Nidhi Siwach, hailing from Haryana proved a famous spell that says, “Most of us serve our ideals by fits and starts. The person who makes a success of living is the one who sees his/her goal steadily and aims for it unswervingly. That is Dedication”. India has taken strides when it comes to girl education and while parents are supporting the academic dreams of their daughters, often after graduation the question of “When are you getting married?” crops up.
Nidhi Siwach–who grew up in traditionally-fashioned and stereotypical environment broke many walls to achieve success. She was asked the same question that many girls feel stifled by. It was then when she decided to choose her career above everything.
Reversing this trend, she left her designing job in Tech Mahindra, Hyderabad and came back to Gurgaon with a desire of working for her country. UPSC was not something she had thought about, she had dreamed of Indian Air Force (IAF) since childhood. IAF has opened the way to fly a fighter plane for girls a year ago.
She appeared for ‘Air Force Common Admission Test’ (AFCAT) exam and cracked the written exam. Post that, she appeared for ‘Service Selection Board’ (SSB) interview. The interview round proved to be a turning point in terms of her career where the interviewer advised her to drop defence services and opt for the Civil Services exam. There she made her mind and for the next six months, she locked herself in a room and prepared for the exam. As per media reports, Nidhi prepared for UPSC without any external help or full-time coaching.
According to Nidhi, It’s all about your will power. where there is a will, there is a way. She says, “Coaching, tuition, group of friends etc. are all myth to support. An individual needs nothing, only try to be true to yourself,” She maintained her morale with this thinking that “Burden must come, whether it is a failure or regret.”
Nidhi’s father laid a condition of marriage on failure in front of her which she claims to be under societal pressure. Nidhi’s parents decided to find a groom for her and marry her off. But she also tells in an interview that her father even motivated her by saying, “Success is a lock which requires two keys to be unlocked- one is your hard work and another is luck, first key i.e. hard work is in your hands while luck is beyond our control. Keep on trying with the key that you have who knows when God inserts the second key.”
Her father’s kind words or says conditions mend Nidhi wholly into her preparation. Nidhi attempted only 80 questions in UPSC prelims, which she arguably claims to be a calculated risk. Post clearing prelims, preparing for Mains exam she only enrolled herself in test series to check her preparations and without any external guidance and proper coaching, Nidhi made her way to success by herself.
It’s an inspiring tale of finding your destination en route the journey.