New Delhi: Kashish Mittal has a CV that every parent dreams of for their child. He graduated from IIT-Delhi, cracked the UPSC on the first try with AIR 58 and became an IAS officer. But he gave it all up—to sing. And now, he’s become a viral sensation on Instagram.
After more than nine years as an IAS officer, Mittal traded the corridors of power for his first love, Hindustani classical music. That was in 2019, and he hasn’t looked back. His pitch-perfect rendition of Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan’s Unke Andaz-k-Karam in an Instagram reel on 13 July got over six million views. He’s amassed a legion of fans.
But ambitious parents and UPSC aspirants slogging it out in Mukherjee Nagar can’t understand how someone could walk away from the coveted IAS life.
“I had spent almost a decade in the bureaucracy and served in various roles—from Chandigarh to Tawang to Delhi—including stints at NITI Aayog, Ministry of External Affairs, and as a District Commissioner. But music has always been my calling, and I knew I had to pursue it,” said Mittal, a 2010-batch IAS officer who had earlier also cracked the JEE exam with an All India Rank of 4.
Most people sacrifice their childhood dreams at the altar of career growth. But Mittal never forgot his first brush with Hindustani music. He was eight, growing up in Jalandhar, when his father, an IPS officer, and his mother encouraged him to begin formal training.
The discipline and rigour of music shaped his career. He primarily performs Khayal Gayaki from the Agra Gharana and trained under maestro Pandit Yashpaul in the traditional guru-shishya style.
Throughout his life, music remained a constant companion—during his JEE preparation, his IIT days, and even at the Lal Bahadur Shastri National Academy of Administration (LBSNAA).
“Music is my passion, but I also love maths and science, so I chose to go to IIT. My father, being in the Indian Police Service, also inspired me to prepare for civil services. But through all of it, music stayed with me. I performed at IIT and even at LBSNAA—I always carried my tanpura,” said Mittal, who now lives in Chandigarh.
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Music on his mind
Since the reel went viral, Mittal has gained around one lakh new followers. His Instagram account offers a glimpse into both his current life and his previous one. Posts of his music performances sit alongside pictures of him with West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee, Maharashtra CM Devendra Fadnavis, and former President Pranab Mukherjee.
Mittal has posted a second part to his viral reel as well, where he is singing the remaining song. The video reads “Rog doshman ko bhi ya rab na lagana dil ka”. (O Lord, may even my enemy never suffer from the affliction of the heart.) This video got more than 2,80,000 likes and more than 3,000 comments. “Born to be a playback singer forced to be DM aura 10000x,” read one comment.
“In classical music, you have to work really hard on your vocals. That requires a lot of practice. Everything is supposed to be the finest,” said Mittal.
He got more serious about music after getting into IIT Delhi. He enrolled in cultural clubs, organised concerts, got in touch with Spic Macay, which takes Indian classical music to schools and colleges. Accolades soon followed:
He received the Punjab State Award for Art and Culture (2007), the Saraswati Samman by IIT Delhi (2010), and the Naad Shri Samman (2018) for excellence in Hindustani classical music. He also won national scholarships, including the prestigious NTSE (National Talent Search Examination) scholarship and the CCRT (Centre for Cultural Resources and Training) cultural fellowship—both awarded during his school years.
“My overall personality was groomed at IIT Delhi. Spic Macay organises thousands of concerts globally, and I got the exposure there,” said Mittal.
In the fourth year of his engineering, Mittal began his UPSC preparation. He cleared the exam on the first attempt. A lot of students find his journey inspiring. He shone everywhere he went. From IIT-D to LBSNAA and music.
“Indian classical music teaches you concentration and discipline that helps you in other parts of life too. When I was preparing for UPSC, I didn’t have to fight to concentrate, the discipline was inbuilt with music training,” said Miital
During his service, Mittal held posts such as Additional Deputy Commissioner of Chandigarh, Deputy Commissioner of Tawang in Arunachal Pradesh, and Additional Principal Secretary at NITI Aayog. In these key positions, he tried balancing both career obligations and music.
While it was reported that he left the services due to an issue with his posting in Arunachal Pradesh, he said it was merely a coincidence and that he only quit because he wanted to pursue classical music full-time.
“As a performing artist, I wanted to excel at that. I learnt a lot from my service, but music was always there in my mind,” said Mittal.
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Success beyond IAS
UPSC aspirants find Mittal’s story inspiring and reassuring. In an exam where the success rate is less than 1 per cent, his decision to walk away challenges the conventional idea of success.
“We often see that this exam is everything. Once you become an IAS, it’s the final destination, but Kashish Mittal’s journey shows that IAS is not the end of the world,” said Mohit Singh, a UPSC aspirant in Old Rajinder Nagar in Delhi.
Mittal left IAS in 201. First, he moved on to a role as a Principal Research Program Manager at Microsoft Research. Now, he has started his own project.
“We are trying to build tutors through AI to provide quality education,” said Mittal. “This is something I do in parallel with music.”
He’s now becoming an inspiration for lakhs of UPSC and engineering aspirants, showing them how it’s possible to follow their passion while chasing their IAS dreams.
“You choose your world, and for Kashish sir, it’s music. It is inspiring to see,” said Singh.
(Edited by Theres Sudeep)