THE INTERVIEWBansilal was kind of glowing, his chest puffed up with full-on pride: "I always thought you could do it! Remember when I told you you’d get into the IAS cadre? Your mother and I, we could not have asked for anything more. We’ve been farmers for generations, just living off the land. Now you’ve broken that mould, and honestly, it feels like wow."
The whole village gathered, people coming in ones, twos, even loud aunties dragging their chairs, to celebrate Ghanashyam, their Bittu, for his recent win in the UPSC Civil Services Examination. Everybody was buzzing, and the TV crews kept rolling in to catch his inspiring story.
Wearing the traditional dhoti kurta, Ghanashyam stepped outside to meet the media, calm confidence in every smile. The crew noticed his simple background and reassured him, "No tension! We’ll only ask a few things. So, please be straightforward. It’s not only about you; it’s a message for the youth of rural India. Hard work really works, and the next generation doesn’t have to keep repeating their parents’ path. We might take multiple takes, so just stay steady, okay?"
He sat down on the charpai and nodded, ready for the questions, while the cameras locked onto him like a spotlight.
Interviewer:
"What really pushed you to step away from the family business?"
Ghanashyam:
"When I was a kid, I saw how hard my parents worked in the fields. They never quit, even when droughts, floods, or locusts ruined our crops. Their dedication to my education was solid, with no cracks. My father would ride his bicycle to drop me off at the bus stop, and when he fell ill, my mother took over. They pictured a different life for me, a real break from farming. It is to them that I owe my success."
Interviewer:
"Why go for a government career? Even with your sharpness and how well you did in school, wouldn’t you have landed something very profitable at a multinational company, with big salaries, perks and all that travel?"
Ghanashyam:
"I’m a proud farmer’s son. My reason to join the government is my love for my country and the urgent need to reform agricultural laws. I belong here, and I want to bring change for the marginalized. This village is missing a school, a proper irrigation system, a hospital, and even electricity. I want to change all of that."
Interviewer:
"Where do you see yourself in twenty years?"
Ghanashyam:
"In twenty years, I want to keep working hard to implement agricultural reforms and open up educational chances for the village children. The nation cannot truly move ahead if the rural people are left behind. We should make sure they get the same opportunities, and the tools of technology too."
Right when the interview started hitting that strong, uplifting crescendo, the interviewer suddenly shouted, "Stop!" The cameras went silent, and the crowd burst into loud cheers that bounced around the trees. No retakes. Not even a pause.
The village’s next step was in the hands of Bittu, a man set on turning wishes into real outcomes.
And as Bansilal looked at his son, he understood this wasn’t only a personal win. It felt like the dawn of hope for an entire bunch of young people. “Because when one person climbs, the whole community climbs along with them.”
Notes:
Charpai – rope cot
dhoti, kurta – traditional Indian dress for men.
© Snigdha Agrawal
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| Snigdha Agrawal |
Snigdha Agrawal (née Banerjee) holds an MBA in Marketing and has over two decades of corporate experience. She enjoys writing in all genres, including poetry, prose, short stories, and travel diaries. Educated in Loreto Institutions, run by the Irish Nuns, and brought up in a cosmopolitan environment, she has learned the best of the East and West. She is a published author of four books. Her works have appeared in several anthologies and e-journals, published in India and overseas. She has recently been nominated for the 2024 Pushcart Prize in poetry.
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