works in the IT company and in the evenings she attends
IAS coaching classes. She’s going to become collector soon,’ said the
watchman.
Blood pressure, blood sugar, cholesterol and adrenaline were having a
cocktail party in Vishy’s body. He looked as if he had seen a ghost.
With trembling hands, he dialled Rithika’s number. She picked up.
‘Where are you?’
‘Driving.’
‘But where are you?’
‘Near office. Why?’ she said vaguely.
Vishy was convinced that she was lying.
Suddenly, a thought struck Vishy. He didn’t want to ask Rithika
anything. If at all she was lying, so be it. It was her who was at fault, and
plus Vishy wanted to know how far this would go. He decided to play cat-
and-mouse for a while. He cleared his voice and said, ‘Nothing, casual call,
will call back. Bye.’
Vishy was clearly disappointed. But he put it behind him and entered
Inspiration Academy. ‘I would have visited at least a hundred coaching
centres before I clear the exam,’ he said to himself.
‘I will enrol you. But that doesn’t guarantee that you will qualify,’ said
Mr Naveen, the director of the Academy. The name plate on his table read
IAS Director—as if he was the director of Lal Bahadur Shastri National
Academy of Administration!
‘Ok, Sir. Thank you. I prefer attending classes on weekends.’
‘Anthro full day classes will be on the weekends. The entire syllabus
will be covered in two months—well in time for the exams. However, this
does not guarantee that you will qualify,’ he repeated.
‘That will really help, Sir.’
‘Pay the full fee now and join the classes from Saturday.’
‘Ok, Sir. I guarantee that I will do well.’
‘Good to hear, but that still doesn’t guarantee that you will qualify. All
the best!’ the Director waved him goodbye.
It was a hot Sunday afternoon, and Vishy was still feeling betrayed by
Rithika. In a bid to come back to his normal self, he went out to shop for
textbooks. He meandered along the crowded streets of Triplicane in search
of his Anthropology books. The enticing aroma that arose from the hot
chilli bhajjis that were being fried at Old Madras Bhajji Stall made Vishy
call off his book hunt briefly and begin a bhajji hunt. Vishy had entered the
stall, and was gobbling hot bhajjis, when he suddenly noticed that the
bhajjiwala was wearing a CSK t-shirt. Vishy spotted Vinod’s autograph on
it.
‘You must be Babu,’ he said abruptly.
The bhajjiwala gave a surprised look and then continued serving the
other customers who were standing in a queue. Vishy noticed a current
affairs magazine lying near the stove.
‘You are Babu!’ Vishy declared.
The bhajjiwala gave him a look and continued with his work.
‘Are you not Babu?’ Vishy persisted.
‘What if I am and what if I am not? How does that concern you?’ asked
the bhajjiwala.
‘It doesn’t concern me… But it would concern your former friends
Ashok and Vinod,’ Vishy said.
Clearly the bhajjiwala was very happy to hear those words; the names
Vinod and Ashok brought a smile to his face. His tone changed.
Vishy soon ran through his version of the story with Vinod and
Ashok…
‘Yeah… I should have told them where I am,’ said a disappointed Babu.
‘But I felt so grave at that time that I could not think of anything else. It is
almost a miracle that I came out of that depression,’ he continued.
‘Most of your friends think that you are dead or that you have moved
somewhere else. It is even a complete surprise to me to see you here. What
really happened?’
‘Could have died. Could have ended up as a lunatic. But thankfully I am
back to a normal life, with God’s grace. Once the frustration and depression
subsided, the fire in my belly started to grow stronger than ever. I worked
hard to put up this bhajji stall. A bhajji in my stall costs three rupees. I
make the batter and chilly pieces only for a thousand bhajjis a day. They are
all sold out at by around 6.30 p.m., which means I make about 3,000 rupees
a day. Deducting my operating expenses, I make about 2,000 rupees profit
per day and 60,000 rupees per month. If I deducted the rent for this stall, I
make about 50,000 rupees per month!’ Babu said.
‘Which is higher than what an IAS officer would earn in his first level of
service,’ Vishy added.
‘Yes, but the respect?’
‘You still love the job.’
‘I do. I still have one attempt left. One last shot at my dream.’
‘Wow! This is sheer inspiration, man! Truly amazing! In your situation,
one or two out of ten people would have attempted suicide, three or four
would have become lost in depression. Only two or three would have gotten
back up on their feet and returned to the position you are in now. Yet, only
someone like you would get back to giving one last shot at the exam.
Awesome! I am glad that I met you!’ exclaimed Vishy.
Babu smiled.
‘Good luck Babu. See you, soon!’
‘Good luck to you too,’ said Babu as he got back to his stall. Vishy’s
energy levels were fully recharged as he got back home. Rithika called, as
he was entering his room.
‘What’s up, you haven’t called?’ asked Rithika sharply.
‘Nothing. Was busy with joining Anthro classes,’ said Vishy.
‘Where did you join?’
‘Great Minds,’ lied Vishy.
‘Great Minds never had Anthro.’
‘Well, they have now. I am writing the exam. I know. How do you know
all these things? Are you also writing the exam?’ asked Vishy in an irritated
tone.
‘How do I know? I know because I have been with you for years.’
‘Ok. I have a lot to cover. Will call back when I find time.’
Vishy was still unable to come to terms with the idea that Rithika could
also be a civil services aspirant, and that she was secretly preparing for the
exam.
 ‘This is worse than being unfaithful’, Vishy kept murmuring to himself
as he kept turning the pages of his Anthropology textbook.
‘It’s 5.20 p.m. now. She must be in Inspiration Academy, attending
classes.’
He took out his phone and gave her a call. ‘Thank you for calling
Rithika’, the caller tune kept saying; she did not pick up.
‘Earlier she had the Ghajini tune. She wants to be an officer, so she is
making everything formal, huh? Okay let me check her Facebook page,’ his
cribbing continued.
‘She last commented on Harini’s photo forty-five minutes ago. Must be
just before leaving for the classes.’
He then checked her WhatsApp. She was ‘last seen’ at 5.05 p.m.
‘The class must have started five minutes late and she probably checked
out her WhatsApp during that time. Very clever.’
Not wanting to waste more time on her, Vishy returned to his Anthro
books.
‘Should I call her landline and check? No. That would be stooping very
low. So what if I stoop low? I should call her landline. No. Even if I call,
she will say she is in a meeting or a client visit or something.’
He continued with his crib-fest.
‘It’s 6.30 p.m. now. She will call back soon,’ he murmured to himself.
Vishy’s phone rang even before he could complete his sentence.
‘Where were you?’ Vishy asked without even saying hello.
‘Office.’
‘Oh? Really? Why didn’t you pick up the phone then?’
‘I was busy.’
Vishy was completely upset by now. After a few customary words, he
put down the phone.
‘Should never waste time on her. Let me study now.’
 Chapter 11

‘HEY VISHY… GREAT TO SEE YOU FINALLY.’

