New Delhi: Pushpendra Shrivastava is the oldest government job aspirant in New Delhi’s Mukherjee Nagar, the heart of UPSC coaching institutes. He has given 73 preliminary examinations, 43 Mains examinations and 8 interviews for State and Union Public Service Commissions in the last 27 years. At 47 going on 48, he ain’t done yet.
Shrivastava has gamed the circuitous system. He has learned to stay on top of all government notifications regarding appointments, including age relaxations.
“I decided to become an officer and I won’t stop until I become one,” he says.
A Wednesday afternoon finds him huddled over his desk in his one-room flat near Mukherjee Nagar surrounded by newspapers, maps, books, and his notes on the ongoing election campaign, the complexity of electoral bonds and current affairs. He is busy preparing for the interview round for the Madhya Pradesh Public Service Commission. The cut-off age in Madhya Pradesh was 40 years, which the state government increased to 43 in 2022 following the Covid-19 pandemic while relaxing the age limit by five more years for reserved categories (EWS, SC, ST, OBC) and women. Shrivastava cleared the Mains and is confident of clearing the next level. He’s so close, he can almost taste success.
“I have been clearing Prelims and Mains; I am positive about my upcoming result.”
But just in case he doesn’t, he has one more exam in his kitty.
“A vacancy for a Block Education Officer [in Bihar Public Service Commission] was supposed to happen in 2011 but it got delayed. I was eligible for the exam and will give it when the notification is released,” he says with a grin.
I decided to become an officer and I won’t stop until I become one
Shrivastava landed in Mukherjee Nagar 24 years ago. People who studied with him have gone on to join the steel frame as IPS and IAS officers. Others have become coaches in top institutes. And most gave up and moved on to different career tracks. But Shrivastava remains like a sailor on the last life raft in turbulent waters, a well-known fixture in Mukherjee Nagar.
“I have studied with Vikas Divyakirti,” he says, referring to the author-educator YouTube influencer who teaches at Drishti IAS coaching institute. “I have studied with [IPS] Manoj Sharma and [IRS] Shraddha Sharma [the real-life couple on whose lives the movie 12th Fail is based]. All of them call me and wish me well. Nobody had discouraged me or asked me to quit,” Shrivastava says, scrolling through photos of him with Manoj Sharma in a vanity van. The Bollywood movie was a Box Office hit and received critical acclaim.
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The test that never ends
Shrivastava has found fame in his corner of Mukherjee Nagar. He’s “Pushpendra Bhaiya” to new cohorts. The all-knowing ‘elder’ evokes awe and horror among GenZ aspirants in equal measure. He is a reminder of what could happen to all of them in this desperate race to become a government officer.
“This exam is indeed important. But seeing him makes me wonder if it is important enough and worth our entire youth. This is madness,” says Jaideep Mishra, one of the thousands of aspirants who have made Mukherjee Nagar their temporary home.
Shrivastava epitomises India’s craze for government jobs, what Sanjeev Sanyal calls a “waste of youthful energy”.
I moved to Delhi in 2000 and I used to pay Rs 750 rent. Now, the rent for my current room is Rs 12,000 per month
But unlike Mishra’s set-up, there’s a permanence in Shrivastava’s living quarters. He has been occupying the same room in a three-storey building since 2009.
“I moved to Delhi in 2000 and I used to pay Rs 750 rent. Now, the rent for my current room is Rs 12,000 per month,” said Shrivastava, pulling out a snack box from a shelf. A small bed, wooden almirah, an air conditioner, and a heater are the sum total of his belongings. Besides the financial support from his family, he earns supplementary income by collaborating with a coaching institute.
There are nine Hindi-speaking states in India and Shrivastava has attempted the examination for each public service commission these states have held over the years. He has taken flights, trains, and buses to travel to Lucknow, Patna, Haridwar, and to his home town in Madhya Pradesh’s Chhatarpur district. There were times when he had less than a day between two exams.
“One year, I had an exam in Lucknow and another in Haridwar within 24 hours. I had to take the flight to Delhi from Lucknow, and then a bus to Haridwar. Another time I went to Patna from Meerut,” said Shrivastava, who missed some of the exams because the dates clashed.
I filled out my B.Ed and MPPCS forms and cleared both exams, but I did not want to become a teacher
Shrivastava’s parents, both teachers, wanted him to follow in their footsteps. But his heart wasn’t in it. After completing his Master’s degree in science, he tried to follow the path they had laid out for him.
