Mother died before UPSC mains,father before she ranked 10

When her mother died last July,four months before the UPSC main examination,T Mithra almost gave up her Civil Services dream. But father S Thrivikraman Nair,who retired from the government as Under Secretary,helped her fight back tears and focus on the exam. On Monday evening,when the phone rang at the Nair home in Petta in the city to break the news that Mithra had ranked 10,she was mourning the death of her father who passed away last Friday after sustaining serious injuries in a fall.

“There was no celebration,my beacons of inspiration were gone. But I distributed sweets to visitors as I didn’t want others to be let down by my personal loss.” Twenty-six-year-old Mithra,a post-graduate in English literature and a research scholar in Kerala University,is the younger of the two Nair daughters — sister Chithra is a lecturer.

“My achievement is the greatest tribute to my parents who wanted me to return home with the IAS honour. I have accomplished their dream. I will do my best in the future.”

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When Mithra left for New Delhi to appear in the UPSC interview in March,her father,lying on a hospital bed,somehow managed to wish her all the best.

“Father had helped me source books,study material. He made an album of newspaper cuttings to keep me in touch with current affairs. Earlier,mother would take care of all my needs so that I wouldn’t get distracted from studies. They helped me at every stage without applying any pressure to take the Civil Services exam,” she recalled.