‘Yeah, Ashok. Same here.’
‘I have a question. You wasted time studying Public Administration for
the Prelims, as the optional paper was scrapped. Now we have an optional
paper for the main exam, but instead of choosing the same subject, why did
you choose Anthropology?’ Ashok put forth his doubt while I. Srinivasan’s
class was going on.
‘Somehow didn’t feel that Public Administration would work out. Had
the same gut feeling when I changed over to Public Administration from
Mechanical Engineering!’
‘Ok ok. Study well. So, you will still be coming here only for General
Studies classes, right?’
‘Yeah buddy.’
‘How are the Anthro classes? How is Rithika?’
‘Anthro classes are good. Rithika is good too… And she is also
preparing,’ Vishy said in an irritated tone.
‘Oh… You never told me Rithika was also preparing.’
‘I never knew myself.’
‘Do you mean to say she was hiding this from you?!’
‘Yeah… She has been attending classes at Inspiration Academy. Lied to
me about it.’
‘How do you know?’
‘Saw it with my own eyes. Confirmed it a couple of times too.’
‘Maybe she was scared. To tell you. Scared about failing. Not confident
enough to tell others about her preparation. I have seen many people like
that,’ Ashok spoke in a reassuring tone.
‘I am not “others” to her. If she indeed hid the fact that she is preparing
for the exams, she must have a plan-B for not just her career, but also for
everything else.’
‘This is creative writing, Bro!’
 ‘Nope. Fact. Two plus two is four.’
‘Remember what you told me? That on the day you wrote the Prelims,
she was going to a singing competition, came back for you and stayed right
outside the premises for the whole duration of the exam. If she were also an
aspirant, would she not have written the exam too?’
‘Maybe she is preparing for next year.’
‘Whatever… I don’t think she wants to lie to you or that she has any
plan A, B or C. Just check out everything once again,’ reassured Ashok as
the class got over.
‘Are you guys mad?’ a voice came from behind.
‘Madhan! Since when have you started sitting in the middle row?’
Ashok asked sarcastically.
‘Just cut the crap. All your ideas belong in the past. It is not true that the
topper will be from the first row, and the most intelligent yet mischievous
person will be in the last row. You watch too many movies, that’s the
problem.’
‘Wow, writing an essay when you were asked a one-line answer, that’s
Madhan for you!’ Ashok laughed sarcastically again.
Vishy interrupted them before things turned ugly. ‘Madhan, it was you
who interfered in our conversation. We were talking about something
personal.’
‘Yeah. And I overheard you guys and wanted to help you,’ Madhan
replied.
‘Help me? Do I look like somebody who needs help?’
‘Of course. I see you as one of the more promising aspirants, yet you
are wasting time over a girl; you shouldn’t lose focus during preparation
like your other friend Vinod.’
‘Oh great. Thanks for your concern and thanks for showing the way,
now mind your own business,’ said Vishy angrily.
‘Okay okay Madhan, we will take care of ourselves, you leave.’ Ashok
was pacified now.
‘I will leave, but one last word. Never trust anybody. Everybody is
rooting for themselves here and everyone wants to win at any cost and by
any means. I have seen girls go after boys just to get their notes and study
materials. I have also seen boys studying with girls and dating them only to
dump them once they clear the exam. Many cheat, fake and betray here. All
they want is to clear that one exam, and they will do anything for it. Maybe
the girl you were talking about could also be one such person. I have known
you for long enough now; you are good enough to clear this exam. Don’t let
unwanted things come in your path to success. Just study,’ Madhan spoke at
a stretch and left.
‘Doubt One: How many love failures has Madhan had before? Doubt
Two: How many times has he failed in this exam?’ Ashok said with Yao
Ming meme face.
‘What’s up with Vinod? Why is Madhan talking that way?’
‘Vinod is not sick like he said he was on the phone. He didn’t come to
class because he is preparing notes for Neena’s optionals—Geography.’
‘Why? Can’t she prepare it?’
‘That, you should ask her only. She orders, and Vinod delivers,
www.vinodkart.com!’
‘It isn’t funny. Now I know what Madhan meant. Vinod is being
exploited. We should do something.’
‘You think I haven’t tried anything? It is of no use. Every time, we end
up in a fight. At the end of the day, as much as I care about Vinod’s well-
being, I also don’t want to lose his friendship. He means everything to me.
But currently Vinod’s brain has been “bluetooth-ed” with Neena’s, and it
will not pair with any of ours.’
‘Hmmm. I don’t know what to say.’
‘You don’t have to say anything. Just keep going, do not confuse
yourself with what others say. Bye.’
‘Do I really wear it after it rains or does it rain every time I’m in it,’
wondered Vishy as he put on the same raincoat that he wore on the day of
his Prelims results. For a few weeks now, Vishy had been attending the
weekend classes at Inspiration Academy, and Rithika was attending
weekday evening classes at the same place. He couldn’t keep hiding the
truth, and he still could not digest the fact the Rithika had begun to hide
things from him. Was he just another option in Rithika’s life? Was she
hiding this because she thought it was insignificant? If so, would she keep
hiding such small things throughout her life? This preparation meant
everything to him. Did it also mean the same to Rithika?’ Was Rithika
jealous of him? Was Rithika one of those people that Madhan talked
about?’ He had so many thoughts. Finally, he had made up his mind to
‘stalk’ Rithika and find out the truth.
‘Any idea how to stalk?’ Vishy asked Ashok on his hands-free device,
as he started his journey to Inspiration Academy on his bike.
‘Yeah! I stalk three women every day. So, you asking me, huh?’
‘It’s not like that. I want to deduce everything today.’
‘You can deduce or seduce, but do it after the exam.’
‘Today I’m the guy with the doubt and you are not helping me. Okay.
No problem. See you tomorrow in class,’ said Vishy.
‘Bye. Good luck,’ Ashok wished him.
Amidst the rains, Vishy, a grey figure in raincoat and goggles, started
moving towards Inspiration Academy in full swing. The vehicle stopped on
the way and another creepy figure got on. Soon, they reached Inspiration
Academy. Vishy went up to the coffee shop on the second floor and the
second person went into the academy. About half an hour later he entered
the coffee shop to join Vishy.
‘Yes. Rithika is inside the class.’
‘Sure, Badri?’
Badri took out his phone and showed him the pictures.
‘See, I am always a professional. Knew you would ask like this. I am an
extremely quick-witted person, hence I had the photographs taken even
before you told. A leader never waits for orders; he acts! Now give me the
consultation fee of 500 rupees that you had promised me.’
Vishy handed him the money.
‘Oh my god, tear drops! Feelings? You should be happy. Your future
wife is also going to earn as much as you.’
Vishy did not reply. He was getting ready to leave.
‘Even I didn’t know she was preparing. Otherwise I would have gotten
the study materials from her only for free,’ said Badri.
Vishy just got up and left the place.
‘Go out, my friend, the rain drops will mask your tears. And money!
Money will mask every tear in this world,’ Badri said before walking away.
As Badri was walking away, Vishy’s phone rang.
‘Yeah tell me Rithika,’ Vishy could barely speak. ‘Why do you keep
lying to me?’ he asked straightaway.
‘Lying?’
 ‘Whenever I call, you say you are at places that you were actually not
at.’
‘Yeah, but that doesn’t amount to lies.’
‘Oh really? What the hell does that amount to?’ Vishy yelled.
‘You are very angry now, we will talk tomorrow.’
‘I need an answer.’
‘Ok, come to our usual spot. I’ll give you an answer.’
The rain was unrelenting as Vishy drove away on his bike towards their
spot—the flyover under construction. Is she going to reveal her plans to me
now? Is it because she knows that I know? Or maybe Badri got 600 rupees
from her and told her everything? Vishy’s mind voice kept talking as he
reached their spot.
In another fifteen minutes, the rain had stopped and a taxi stopped by
the roadside. Rithika got out of it with a box in her hand; she climbed
across the construction barricades and walked up to Vishy.
She then opened the box. Vishy was expecting to see something
shocking for sure.
‘Great time to have a coffee, isn’t it?’ She pulled her coffee flask and
two disposable cups, and asked him to hold them.
‘Next week is your birthday—your most important one, and I wanted to
give you something useful,’ said Rithika as she poured the coffee into the
cups.
‘There is a Civil Services coaching centre near my office and they offer
Anthropology optionals. As you were struggling to find a coaching centre
and materials for Anthropology, I thought I would get you the study
materials myself and surprise you,’ Rithika said with a warm smile.
‘But why did you lie to me about your whereabouts?’
‘It wasn’t a lie, I just didn’t want to kill the surprise,’ said Rithika as she
pulled out a big packet of books from the box. ‘Keep them inside the box, it
might rain again,’ said Rithika in a concerned voice.
‘But see this photo of you sitting in the classroom. What do you have to
say for this?’ asked Vishy.
‘Say that I am an aspirant too? That would be very funny. That useless
guy said he would not give me the study materials alone; he said he would
only give materials to those who attended the classes, and that too all of
them. Even now I have only 60 per cent of the material, the rest he
guaranteed he would give me only if I attended the remaining classes. See
what all I have to do for you!’
Now, the coffee’s aroma was pleasing for Vishy, the irritating vehicle
horns coming from the traffic nearby started sounding melodious, even the
construction workers looked like they were fairies. His whole world was
returning to normal. Vishy drew a blank; he didn’t know what to say next.
‘Where is that fountain sound from?’ he asked Rithika.
‘That’s the stray dog peeing.’
‘Oh, ok ok. I am really fortunate Rithika. To have a girlfriend like you.
You let go of your passion and skipped your singing contest to be with me
for the preliminary exam. And now this. I am really fortunate to have you in
my life.’
‘Was that supposed to be a romantic one-liner?’ sighed Rithika.
Vishy nodded shyly and said, ‘Now you don’t have to attend classes
anymore because I have already joined Inspiration Academy and have been
attending classes for the past month.’
‘Wow! Now I understand how you knew. Very funny! You could have
asked me directly instead of trying to be a KGB spy! Anyway, leave it.
Now is your time, Vishy. Do not let it go to waste, hang on to every minute,
every second, and make it count. Now that I have given you most of the
study material, I won’t even disturb you on your birthday; we have many
birthdays to celebrate together.’
Vishy smiled, ‘We can leave for now’ he said in the happiest possible
tone. They held hands, and walked for some time together. Then Vishy got
Rithika a taxi and waved her goodbye.
 Chapter 12

