Riding on self-study, Telangana top cop's daughter ranks third in UPSC

HYDERABAD: If Uma Harathi N wanted, she could have gone to the best coaching classes for cracking the UPSC. Instead, she chose to fight it out by herself at home, with support from friends who had cracked the exam earlier. The single-minded focus paid off. She stood third in the country in the civil services exam results declared on Tuesday.
The Nalgonda girl, whose performance is the best by anyone from Telangana, is the daughter of N Venkateshwarlu, Narayanpet superintendent of police. Interestingly, this was her fifth attempt at cracking the exam. Having been brought up in a police officer's home, she had decided that all she wanted to be in life was an IAS officer. She refused to try her hand at any other career despite passing out of Indian Institute of Technology, Hyderabad.
"Changing my optional subject was the most difficult decision I had to make as I had put in years of preparation. But, I felt that doing so could change the game for me," Harathi told TOI. Despite putting in her best effort, she couldn't score in geography and opted for anthropology this time.
"Once the decision was made, everything fell into place. I had also made changes to the way I was answering questions. In my earlier attempts, I was more content driven, but this time I concentrated on presentation," she added.
Harathi said that all she did since 2017 was prepare for the Civils. "Right after my graduation, I took coaching for almost a year in Delhi, but it did not help. I came back and sought help from my friends, who had already cracked Civils, and online resources. It is only because of the support from family and friends that I could crack UPSC," she added.
Looking back, Harathi said she had jumped into civil services preparation without actually understanding its various contours.
"Without creating your own strategy, it is difficult to crack the exam. One has to own one's failures, setbacks, and the entire process of preparation to excel," she said.
She also stressed the importance of focusing on emotional health as the preparation is not just a one year project but can take several years, which can take a toll on your mental health.