Renu Raj says her family pushed her to succeed when she was ready to give up.
Renu Raj, the 27-year-old doctor from Kerala's Kottayam district, is yet to come out of shock. Yesterday, she had been declared the second rank holder in this year's civil services exam conducted by the Union Public Services Commission.
This was her first attempt at the exam, which few candidates crack at one go. Expecting a low rank, Ms Raj had already started preparing for the 2015 prelims.
"I was tense since the previous night and even though I knew the results would be out by afternoon, I did not tell my parents," Ms Raj, who worked at the ESI hospital in Kollam, told NDTV.
"I followed my dad's advice of first securing my career by doing medicine, after which I was married. But my husband and my families made my dreams theirs," she said.
The family hasn't stopped receiving congratulatory calls. Her father Mk Rajakumaran Nair, a retired state road transport employee, said, "After marriage, it is usually the end of dreams for a woman. But in this case, the in-laws, her husband and we as a family, backed Renu at every point."
"It was they who constantly encouraged me and pushed me to achieve this, even when I gave up," Ms Raj added with a wide smile, between being fed sweets.
For the last year, Ms Raj and her parents were staying in Delhi, where she was attending the coaching classes.
"For all those who asked me what would I do with two daughters - my daughters have turned out to be the answers themselves," added her mother BN Latha, a home maker.