For IPS officer V K Krishnakumar, who is serving as the Superintendent of Police of the Central Bureau of Investigation in Kochi, doing service for the public has always been his long-cherished dream.
And he learnt a lot during his first posting as Assistant Superintendent of Police on the borders of Nainital district, where abduction and crime occurred regularly. “It needed grit and courage and a mind devoted to service,” says the 37-year-old officer, who hails from Thrissur. “The experience was bitter, initially, but as you solve one case after another, you learn to take it in your stride and expect nothing in return. Service becomes your mantra.”
Later, Krishnakumar served in Champwat in Uttarakand and Almora, where he served as ADC (Aide-de-Camp) to the governor there.
Krishnakumar says that at the age of 11 he fell in love with the concept of the Civil Services. “Everybody kept telling me that it was the most difficult examination in the country and very few passed it,” he says. “I took it as a challenge - like a bunch of ripe grapes dangling from a grape vine... difficult, yet wonderful to attain - and decided that I would give it a try.”
Krishnakumar recalls that his parents were not thrilled with the idea. “My grandfather was a doctor by profession and my parents wanted me to join the medical field,” he says. “So, bending to pressure from all sides, I wrote my medical entrance exams. When the results were declared, I had a good rank, and admission to the best medical colleges in the state. However, I remember telling my parents, ‘This rank is for you, now can I pursue my civil services dream?’ They approved.”
However, things were not easy. His first attempt proved to be a failure. “I reached the interview round, but failed to make an impression,” he says. Any particular reason? “No. Civil services is all about luck, hard work and the will of God written in your destiny,” says Krishnakumar. “Sometimes, even the most brilliant minds don’t make it. However, I think, my handicap of the English language proved to be a barrier.”
But the failure did not deter him. He made another attempt. Again, he failed. “This time, I promised myself I would never try again,” he says. “I was a defeated man.”
Ironically, he became a medical representative. “I remember telling myself that life is strange,” says Krishnakumar. “I had thrown away my ticket to an MBBS degree but ended up working as a medicalrepresentative.”
However, it was the pressure from friends, that made him make a final attempt at the Civil service exams. “This time, instead of preparing alone, I took up a job to teach the Civil service Exams,” he says. “The experience was two-dimensional. I was teaching, as well as learning. My grasp of the English language became better. I cleared the exams easily.”
Incidentally, Krishnakumar did his schooling at the CMS Higher Secondary School in Thrissur, and his degree from the Sree Kerala Varma College. He secured a public administration/post graduation degree in Public Administration from Kerala University.
Speaking about corruption, Krishnakumar is quick to say that in Kerala it is minimal, as compared to other states.
“It must be because of the education levels of the public and the glare of the media which is extremely high,” he says. However, anti-corruption is a challenge and will remain so in the near future.
He has a word of advice for civil service aspirants. “Don’t take up the job because of the glamour,” says Krishnakumar. “It will take you nowhere. Instead, it tends to pull you down. Also, don’t join because you think you can change the world. Because you cannot change the system. The system has existed for years and cannot be changed overnight. But, yes, if you persevere, you will be able to bend it at least by 5 to 10 per cent. And that is an achievement.”
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