‘DISCUSSION FOR THE DAY—WHO IS SWEETER? RITHIKA OR Vinod?’ announced

Ashok loudly in Krishna Tea Stall, in front of Vishy, Madhan, and Vinod
himself!
‘Both are extremely good at leaving behind their own jobs and getting
the exam notes ready for their loved ones,’ he added.
‘Best topic to discuss, exactly one month before the main exam!’ vented
out Madhan.
‘But, apologies Vishy, for my comments on Rithika the other day. She
has killed it! Really! What a birthday gift! What a woman!’ Madhan
continued.
Vishy just smiled and sipped his Ragi malt.
‘Yeah, exceptionally sweet Bro, even considering my standards,’
complimented Vinod in a boastful tone!
‘Noooooooooo!’ everyone else booed Vinod.
‘How come?’ asked a surprised Vinod.
‘Rithika didn’t take away time from her own job, Bro, she did it for
Vishy in whatever spare time she got. But you on the other hand, you have
been putting everything on stake. Your future depends on this exam, yet one
month before the main exam you haven’t even started preparing for your
own optionals because you are busy preparing notes for your girlfriend’s
optional. Which sort of a moron would do that?’ slammed Ashok.
‘Shut up, I know what I am doing. I have studied enough Public
Administration all these years. Just a recap now would do. General Studies
also just needs a brush up, since we all just cleared Prelims. Whatever
Geography notes I am helping her with, will also help me out in my own
General Studies papers. I know precisely what I am doing and I would
appreciate it if you would give me some space in life, Ashok!’ Vinod tried
to justify how prepared he was.
‘That’s all fine Vinod, but we are no longer in the qualifying phase, we
are in an extremely critical and a competitive scenario where everything
counts. Nobody can afford to waste any time or resources at this point.
Hope you understand brother,’ Madhan patted Vinod’s back.
‘Speaking of resources, Vishy’s birthday cake is on my bike still! Let’s
not hold it back for too long. I will get it here! Let’s celebrate!’ said Ashok
as he ran towards his bike.
Ashok came back with the cake, and also with Rithika and Deepti, the
first-row topper girl.
‘Wow Rithika! What a surprise! We were all just talking about how
sweet you are! I am Madhan by the way,’ Madhan introduced himself.
‘Topper Madhan, right? I know all you guys,’ Rithika said with a smile.
‘Great that we could meet today,’ said Vishy, taking her aside.
‘Didn’t plan it and all, I was just checking up on Deepti. Spoke to
Ashok, came here.’
‘Basically, snooping on me.’
‘Whatever you call it, I am there for you. Happy birthday, Vishy! I love
you!’ Rithika whispered in Vishy’s ear.
‘Happy birthday, Vishy,’ wished Deepti, who then promptly went to the
side of the stall where the magazines were kept.
‘Happy birthday, to you!’ they all sang together at Krishna Tea Stall as
Vishy cut the cake.
‘Since it is Vishy’s birthday, I will give you all free copies of I.
Srinivasan’s question paper set for your model exams tomorrow!’
emphatically remarked the tea stall owner, and everybody laughed.
Soon the celebrations died down and people left; thoughts of the model
exams tomorrow were lurking dangerously in everyone’s minds.
‘So wonderful that you came. Thought you would leave me alone to
study and not come. I love you,’ texted Vishy. He got home and started
preparing for the model exam.

