From a girl who couldn't speak in English to cracking the IAS entrance like a boss, the story of Surabhi Gautam is inspiring

Surabhi made sure that every setback was just a new challenge she had to ace

“Tumhe English bolni nai aati?”

* long pause*

*wants earth to swallow you up*

Or picture this, you are among your new ‘friends' or colleagues at work, and you pronounced a word wrong. Do you feel ashamed? Well, you aren’t’ alone.

I remember my first day in college. I am from a small town In Assam and even though I had completed my education in an English medium school, we used to mostly converse in the vernacular.

So when I stepped into the English lit class of a prestigious college in Delhi University, and heard everyone speak in fluent English, I felt like a failure, an outsider and somehow very insignificant.

Yes, lack of fluency in English can make you feel like this in our country. And you and me aren't the only people who have felt like this. Surabhi Gautam, an IAS officer too felt, 'higher education is not meant for me' because she could no speak in English.

Surabhi has a long list of achievements to her credit at the young age of 25

Surabhi was born in an orthodox Brahmin family in the village of Satna in Madhya Pradesh. We hear of struggles in village life, but Surabhi lived through them—from inadequate medical attention to lack of electricity.

It may read like a story, except that it’s all true. She struggled with being just another child in her joint family and the one thing that kept her going despite all difficulties is her will to shine, to become “gaon ki beti kaisi ho, surabhi gautam jaisi ho”.

Surabhi Gautam of Satna made her family and village want to let let girls dream and fly. Source Facebook

It was a random thought that propelled Surabhi’s career choice. When she passed her class 10 boards and found herself on the state merit list, a reporter came to interview her. He wanted to know what her ‘career choice’ was going to be.

Surabhi had no idea. She had always focused on excelling on what she did. But then she could recall the word ‘collector’ and said it. That was the headline of the paper the very next day, and she had accidentally chosen her career.

Worst day of my life

The first day of college for the girl whose entire village was waiting for their daughter to shine. But the girl from the Hindi medium school did not know to frame a sentence in English. She could not answer a basic question of Physics because she didn’t know English.

She was by the way, the recipient of the APJ Abdul Kalam scholarship for securing the highest marks in Science.

Surabhi's experiences are tinspiring for every single person. Source YouTube

She stopped the whole university—because she might not know how to speak in English but she knew how to not fail.

And that’s not all.

Here is a list of her achievements:

A nuclear scientist in Bhabha Atomic Research Centre at Mumbai

First woman to have topped the Indian Engineering Services exam

AIR 50 in UPSC CSE 2016,

She could have led a comfortable life post her feat in the engineering exams. But she chose to go back to her roots and do something about the condition of her village first.  So, she cleared her exam and became the ‘collector’ she wanted to.

Not being fluent in English wasn’t going to stop her from flying. And that’s what her video teaches us—to not give up, no matter how bad the circumstances may be.

Here's Surabhi inspiring other dreamers like her :