“I filled out my B.Ed and MPPCS forms and cleared both exams, but I did not want to become a teacher,” he said.
Instead, like countless Indians, he set his sights on India’s bureaucracy. “I went to Allahabad and started preparing for the UPSC,” Shrivastava recounted, having spent three years there before relocating to Delhi.
The exam pattern has undergone changes since Shrivastava attempted the UPSC in his twenties. Back then, candidates from the General category were permitted four attempts, and the age limit was 30. Today, General category candidates can give six attempts and must be over 32 years of age.
This exam is indeed important. But seeing him makes me wonder if it is important enough and worth our entire youth. This is madness
—a UPSC aspirant in Mukherjee Nagar
“I gave exams with two optional subjects and cleared the Prelims every time,” said Shrivastava, who never advanced to the UPSC interview level. Defeated, but not out, he turned his attention to the state public service commissions (PSCs), where the age cut-off is higher. The limit is 40 years in Uttar Pradesh, 42 in Uttarakhand, and 43 in Haryana and Madhya Pradesh.
“I am still doing it because I have [remaining] attempts, and I am getting positive results. I believe I can succeed. I have set my goal, and I am chasing it,” says Shrivastava.
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Support that keeps him going
If Shrivastava has any regrets, he doesn’t speak about them. While he cannot stop the passage of time, he goes out of his way to fit in with the tide of young aspirants that flow in and out of Mukherjee Nagar.
Looking young is important to him. He dyes his hair, prefers a contemporary look of jeans with a T-shirt, and exercises to stay fit. Free weights and rods are stashed in one corner of the room.
“I follow a healthy lifestyle. I try to sleep 6-7 hours every day and do yoga also. And I keep healthy, which is important while studying,” he says.
His family, too, seems to have embraced his determination. There is no pressure to get married—not any more.
“When my father was alive, he did ask me to get married. I used to tell him that he can look for a girl after my interview. When I did not make it to that interview, another exam was waiting for me, and time went by,” Shrivastava reminisced.
Preparing for a competitive examination can be a costly endeavour—with expenses ranging from coaching fees to accommodation, food, and study material amounting to lakhs of rupees.
Since he began his preparation, there have always been exams. We want him to be successful. This is what he wants
—brother Jayendra Shrivastava
“In 2004, I got a job in publishing, but I felt that I was not able to give my best to my PCS preparation, so I left within a month. By God’s grace, I am lucky that I did not have to worry about financial aspects, as I was getting help from my family,” says Shrivastava, whose younger brother, 37-year-old Jayendra, is a lawyer and remains active in local politics in Madhya Pradesh.
Jayendra, too, attempted to enter the civil services. However, after five years of getting nowhere, he turned to law. Nevertheless, he wants his brother to keep going.
“Since he began his preparation, there have always been exams. We want him to be successful. This is what he wants,” said Jayendra.
Even in this never-ending cycle of studying and giving exams, Shrivastava acknowledges that he is fortunate to have a strong support system.
“My brother is the Laxman of Kalyuga, even better than him,” he says, as he gets ready to hit the books again.
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A warning for others
Over the years, Shrivastava has taken on the role of a mentor to young aspirants who have left their small towns to come to Delhi. Some have taken out loans. Others have never lived in a big city before. He shares strategies on how to clear the Prelims and the Mains. Sleep, Practice. Rinse. Repeat.
“At first, it came as a shock that someone could prepare for that long. But as my journey began, I started to realise that you start living this preparation,” says Sanrakshan Shukla, who has attempted UPSC Prelims four times, UPPSC Mains one time, and is preparing for his Uttarakhand PSC interview. He has been living in Mukherjee Nagar for the past five years. “If you get to the interview level, then there is some calibre in you.”
However, for other aspirants, Shrivastava serves as a warning of what could happen to any of them. A reminder that their chances of being selected are low. Last year, around 10 lakh people had applied for the UPSC; only 1,016 were selected.
All the residents in the building where Shrivastava resides are civil service aspirants, most in their mid-twenties. As he leaves his room and walks down the stairs, everyone stops to greet him.
“Good luck with the interview, bhaiya! You will make it to the final list this time, for sure,” said one aspirant who walked on ahead.
(Edited by Prashant)
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