Al Ngullie
Dimapur | May 19
For 29 years old Kesonyu, the journey has been long, wrought in much discouragement and a stumble more than too many to pop his balloon. Today, the dream he’d clung to, has led him to a place where he now has his fingers crossed.
But thankfully, it’s a “finger-crossed” of the good kind this time for him. For this Kohima village native, his finger-crossing tendencies are confined to, only to which administrative chair he would be delegated after securing a commendable slot in the recent UPSC 2006 edition. Yhome emerged 244th out of 474 rankers.
Kesonyu Yhome joined the select club of Union Public Service Commission-passed Nagas when the commission declared May 15 the list of UPSC candidates for 2006 who would now make an automatic pledge to serve the people and the county, via the three most revered letters of the English alphabet in India – IAS. Or, Indian Administrative Services.
“Well, I was surprised. Really” Yhome gushed when The Morung Express congratulated him on the noteworthy achievement. Surprised? “Yes, I expected a good result but not at such a high ranking” the Kohima Don Bosco School alumnus confessed. Yhome emerged 244th out of 474 rankers and of the four Nagas who made it. Temsunaro Jamir, also from Nagaland, ranked 452nd. The others are reported to be Chiphang Arthur, MC Omi Ningshen (446th) and Worngam Ningshen (441st).
But Yhome is smiling not so much for the rank as he is for the finality of his dream coming true – he fought the UPSC papers four times. The fourth attempt found him lucky with the happy stars. “I was always interested in administrative services and wanted to be in the field (of serving the people)” Yhome explained, reflecting on why he’d made four attempts.
Right after graduating from Kohima Science College in 2002, Yhome burrowed his entire self into beating the UPSC. He left for Delhi where, for a couple of years, he received coaching. As a prelude to his dream to land a slot through the UPSC, Yhome returned to Nagaland and gave a shot at NPSC 2006 papers. He cleared the NPSC, clear as a whistle. But UPSC still proved a worthy dream to be pursued and ‘defeated.’
“In the first two attempts, I did not even clear the preliminaries” he pointed out the dregs of his frustrating journey. “On the third I was able to sit for the Mains” Yhome explained. Today he has not to try anymore. “Maybe the time was not right (the earlier attempts). But I felt I could clear it no matter what” Yhome informed adding with satisfaction that the fourth proved the ‘right time.’ Yhome felt right to mention his family and yes, the hand of the Almighty Himself as the inspiration. “I believed in His divine grace” the Kohima village native acknowledged the good Lord.
So what messages have you for our Naga students aspiring to beat the UPSC? “I Think Nagas have good potential. I have lots of friends and (family members) who have attempted it. A couple of time, however, would have got them through” he sighed. Still he held opinion that Nagas have good exposure to the higher tenets of education. This should be harnessed and made good use of to succeed in the UPSC. “And energy and lots of effort” he added.
Kesonyu Yhome is son to Mrs. Rufokhrieuu Angami and is presently residing in Kohima. His father Late Y Vikralie Angami was joint director of Industries before he passed away in 1991. Attributing his success to the prayers and support of his family, Yhome said to move in his “dream area” sooner the delegation of posts are made by the government. And like they say, the IAS is about star letters. Yhome deserves it.
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