Studied at IIT, cracked UPSC exam at 21 to become IAS officer, quit after few years due to.., he is now..
The Civil Services Examination(CSE) is one of the toughest exams in India. Every year, thousands of aspirants appear for the exam. The examination is held in three phases. Several people appear for exams to become IAS, IPS, IFS, and other prestigious civil servants in India. Many individuals, despite becoming IAS officers and having spent several years in their bureaucratic careers, choose to leave their respected positions in pursuit of something different. In this article, we will talk about the success story of IAS Kashish Mittal, an IIT graduate from IIT Delhi, who chose to leave his civil services career to pursue his passion for classical music.
Who is the IAS officer who gave it all up for music?
Kashish Mittal secured All India Rank(AIR) 58 in the Civil Services Examination and became an IAS officer. After spending nearly nine years in that role, Kashish quit his job to pursue his passion for classical music. Kashish is originally from Punjab. He pursued his Computer Science degree from IIT Delhi.
What positions did Kashish Mittal serve while working as a civil servant?
Kashish’s passion for Hindustani classical music made him pursue the performing art all along his academic years at IIT and during his tenure in the IAS. After serving in government for nine years, Kashish took a call to leave the coveted civil service to pursue his passion for Hindustani classical music.
He assumed several prestigious positions in his civil service career. He worked as an Additional Deputy Commissioner of Chandigarh, Deputy Commissioner of Tawang in Arunachal Pradesh. In addition, he even served as Additional Principal Secretary at NITI Aayog.
Kashish Mittal was born in Jalandhar in 1989 to IPS officer Jagdish Kumar and Sangeeta Mittal. At the age of eight years, Kashish was initiated into Hindustani Classical Music under Prof. Harvinder Singh, along with his younger brother Lavish, as reported on the official page of Kashish Mittal. Kashish gave his first performance at the age of eleven at the Harivallabh Sangeet Sammelan in Punjab.
Furthermore, Kashish moved under the tutelage of Pandit Yashpaul, maestro of the Agra Gharana, according to the Guru Shishya Parampara. He underwent rigorous training under Pt. Yashpaul, and learnt the fine nuances of Khayal gayaki in the Agra Gharana style of singing. At the age of 21, Kashish joined the coveted Indian Administrative Service (IAS). Kashish is considered one of the very promising young artistes of Agra Gharana and has carved a special place for himself in the Indian classical musical scene.
As per the website(kashishmittal.in), he has been recognized as an ‘A Grade’ artiste by the All India Radio & Doordarshan and an ‘Established artiste’ by the Indian Council for Cultural Relations, Government of India. He has been conferred with numerous awards and honours, including the Punjab State Award for Art & Culture by Hon’ble Chief Minister Punjab (2007), Saraswati Samman by IIT Delhi (2010), Naad Shri Samman for significant contribution to Hindustani Classical Music (2018), among others.
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