‘Forty-eight questions! Forty-eight questions in the main exams last year

were from current affairs!’ Mr Natarajan was trying to drive it into
everyone’s head that current affairs were very important, and with only
fifteen days left for the main exams, they should focus as much as possible
on current affairs and events.
‘Just read my notes, that’s enough,’ he kept reiterating.
‘He has said it, and this is going to be the trend now, at least for Anna
Nagar. They are going to put truckloads of new current affairs books in all
our stalls,’ Vishy remarked. It was their last day at Great Minds before the
main exams.
‘Yeah, yeah, they have created a current affairs “trend”. Not sure if so
many current affairs related questions will come like last year, but more
books will be sold this year, easily!’ Ashok said.
‘Anyway, this is the last minute. We hardly have time for anything.
Let’s see,’ Vishy replied.
‘How’s your Anthropology coming through?’
‘Has come through very well, Bro, all classes over. I have made my
own notes and completed one comprehensive revision,’ Vishy said
confidently.
‘Good, good. I’m almost through with everything too. A few gaps here
and there. You can never be sure, right?’ Ashok spoke his mind.
After the discussion about ‘current affairs’ was over, the ‘great minds’
of Great Minds all dispersed.
‘All the best, Vishy.’
Vishy turned, and to his surprise it was Mrs Geetha Natarajan.
‘Thank you, Ma’am.’
‘You have done exceptionally well in all your model tests, I hope you
are prepared with your optional subject too.’
‘Yes Ma’am, I am!’
‘You have great potential, and this is the right time for you. Just keep
your head steady.’
‘Yes Ma’am, I will!’ replied Vishy.
By now, Vishy was pretty confident about his chances and was in full
swing with his revisions. He spent the next two weeks at home, in his room,
to be precise, doing systematic pin-point revisions.
Despite all the revisions and the confidence, he still had doubts, and the
fear of another failure loomed over him.
‘Oh my God!’ yelled Vishy’s mom as she ran into their bathroom upon
hearing a thud.
After hearing her loud cry, Vishy too ran into the bathroom. The
bathroom floor was filled with a pool of blood and the tap water was
running. Vishy’s mother tried to control her tears, while attempting to lift
Vishy’s father. Vishy immediately supported them both, and brought them
to the living room. Vishy’s father was bleeding from his left leg, this time.
‘I’m calling our Kumar uncle now,’ Vishy took out his phone.
Dr Kumar was his father’s good friend and colleague. Luckily for them,
he lived in the same residential complex. Ten minutes later, Dr Kumar was
attending to Vishy’s dad.
‘Here we go! All done and neatly dressed up. Fortunately, it is only a
superficial cut on the foot. I have stopped the bleeding completely, and
cleaned and dressed up the wound. A shot of TT, some antibiotics and
painkillers to follow up should do,’ Dr Kumar said.
‘Thank you so much doctor. I was really worried,’ confessed Vishy’s
mother.
‘Yeah. I was also worried on hearing the abrupt news. All good now!
When is your main exam, Vishy?’ asked Dr Kumar.
‘Tomorrow morning, Uncle.’
‘Oh! Great, all the best. God bless you!’ wished Dr Kumar as he got up
to leave.
‘Thank you, Uncle. Will do my best!’ said Vishy as he waved goodbye
to Dr Kumar.
His father was actually smiling when Vishy got back to the living room.
‘Luck has it that I have to injure my foot again, the day before his exam.
Hopefully he will do well this time too, like last time,’ he was telling
Vishy’s mother.
‘That he will, even without your injury. I was so scared! Anyway, God
saved us,’ Vishy’s mother became emotional.
Vishy was quite emotional too. So much was happening in his small,
quiet world just twelve hours before the big exam!
 He tried to be as calm as possible, but couldn’t get to sleep till well past
midnight. He was indulging in some of his finest self gyans complimenting
and backing himself to do well—until about 2.00 a.m. when he finally fell
asleep.
‘Everyone doesn’t know everything. That means surely in General
Studies where anything under the sun could be asked, if you could present
whatever you know sequentially it should be more than enough,’ Rithika
told Vishy as they got out of Ananda Vinayagar temple.
‘Yeah, nice advice one hour before the exam. I am glad I have my hall
ticket safely with me now. That is one sequence in place. Other sequences,
let’s see!’
‘If they gave marks for sarcasm, I wouldn’t have to look beyond you for
a topper!’ Rithika smiled.
‘Ok then, see you soon!’
‘See you! Write well. Just remember one thing—you are destined to
become an IAS officer. God be with you.’ Rithika waved Vishy goodbye.
 Chapter 13

