MYSURU: With perseverance to study and a zeal to achieve big in life, Shyamala (27) from rural Mysuru has made it to the police department by coming second in the police sub-inspector (civil-women) examination. With the results of the exam out a fortnight ago, Shyamala has many firsts to her credit - first woman postgraduate in her village, first woman from her village to become a PSI and first woman in the family to land a government job.
Shyamala's life is a tale of grit and determination. A native of Karthala village, KR Taluk, the 27-year-old had to fight difficulties all through her life. Her father, Murthy Gowda, works as a mason and her mother, Shashikala, takes care of the lone cow they own to make some additional income by selling milk. Shyamala has an elder sister.
Now, having cleared the exam, Shyamala is eagerly looking forward to the foundation training programme which will start in two months."After having gone through so much difficulties in life — from my own relatives humiliating me to hearing abuses from others — I have already set my priorities as to what to do when I start wearing the khaki uniform. I want to help other women in distress ... especially those who are subjected to various kinds of harassment. I want to prove that if a woman is given an opportunity, she can scale new heights," Shyamala told TNIE.
Before clearing the exam, Shyamala had made Bengaluru her second home and stayed away from her parents for nearly one year. She returned to Mysuru after several months to appear for the physical test for PSI exam at the CAR police grounds in Mysuru in November 2018. She returned to Bengaluru again and prepared for the written test which was held in January 2019.
According to Shyamala, her parents were disowned by her paternal grandparents as they did not want a female child. Shyamala's parents just got a share of a cattle shed to live and 1.25 acres of land. Determined to help her parents, after the marriage of her elder sister, Shyamala set foot out of the house in 2013 and started working as a BPO employee in Mysuru.
It was in 2014 that she learnt about the PSI exam and quit the job again and wrote the exam in 2015. But she missed it by a whisker. It was, however, sufficient to boost her confidence level and she decided not to give up.“I joined Himalaya Coaching Centre in Bengaluru. They provided free coaching for civil services aspirants ... I also received a stipend of Rs 6,000 from the government. I spent most of my time at the library. For food, the Indira Canteen there was of great help," she signed off.