It started as a sudden surge of patriotism after a cricket win and a movie, but ended up becoming a story of extreme perseverance by the time Kishu Singh of Bihar’s Saran district made it to the Indian Army this year, after 14 attempts at various exams to enter the defence forces.
He was nine years old, and that was the year Team India won the cricket World Cup on home soil. About four months later, after an Independence Day event, he watched the movie ‘Border’ on television. “I was deeply inspired by the character of Second Lieutenant Dharamvir, played by Akshaye Khanna. But it took years, a testing time through which his family’s support kept him going. He recalled that every time he faced rejection at the SSB stage, his father would insist he book a flight instead of taking the train. During the written exam phase, the focus was heavily on academics, though he maintained his physical exercise regimen alongside. The SSB interview stage proved to be the biggest challenge in Kishu’s journey; he managed to clear that interview only on his 14th attempt. Once he got in, the family decided not to make a big show of it until the medical examination and other processes were done.
He said the dream of joining the armed forces took root in his mind in 2011. Sunny Deol headlined the 1997 movie, but Kishu, watching it over a decade later, identified with another character. He said he would dedicate 5-6 hours in the morning to mathematics, followed by around two hours for English and 4-5 hours to other subjects.
“I just accepted that somewhere I was lacking, so I wanted to give 100% every time,” he told NDTV as he visited his family. “I introspected, became more natural and completely honest while highlighting my strengths and weaknesses at the interview stage, and that helped me,” he added, speaking specifically of the final step of the process conducted by the Service Selection Board (SSB). It was then that I decided I would become an officer in the Indian Army,” Kishu Singh said. His father and elder brother are businessmen; “they taught me that no matter how daunting a challenge might be, one must face it with a calm mind and never give up,” he said. “Each time, my family would welcome me at the airport with sweets to ensure that my morale remained high,” he said.