IT WAS FINALLY TIME FOR THE MAIN EXAMINATIONS OF UPSC Civil Services
2010! A humungous crowd was gathering outside the Presidency Girls High
School, the centre where Vishy was going to write his Mains. Vinod,
Ashok, Neena, Deepti and Madhan were also supposed to appear there.
There were only three to four designated centres in the entire city.
Vishy exchanged pleasantries with friends, parked his bike under a tree
and started checking for his hall ticket, pen, materials, etc.
He could see Vinod and Neena reading from the same book, Deepti
nervously reading from her tablet, and Madhan still underlining and
memorizing definitions.
‘So today is the day, huh!’ Ashok patted Vishy from behind.
‘Of course it is!’ Vishy said.
‘I’m too tensed, and bored at the same time. Tell me something
interesting. We both have ten minutes to spare!’ Ashok asked.
‘What will I say now? My father’s story also I immediately told you last
night. Ok wait. Remember I told you that taking the Prelims was like
batting in test cricket?’
‘Oh yes. I do remember,’ assured Ashok.
‘Similarly, main exam is like a one-day cricket match. In ODI cricket,
teams get only fifty overs to bat. They need to score as many runs as
possible during those overs. Likewise, we will be writing for 300 marks
within three hours. When you count the number of stipulated words for
each question, it will come to about 4,250 words to be written in 180
minutes! That means 23.61 words to be written per minute. That is our “run
rate”!’ said Vishy.
‘Wow! That is great insight. And very refreshing too, with the cricket
analogy, Bro!’ exclaimed Ashok.
‘Cricket has solutions to even the most complex problems of life, Bro,’
replied Vishy.
 ‘Another important point is that in ODI cricket, some teams don’t even
play out their full quota of overs; they lose their wickets and are all-out
without completing their designated overs. Likewise, in the main exam,
people tend to spend more time on the questions they know very well, and
lose out on time to complete the questions they don’t know well, leaving
behind a lot of unanswered questions. Even one or two marks here and
there for such unattended questions will make a lot of difference to the end
results.’
‘True, Bro. Very well said. I will follow it too!’
The bell rang before Ashok could complete his sentence and the exams
officially commenced!
‘I could barely complete half the paper,’ Deepti was weeping to
someone at the other end.
Vishy could see sunken faces everywhere. It was an extraordinarily
lengthy paper that most people couldn’t complete.
‘It was truly a God given message that you told me about one-day
cricket before the exam. Despite that I couldn’t complete questions for
twenty marks! Still after seeing the responses here, I think I have done
well!’ said Ashok with a slightly happy tone.
‘Same here, I somehow faced all the fifty overs and scored as many as
possible. Some good boundaries, some beautiful sixers, some ones and
twos, some really scrapped up singles here and there. Overall seems good.
Let’s see,’ said an optimistic Vishy.
Vinod and Neena were fully loaded with sadness.
Vishy couldn’t even console them except for saying, ‘Don’t worry, this
is just the first exam, there are eight more exams to go. Do not lose focus.’
Madhan was more worried that Vishy had attempted all the questions,
than he was that he himself had left questions worth about forty marks.
‘What did you write for Section C question 43?’ he kept hounding
Vishy.
‘Look, Madhan, I have written what little I knew for every question, in
a sequential manner. That’s all!’ replied a cool Vishy.
It was that kind of a day at the UPSC main exams centre. A day high on
emotions fuelled by exorbitant expectations. Things became even more
emotional as the rest of the exam days unfolded. Lots of hopes, frustrations,
predictions, happiness, disappointments and unexpected challenges were
thrown at the candidates during this time. How they each dealt with it, made
them what they were, in the later days.
‘Wish I could have had a fast-forward button for these two weeks of the
Mains exam,’ remarked Ashok walking out of the centre.
‘True that. I couldn’t even talk about anything else to Neena. Anyway,
thankfully we are done now!’ Vinod breathed a sigh of relief.
Vishy was happily singing a song and putting his stuff onto his bike,
getting ready to leave.
‘Sir, our chairman wants to talk to you,’ a middle-aged man in a safari
suit asked Vishy.
‘Who is your chairman? Why does he want to meet me?’ asked a
puzzled Vishy.
‘He runs the global IAS Coaching Trust, Sir. He wishes to guide you for
your UPSC interview, and also sponsor your trip to Delhi for the interview,’
said the man.
‘Oh no! Sorry, not interested. I don’t even know if I’ll qualify. How did
you even find us?’ quizzed Vishy.
‘We know everything, Sir. Every year, we do this. All the toppers from
Tamil Nadu are guided by our chairman. Look at him over there, already
clicking pictures with future IAS and IPS officers. You also come and
stand,’ informed the man.
‘Not interested. Good luck to you, your chairman and the trust!’
Vishy left the centre with satisfaction, throwing around warm smiles
and hand waves at his friends. He was reasonably happy with his
performance, but still not sure if it was good enough to make it.
The time period between the end of main exams and the
commencement of classes for next year’s preliminary exams was the dullest
time in the calendar for Anna Nagar study areas. There were only a few
who had already started preparing for the next Prelims. Those who had
given their main exams were still awaiting results. They faced the dilemma
of whether to start interview preparations in case they cleared, or whether to
be prepared for the worst and begin studying for next year’s Prelims from
scratch. Some were waiting to take a major decision about their future,
based on their results—to continue or discontinue preparation, to work or
quit their job, to marry or not marry! With so many thoughts and
aspirations, everyone was waiting for only one thing—their main exams
results.
‘Sorry your number does not figure in the list of successful candidates,’
blared the screen as Vishy typed in his roll number.
His heart was pounding heavily and he was sweating profusely.
‘Damn it! What’s happening?’ he shouted. Nobody replied. He wiped
his sweat frantically, got up from his bed in total darkness, and switched on
the lights; Vishy had just had a nightmare that seemed too real! The exact
feelings that gave him palpitations a year ago were back! Self-doubt, self-
doubt and more self-doubt. Vishy switched on the television to check on the
Champions League T20 happening in South Africa, in an attempt to clear
his mind. It was the Chennai Super Kings playing the Victoria Bushrangers
that night, and the match went to a super over. CSK, who were in control
throughout the game, suddenly lost. More negativity in cricket further
enervated Vishy. He continued to brood, looking at the wall aimlessly
before finally falling asleep.
Vishy visited Ashok’s Paradise the next day. UPSC’s Vinayagar idol
was decorated and kept ready by the aspirants. Most of them were loitering
around the ground floor without actually reading anything. Some were
watching the Delhi Commonwealth games in the television hall. Vishy
climbed the stairs and reached Ashok’s Paradise.
‘Three questions from current affairs, for all his gyan and drama!’
Ashok was laughing loudly, talking to a few guys who were sitting there.
‘You are trolling Mr Natarajan’s current affairs prediction, huh?’ Vishy
asked.
‘Yeah, yeah… The moron said forty-eight came last year, use all your
time and go through current affairs. Do only as I say! And now what?’
Ashok couldn’t control his laughter.
‘As always, Unpredictable Public Service Commission. No one can
predict anything for sure!’ Vishy said.
‘Before you ask, Vinod and Neena have gone to watch a movie!’ Ashok
said.
‘Guessed as much!’
Vishy’s phone rang. It was Rithika.
‘Congratulations! You are through to the interview!’ she said. She was
jumping with happiness on the other end.
 ‘Are you sure?’ Vishy asked her again and again.
‘I am sure man! Go check for yourself! I am telling everyone I know!’
she declared.
‘Ashok, Rithika says results have come and I have cleared. Come, let’s
check,’ said Vishy.
‘Whoooooo! That’s awesome Vishy! You are something else man.
Special, I knew always!’ Ashok said with true happiness for his friend.
‘Ok, let’s see the results for ourselves. First check yours,’ Vishy said.
‘I am too tensed. You check and tell,’ said Ashok, pushing his laptop to
Vishy.
‘Give your number.’
‘17698.’
‘Wait. 1… 7… 6… 9… 8…’
After typing the numbers, Vishy hit the enter button. Ashok’s heart
started beating so hard he could feel it in his mouth.
‘Cleared. Whoooooo!’ Vishy was ecstatic and he hugged Ashok.
Ashok was uncontrollably happy as he hugged Vishy. Some of other
guys who were with them were giving exams next year and felt very
hopeful seeing Ashok and Vishy.
‘At last, I have checked a successful UPSC result by myself!’
exclaimed Vishy, considering all his previous attempts.
‘Oh boy! Both Vinod and Neena did not clear. Deepti also did not clear.
Madhan has cleared,’ Ashok said, one after the other.
‘Oh, is it?’ Vishy said, stunned.
‘As such, Vinod’s family wants him to come back to his village and
take up agricultural work. I can’t even imagine his reaction. And Neena?
What will happen to their relationship? Oh my God!’ Ashok spoke with a
mix of fear and concern.
Vishy was in a conflicted mood. His parents and Rithika were over the
moon after seeing his result, but he couldn’t get over the fact that this was
indeed the end of the journey for some of his good friends. It was extremely
difficult for him to come to terms with reality.
Vinod was inconsolable. Vishy couldn’t tell him anything. He just lent
Vinod a shoulder to cry on for the next few hours. Then, Vinod got up as
Ashok came in with some liquor. Soon, they both started drinking.
 ‘I know how difficult it must be for you. Experiencing such a failure for
just one year was unimaginably difficult for me. You have had this
experience for the third straight year, and it is extremely unfortunate. Don’t
ever give up on your strength Bro, don’t give up on your charisma. Stay
strong. Take your mind off this for some time. After a week, let us sit and
discuss where it went wrong this time,’ was all Vishy could tell Vinod.
Vinod mildly acknowledged what Vishy said. Vishy left Ashok’s Paradise,
again with mixed emotions.
‘Congratulations, Vishy! I knew that you would make it!’ wished Mrs
Geetha.
‘I’ll give you some basic pointers, do’s and don’ts for the interview—
just keep them in mind,’ she added.
‘Sure, Ma’am,’ Vishy nodded.
‘Just went through the application form that you submitted for the
interview. It was filled up very foolishly. You have put “watching cricket”
as your hobby. Is that even a hobby? Chuck all these things, just say
whatever I tell you to in the interview. You will be through!’ boasted Mr
Natarajan as usual.
Vishy just stood before Ashok pulled him out.
‘Thankfully he didn’t see my hobby!’ said Ashok.
‘What did you write?’ Vishy asked curiously.
‘Watching music videos and playing “tennis ball cricket”. This guy
would have definitely laughed at me too. Last year one guy wrote “snake
charming” as his hobby. This Natarajan appreciated that like anything,’
Ashok said.
‘Thankfully, I didn’t write bathroom singing!’ he added with a smile.
They bumped into I. Srinivasan on the stairs.
‘Hey Ashok! Heard Madhan, you and your friend have qualified for the
interview. Congratulations, guys! In fact, I was the one who devised the
first ever scoring key for the interview and wrote about it to the UPSC,’ he
started, his ‘I’ tunes.
‘What did UPSC reply, Sir?’ asked Vishy, feigning innocence.
‘Still awaiting their reply!’ said I. Srinivasan unabashedly.
‘Oh, thank you, Sir!’
‘That was his polite way of saying, “UPSC didn’t give a damn about
my letter”,’ said Ashok as they laughed their way out of Great Minds.
 Chapter 14

‘YOU PEOPLE MAKE ME FEEL AS IF I AM GETTING READY FOR MY wedding!’

