Kottayam: The three young women from Kerala, who secured high ranks in the civil services examination this year, surprisingly didn't have scholarly air.
During an interactive session with a few students from five schools in the district at the Malayala Manorama office here on Friday, they revealed their success mantra.
Much to the surprise of the students, two of the state toppers said that they were particular about getting enough sleep.
State-topper Shikha Surendran (16th rank) from Kolenchery said that she used to sleep eight hours daily, even with the exams round the corner. S Sameera (28th rank) from Kottayam, agreed with Shikha, stating that she slept eight hours during night and one hour in the afternoon.
S Anjali, from Kozhikode, who bagged the 26th rank, had a different tale to narrate. She had been a working woman, who got free only after 9 pm and read fiction till late night, and just converted that reading hours to study.
Optional subjects
Though an English-medium student and a B Tech graduate, Shikha swears by her mother tongue and chose Malayalam as her optional subject.
Shikha said she owed her success to her family, Vadayampady village, the local club and library as well as an SNDP shakha that was influential in her childhood and instilled in her the love for Malayalam. She also recited her favourite poem 'Ganga' by V Madhusoodanan Nair for the young civil service aspirants.
Anjali, who graduated from NIT Calicut, had picked English as her optional subject, banking on her love for fiction. She tried to know her surroundings by interacting with children and travelling, even between the exams.
Sameera, a Malayalam-medium student, gave credit to her parents who took her to scores of book fairs in Kottayam as a kid.
"The preparation for civil service does not start from the months just before the exam, but you are moulded through your childhood, whatever you imbibed from your surroundings, everything reflects on your understanding and especially during the interviews, where your knowledge and genuineness is tested, not language skills," said Sameera.
After the interactive session, select students were 'interviewed', by the trio.
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