Banking to railways, top cop saw it all!

Up close and personal

Speaking at a special lecture organised jointly by Jnanabutti and district administration on Sunday, he advised the youngsters, who listened with rapt attention, “Don’t lose sight of your goal.”

Reminiscing about his career, Agarwal mentioned that he started his career in a bank and later was hired by the Indian Railways.

Sharing a joke with the aspirants, he said that when he moved from banking to railways, people used to make fun of him and say, ‘Ab toh aap TT banjayenge (Now, you’ll become a TT)’.

Commissioner at his best

A normally reticent Agarwal turned quite enthusiastic as he recounted his struggle to enter the civil services.

Despite being a silver medallist in both graduation and post graduation, he told them he had failed twice during his attempt to get into the civil services.

However, he blames it on taking the combination of Commerce and Economics.

Rueing that he had taken Economics twice, Agarwal said that he rarely met anybody who got into UPSC with that combination. During his third and final attempt, Agarwal decided to take the combination of Commerce and Public Administration.

However, the question paper that was set during that time turned out to be quite difficult.

Difficult experiences

“I saw my dreams shattering. I was so dejected and I thought of getting up and walking out. But something held me back and for the first 20 minutes I didn’t write anything,” he reminisced with a smile. Not to be bogged down, Agarwal decided to write whatever he knew and as they say, ‘The rest is history’.

Confidence builder

Infusing confidence in the youth, Agarwal said, “Please study with a good heart.” Have the belief that you want to chase your dreams and you will succeed, he added to receive a thunderous round of applause.

While it was a walk down the memory lane for the police chief, it was an experienced hand helping them take their first steps towards their aim.