remarked Vishy, blushing as he tried his new suit in the trial room of the
store. Vishy and his parents had come to buy an outfit for his big interview.
‘Yeah, wedding shopping is next! This is just a prelude to that!’ replied
his happy mother.
‘Hmmm. First let me finish this. How do I look by the way?’ he asked.
‘Elegant as always!’ remarked his mother.
‘Typical “babu” look has come, my son! Congratulations!’ laughed his
father.
‘I have also got leave from the hospital to come and be with you in
Delhi during your interview!’ he added.
Vishy smiled; he had just got a text with a bouquet of smileys from
Rithika, in response to his picture in the suit.
As they were getting back home, Vishy got a call from Ashok.
‘Hi, Bro, I am just leaving for Delhi.’
‘Good luck, Bro! Day after tomorrow is the interview, no?’ Vishy
asked.
‘Yeah Bro, day after morning—same day for me and Madhan. He is
also coming with me.’
‘Oh, is it? My best wishes to him too. What about Vinod?’
‘Vinod left for his village. Neena stopped talking to him too. Couldn’t
even bear to look at his face, Bro.’
‘Oh! I am sure he will find more peace and happiness at home. God has
a plan for everyone Bro!’ Vishy said.
‘Yeah. Hopefully!’
‘Call me whenever you can, Bro. Good luck, may God be with you!’
Vishy wished Ashok heartily and hung up the phone.
Vishy’s interview was scheduled for the 9th of April, the last day for
which UPSC interviews were scheduled that year. He decided to try his
hand at a few mock interviews before leaving for Delhi. He was also trying
to rehearse his own answers for the typical questions like ‘Why did you
choose to become a civil servant?’ and ‘What are the challenges that our
country is currently facing?’
‘You seem to have a good temperament. Just talk the same way—calm
and collected. I am sure you will do well in the interview. Another general
word of advice is to refrain from the usual answers for the usual questions.
That is only to remind you to structure and rehearse your answers
accordingly. Otherwise, you did pretty well in the mock interview today,’
remarked V. Karthikeyan, a serving IAS officer who had just conducted a
mock interview for Vishy.
‘Thank you, Sir. I’ll keep that in mind.’
‘What will you have? Tea or coffee?’ Karthikeyan asked.
‘Neither Sir, thank you,’ Vishy replied while nervously glancing at his
watch.
‘Match, huh? Don’t worry, we have time, I am also going home to
watch that. Anyway, you will do well. All the best!’ wished Karthikeyan as
he also rushed out to catch the World Cup finals.
It was the afternoon of 2 April 2011, and the final match of the cricket
World Cup between India and Sri Lanka had just started. Vishy had
successfully finished all his mock interviews and was happily settled,
watching the match at home.
Sri Lanka was batting and Mahela Jayawardene was playing a top
innings. Vishy’s phone rang.
‘Hi, Ashok! How did it go?’ asked Vishy, curiously.
‘Yeah, went well Bro. Better than expected,’ replied Ashok.
‘Did they ask about your hobby and troll you like Mr Natarajan said?’
‘Nope. They asked me to speak on the best thing about being a civil
servant,’ Ashok said.
‘And you gave your usual reply about the challenges that the job brings
to the table, the diversity that the job offers…’
‘Bro! Did they record and send you my answers?’ Ashok asked before
Vishy could finish the sentence.
‘This is what we all say, no?’ laughed Vishy, ‘And don’t tell me you
asked doubts to the UPSC interview panel!’
‘Ha ha…No, Bro,’ Ashok replied.
 ‘So overall did the interview go smoothly and was the board very
cordial, as everybody else who has attended the interview has told me?’
asked Vishy.
‘Yeah Bro!’
‘What about Madhan?’ asked Vishy.
‘He did exceptionally well, he says. He was asked a total of nineteen
questions, he remembers; he says he has given nineteen definitions to all the
nineteen questions!’ Ashok said.
‘Well, is that for real or is he trolling?’ Vishy couldn’t believe what he
heard.
‘No Bro, I think it is real only. He is capable of it! I have told you
exactly what he told me,’ Ashok said.
‘Ok ok! Watching the match?’ Vishy asked.
‘Yeah Bro, I am a free bird hereafter! Err, ok, at least until results!’
exclaimed Ashok.
‘Ok ok. Have fun, bye!’
‘Bye, Bro! Next is your turn. Rock it!’
‘Dhoni finishes off in style! India lifts the World Cup after twenty-eight
years and it’s an Indian captain who has been absolutely magnificent on the
night of the final,’ roared Ravi Shastri on air, as Dhoni smacked
Kulasekara’s over-pitched ball into the stands over long on. The entire
nation went into an emotional rapture, and so did Vishy. It was as if he
himself had won the World Cup.
‘Happy, aren’t you?’ asked his mother.
‘Yeah Ma, very!’ he replied.
‘This Dhoni too—you have always liked him no. Why is it that you like
him so much?’ she asked.
‘Just how he handles situations. Be it success or failure, the way he
handles himself makes him very special. Look at the faces of everyone else
on the screen. Now, look at Dhoni’s face—can you even tell if he has won
or lost? Even before this game, he was heavily criticized for not scoring
enough runs throughout the World Cup. He chose not to use his words, but
let his bat do the talking today. That’s Dhoni, and that is why the country
loves him, Ma!’ said a proud Vishy.
‘Great to see you being passionate about the game and about Dhoni.
From now on, I too love Dhoni!’ smiled his mom.
It was 8 April. Vishy’s interview was the next day. Vishy and his parents
had reached Delhi that afternoon. They were lounging in their hotel room,
chatting.
‘Why are you looking at my leg now? I am fine!’ said Vishy’s father.
‘Ok ok, I understand that you are fine. But it’s just that today happens to
be a really unlucky day. I mean, so far on both the days prior to my exams
this year you have injured your leg. That is why I’m a bit worried today,’
Vishy said.
‘Yeah yeah, we know these things. Isn’t it lucky for you by the way?
Me shedding blood the day before your exam?’ his father asked with a
smile.
‘NO! It isn’t!’ said Vishy emphatically.
‘Your father certainly feels so, and he has shed his quota already!’ said
his mother, much to Vishy’s shock.
‘How on Earth? What happened? Tell me!’ Vishy demanded.
‘Simple. I went and donated my blood early this morning. I am sure it
will be of help to the patient who received it and to you as the streak
continues!’ Vishy’s father gave a contented laugh.
Vishy simply went and hugged him.
‘Tomorrow, go to Baba temple before you reach the venue. Appa and I
will come to pick you up after the interview. Then we will go for lunch,’
said Vishy’s mother.
With that, they all went to sleep. The next day would be the most
important day in Vishy’s life.
 Chapter 15

‘I’LL WEAR MY COAT AT THE VENUE. BYE MA, BYE PA,’ SAID VISHY as he left for
his interview.
‘We could have come and dropped you off. It is only because you
insisted so adamantly that we have let you go alone like this,’ said his father
in an unhappy tone.
‘That’s okay Pa, I am not a kid. And in any case, you both are coming
to pick me up,’ Vishy said.
‘Anyway, all the best. You will be successful. God is with you,’ blessed
both of them.
Vishy got into the cab, and called Rithika.
‘Good morning! I am Vishy! And I am destined to be an IAS officer.
Correct, no? Come on, give out your usual dose of wishes,’ he said.
‘Only you can be brimming with such sarcasm and attitude before such
an important event. That is why you are destined for this, I tell you!’
responded Rithika.
‘Thanks for being there for me Rithika. I honestly want to thank you
with all my heart. Today is the right day for that.’
‘Are you going off on a space mission or what? No big deal. Don’t be
so formal, have an awesome interview! All the best. I love you,’ said
Rithika.
‘Thank you. I love you too.’

