KULOTHUNGAN IAS | MINDVOICES

KULOTHUNGAN IAS

"A man is great not because he hasn't failed;
A man is great because failure hasn't stopped him"

Confucius proverb provides the meaning to the life of Kulothungan. The man who aced the prestigious civil service exam in his 5th attempt at the age of 32.

Coming from the agrarian background born in a small village Maruvathoor, Ariyalur district, Tamil Nadu. His father Asokan was a cycle mechanic and his mother Malika. He studied in the Ponparappi Government Higher Secondary school with the medium of language in Tamil. Despite the poverty and other hindrances, he pursued his Under Graduation(B.SC AGRI)from Anbil Dharmalingam Agricultural College and finished his Post Graduation MBA(AGRI BUSINESS MANAGEMENT) from TNAU. Since his childhood, he has seen the struggles of common people even for the basic needs in his locality. To alleviate the kind of extreme poverty and rural empowerment, he had thought of preparing civil service examination. But owing to familial circumstances which led him to take up a job and secure his family financially. Later with the support from his family and friends, he resigned the job after two years.

In 2011, he started preparing for civil service examination with the money what he earned in his first job and gave the first attempt after one and half years of preparation. Faced failure at first prelims and additionally, he was pushed into economic pressure. Meanwhile, he found his Godfather "Shankar Sir". Shankar sir understands his life chances and decided to provide " Faculty designation at Shankar IAS Academy. Here, I have to admit that Shankar sir has the true ability to understand the psyche of UPSC aspirants and identify their best in them. So he chooses Kulothungan sir to became a trainer at his academy. He started teaching at Shankar IAS academy to overcome his financial burden. He started appearing for civil service exam but failed in every attempt consecutively despite his hard work and personal interest. But he never gives up his career. He waits for the last key on the ring to open the door. He had a belief that his failures show him at least he is trying for what he loved from the bottom of the heart.

Before giving his 5th attempt, he was shocked by the news of his father got admitted in the hospital for renal failures. After his father recovered from the illness, he started concentrating on his exam and gave Prelims, Mains & Interview with huge confidence. The day came, his dreams turned into reality. The results were out and the so long dream of his name found in the UPSC final list. He secured All India Rank 319 and achieved his dream with his twin life-mantras confidence and consistency.

For some people, the civil service exam is either 100m or 200m race. "It's the marathon race for him and he completed the marathon successfully".

KULOTHUNGAN IAS with The President of India Ramnath Kovind

He is posted as Assistant Collector(Training) Goa and his burning passion turns for downtrodden people in our country to provide a New India for them.