The taxi guy was not willing to wait outside the temple until Vishy finished
his prayers. Since he had no choice, Vishy sent off the taxi and entered the
temple. After offering his prayers, he came out and couldn’t find a taxi
anywhere nearby. About half a kilometre away he could see a lot of people
and he started walking there. The road signs indicated that he was walking
towards the famed Jantar Mantar. He had been following in the news that
Anna Hazare was undertaking a fast at Jantar Mantar as part of his crusade
against corruption, and for the enactment of Jan Lokpal Bill. A large
number of supporters gathered there daily to meet him and offer their
support. Vishy could see a throng of people ahead. He was already feeling
frustrated as there was just over half an hour left for his interview and here
he was pointlessly walking toward Jantar Mantar with the hope of getting a
taxi.
Suddenly, there was commotion everywhere. There were rumours of a
lathi charge spreading quickly among the crowd, and everyone started
running amok, colliding with each other. Before Vishy realized what was
happening, he was pushed down and run over by the crowd. Soon, he
gained a grasp of the situation, regained his strength and got up. There was
a sharp pain in his forehead; he had a minor cut which was bleeding. His
shirt collar was torn. His coat was imprinted with shoe prints, hundreds of
them.
‘Half an hour left for the interview and I look like this. That’s all. It has
to end like this?’ he was on the verge of shouting in frustration, when he
heard a long, loud honk from a car nearby.
‘Hi, Vishy! Hi, Vishy!’ chorused voices from inside the car.
Vishy took a look inside the car and found Badri and all of Rithika’s
friends inside! Harini, Dharani the twins, Ramesh and Sid—they were all
there.
‘Hi, what are you all doing here?’ enquired Vishy.
‘Teammate’s wedding! Oh my God, look at you! You are bleeding from
your forehead. Did you fall down somewhere?’ asked Sid.
‘Yeah, Sid. There was a bit of a stampede here a while ago. I was
pushed down,’ Vishy replied.
‘Oh don’t worry! Get in, we will take care of you. You were here for an
interview, right? When is that?’ asked Sid again.
‘Well, finally someone cares! In about twenty minutes from now!’
Vishy replied, slowly returning to his normal self and getting into the car.
‘Don’t worry, we will drop you there super quickly!’ they all hastened
to assure him.
‘Here, take this! Clean up the wound and clear out your face again,’
advised Sid as he handed Vishy a first aid kit, some wet towels and
perfume.
‘You people are like angels. Helping me and Rithika get to places at the
right time in crucial moments. Can’t thank you all enough!’ Vishy said as
he cleaned up his face.
‘Yeah, she almost spoilt our Pondi trip. Here you are almost spoiling
our wedding trip and on top of that you call us angels,’ started Badri.
‘Ha ha! Once a Badri, always a Badri. By the way, Rithika didn’t tell
me about this teammate’s wedding.’
‘Oh really? Didn’t Rithika tell you? She is also coming this evening for
the reception. Most of us are staying here for a week as we have a training
programme scheduled. Maybe she wanted to surprise you again,’ said
Dharani, laughing with her twin.
To Vishy, Rithika’s friends looked like a group of backup dancers in
movies, who would magically appear as soon as there is a need for them, do
their drill and disappear immediately after their sequence!
‘This is the place, this is the place! Please drop me here,’ shouted Vishy.
As he got down, he heard Rithika’s friends cheering him and wishing
him good luck in the background. He looked at his watch—it was 10.25
a.m.! Five minutes to the interview!

‘I think we called 16405?’ asked the chairperson of the interview board.

‘Yes, Madam, I am 16405,’ replied Vishy.
‘Did you really come for the interview with a torn shirt, the dirtiest
possible coat, uncombed hair and a cut on your forehead? Do you even
know which interview you have come for?’ asked the chairperson in an
angry tone.
‘Sorry, Madam. There was a stampede half an hour ago at Jantar
Mantar, I fell down there.’
‘Oh, you are an activist who goes to the streets for protests, are you?’
the chairman asked.
‘No, Madam. Please let me explain. I went to the Baba temple to pray. I
couldn’t get a taxi outside the temple. So I started walking towards Jantar
Mantar with the hope of getting a taxi there when the stampede happened.’
 ‘Ok, take your seat.’
‘Thank you, Madam.’
‘Why did you go to a temple just half an hour before what could be the
biggest interview of your life? Are you a religious fanatic?’
‘No, Madam. It was my mother’s wish that I visit the temple before the
interview.’
‘So, religion takes precedence over everything else in your life, does it?
If you are like this now, imagine how you will be when you become an
officer! Would you not abuse your powers to promote and propagate
religion?’ said the chairperson.
Every word she uttered felt like a cannon ball.
Where did that come from? Why am I being put through this? Vishy
didn’t even have time to think properly and answer.
‘No, Madam, it isn’t like that. It means I respect my mother’s word,
even in critical situations. Also, India is a free and secular country where
the fundamental rights in the Indian Constitution entitle anyone to profess
or practise any religion. So, listening to my mother and going to a temple
before the interview doesn’t make me a religious madman, Madam,’
answered Vishy politely.
The chairperson didn’t react at all.
‘You have studied Mechanical Engineering?’ started another member in
the board.
‘Yes, Sir.’
‘So essentially, you have wasted one Mechanical Engineering seat. You
studied Engineering, it didn’t work, so you came for this job. That
Mechanical Engineering seat could have gone to a deserving candidate.’
‘Sir, I don’t think so. I am, and I will be a mechanical engineer. I will
use all that I have studied on a broader platform, and strive to be an agent of
change in our nation building process,’ replied Vishy.
‘Please don’t give rehearsed UPSC answers like this. It is so boring to
keep hearing these. Give a valid scenario!’ shot back the board member.
‘For instance, if tomorrow I am in the urban or industrial sector, I will
have a better idea of the types of machines needed for various projects, and
also a better perspective on current trends and technologies. More
importantly, I can scrutinize the estimates and tender documents for
procurement quite well, given my technical acumen. This is just an
example. As a specialist, I feel I can effectively couple all the
administrative skills of a generalist and make it a successful blend,’ Vishy
gave a completely unrehearsed answer to an equally unexpected question.
There was not much reaction from the other side.
‘Watching cricket is your hobby! Did you see the World Cup finals?’
asked a different board member.
‘Yes, Sir.’
‘You must have seen that innings from Dhoni. What do you think
makes Dhoni different from other cricketers?’
‘It is because of how he handles himself in different situations, Sir. Be it
success or failure, the way he handles himself is what makes him special.
Looking at Dhoni’s face, can you even tell if he has won or lost a match?
Even before the start of the World Cup final, he was heavily criticized for
not scoring enough runs. He chose not to respond to criticism, but rather let
his bat do the talking. That’s Dhoni, and that is why the country loves him,
Sir,’ responded a proud Vishy.
‘So, India won only because of Dhoni?’ pitched in another member.
‘No Sir, I never said that. The entire team including the support staff
played a role in the World Cup win,’ replied Vishy.
Vishy was then asked about reforms needed in Indian education, the
Indian agricultural scenario, social forestry and a few other topics. And
finally after forty minutes, his interview was over.
Upon getting out of the building, he could see his father standing
anxiously outside the gate. He picked up his phone from the deposit centre
and went to his father.
‘Maybe they wanted to stress you out. They push a candidate to the
limit to see how he/she reacts to the pressure. At the end of the day, you are
applying for a high-pressure job, no?’ Vishy’s father was sharing his
observations with Vishy and his mother.
‘So, I have attended a stress interview without even knowing that there
is something called a stress interview?’ Vishy laughed to himself.
‘Anyway, well done, Son. You have done your job. The rest is in God’s
hands!’ his father said as they were getting back to the hotel room after
lunch.
‘If you want, stay back for a few days in Delhi and come back home
later. What is the hurry now? You need a breather too,’ said Vishy’s mother.
Vishy readily accepted this amazing proposition. He was happily wondering
about the prospect of spending time with Rithika in Delhi as well.
‘Yeah yeah. Stay back for a few days and then come. Amma and I will
go back tomorrow,’ his father endorsed.

‘Surprise! Guess what?’

‘You are in Delhi.’
‘Hey! You are not supposed to guess my surprises. How did you
know?’
‘I know. I met your friends today morning. They told me.’
‘Oh, those fools! And how? What? When?’
Vishy answered all her questions patiently and gave an account of his
interview.
‘So, that is it. Let’s see how it goes and what my destiny really is!’ said
Vishy.
‘I am in Delhi for a week! Time to party, Baby!’ screamed an excited
Rithika.
Humayun’s tomb, Red Fort, Palika Bazaar, Lotus temple, India Gate,
malls, restaurants and parks. For the next few days, Vishy and Rithika were
happily hopping all across Delhi.
‘Thankfully, we are doing this after the exams!’ Vishy quipped.
‘Before the exams you wouldn’t even talk about anything else, let alone
go out!’ Rithika said.
‘Anyway, it is all for good.’
 Chapter 16

‘TODAY IS THE 15 th , WHEN ARE YOUR RESULTS EXPECTED?’ ASKED Rithika.

‘No idea. Sources online say maybe another week or so,’ said Vishy. He
was feeling pleased and privileged to be getting ‘insider info’ online.
‘Hmm. Where do we go now?’
‘Connaught Place? I am hungry!’ complained Vishy.
It was about 3 in the afternoon; Vishy and Rithika walked across to a
new restaurant located on the first floor of A-block in Connaught Place.
‘Chicken biryani for me. What about you?’ asked Vishy.
‘We just ate a couple of hours ago. Remember? I’ll just have a coffee,’
said Rithika.
‘No way! If you want just a drink, then let me order it for you. Wait…
Ah! Here we go! Ferrero Rocher smoothie! Have this, get some junk
calories like me!’ laughed Vishy.
‘Ok, whatever. I am very happy for you. I am happy that you have done
this exam well, finished the entire cycle with a smile and without any major
frustration. If you get through, I know how happy we will all be. And if you
don’t make it, I can already sense how your attitude is going to be. I think
that is where you may have won the battle already,’ said Rithika frankly.
‘Yeah, to an extent that is true. This exam, like so many other
competitive exams is controlled by so many factors, some of which are
beyond us. We can only work to the best of our ability. Did you ever play
the “In or out” game with a tiny stone as a kid?’ he asked Rithika.
‘Yeah, I have. Why?’ Rithika asked.
‘We hold the stone and rotate our shoulders, that much is within our
control. Suddenly, when we think we have everything under control, a
strong wind blows, or our fingers give in and the stone somehow escapes
out of our hands and beyond our control. These exam preparations are also
like that. We may think things are in our control, but suddenly there can be
externalities which throw everything off board and ruin our scheme,’ said
Vishy.
 ‘Wow! You used the stone-game analogy really well. Nice!’ said
Rithika as the waiter served Vishy’s biryani.
Vishy was still fiddling with his phone when his food came.
‘Enough playing with your phone. Now eat!’ Rithika pulled away the
phone from his hands and gave him his food.
‘What were you browsing, by the way?’ asked Rithika.
‘What else. “Insider info” on when the results may come out!’ Vishy
admitted embarrassedly.
Rithika started fiddling with Vishy’s phone, and Vishy got busy eating
his biryani.
Shortly, tears started flowing out of her eyes. Initially Vishy didn’t
notice them, but soon they became unmanageable. She tried to speak, but
couldn’t say a word.
‘What happened? Tell me?’ Vishy kept questioning her.
She gave him the phone. Vishy picked up the phone and on the screen,
were his results. The UPSC had just declared the results and Vishy had
cleared and secured an All India rank of 12!
He checked the PDF again, and then refreshed the site to double check.
‘Wow, I have passed. Awesome!’ Vishy was relieved more than
anything else. He picked up his phone and called home right away.
‘Appa, I have cleared the exam with 12th rank, check the results
online!’ exclaimed Vishy.
‘Oh! Wonderful! Talk to Amma,’ his father said.
Basically, Appa has bunked hospital and is sitting at home! thought
Vishy’s cheeky mind voice.
‘Super Pa, I knew you would! Come home soon! We will celebrate!’
said his Amma, in the happiest possible tone.
Vishy could see that Rithika was still uncontrollably crying with
happiness. She came to sit by his side, and they hugged. And hugged. With
so much happiness.
‘See, you were always destined for this!’ whispered an extremely
emotional Rithika.
Back home, his parents hugged each other. And hugged. With so much
happiness and tears.
‘He was always destined for this!’ said his mother emotionally.
 Epilogue

VISHY AND RITHIKA ARE NOW HAPPILY MARRIED AND LIVING WITH their kids and
their parents. Vishy is currently the corporation commissioner of Madurai.
Ashok, having successfully cleared the exam the same year as Vishy, is
currently a police officer in Rajasthan. He is finally getting married next
month.
Vinod has taken up organic farming in his village in a big way. He has
also successfully retrieved all his family land, and is now a model farmer
who is respected by his entire district.
Neena is a housewife, who has been married for five years now, with
two happy children.
Madhan failed to clear the exam by a narrow margin the same year as
Vishy, but he somehow cleared it the next year and is currently in the Indian
Revenue Service. He is very busy after demonetization and GST, and has
been trying to memorize all the important definitions related to these
policies.
Deepti didn’t clear the exam either. She then studied for CAT and
cleared it a few years ago. She is currently pursuing her MBA in IIM
Shillong.
Mrs Geetha Natarajan and her husband are still successfully running
Great Minds.
Sid is truly an American now as he in working ‘on-site’ in America for
a project. He lives in Chicago. The twins Dharani and Harini live in Boston.
Badri has successfully married the daughter of the vice president of his
old office, and is now super influential in the company. His still parks his
car outside the toll gate and saves thirty rupees every day.
I. Srinivasan has opened several more branches of coaching centres in
various parts of Chennai, and he still sells his own question papers at
Krishna Tea Stall.
Vishy’s father’s colleague Moorthy, upon finding that his son failed to
clear the exam, even after multiple attempts, got him married to a
bureaucrat’s daughter and also set up a coaching centre for him in Anna
Nagar.
Babu is now the bestselling author of a motivational book series and is
also a successful inspirational speaker. His snack shop still earns him more
than the salary of an IAS officer.