Toppers talk to you

Dateline Mussoorie. The campus of the Lal Bahadur

Shastri National Academy of Administration was bustling
with activity. The new batch of IAS probationers had just
arrived at the academy, a couple of weeks before on
September 8. It was an altogether different life for them
after years of preparation and a gruelling competitive
examination. A picturesque hill station, an academy with
excellent infrastructure, hostel rooms with a PC with the
Internet to surf on, activities ranging from physical
training to horse riding and a whole lot of cultural
associations they are busy right from 5.30 in the
morning till 9.30 in the night!
Please come after 9.30 pm, whoever I met during the
day pleaded. I had to comply.
At night, the Mall was empty. There were no rickshaw
pullers, no taxis and no tourists, owing to an off season
which has robbed the hill station of its liveliness. I had
to scale about three kilometres from the Mall to the
LBSNAA, that too for the second time in the same day.
Expecting sleepy hostels after a day full of activities it
was a surprise to see the probationers still on their feet
some watching the Sahara Cup, some busy with a
mess meeting, an orchestra was playing on in one of the
hostel rooms and some were cooling their heels after

their first riding session.

RITA SINGH
Rita could be aptly described as exceptional, in the true
sense of the word. Born and brought up in Canada she
did her graduation from Delhi and moved on to IITKanpur where later she worked for a couple of years on
a research project.
I didnt know what to do. Life was little disturbed by the
yet-to-be-decided renunciation of my citizenship (she
was a Canadian citizen). I had already applied for an
MBA in American universities. Till 1992 I wanted to go
back. I was in two minds regarding my citizenship go
back to Canada or stay in India.
Then I changed my mind. I decided to stay in India.
See, you are a second class citizen in Canada. Thats
what I didnt want to become again. Though I have been
here for quite a long time, I still dont feel totally
accepted here too. The upkeep of social values are still
considered important here. It was at this point I thought
about the Civil Services. Others do it for blunt reasons
social prestige, respect, power, monetary benefits etc
etc. For me, the Civil Services was a passport into social
acceptability. Then you have an aura of respectability
about you. People accept your labour rather than you.
Of course, that may be a secondhand way to get
incorporated into the social system, but it is enough for
me, sighs Rita.

At one point she was on the verge of being disowned by

the country where she was born and brought up and
discarded by the country where her roots lie. Having
won a major part of the battle, shes quite happy and
content that here at LBSNAA people have stopped
listening to my accent, the way I live, I dress and
whatever is associated with me.
With the identity crisis looming large how did she
manage to prepare for the Civil Services?
I started in a very haphazard way, without consulting
anyone or anything.
For Rita victory came a little late, for she had many
battles to be fought and won. For my first and second
attempts I hadnt really made up my mind. I was semiserious. By the third attempt I was very sure that I
wanted the Civil Services and I got 238th rank that time
and was allotted a post in the Indian Information
Service. This was my fourth and last chance and I was
ranked 6th. That too with a distinction she was the
topper among girls.
I was curious about her optional subjects. She was a
Maths graduate and then she was at IIT and later she
was also interested in joining an MBA course in America.
Psychology and English Literature.
It was a surprise. She was a Maths graduate and Maths
was widely considered as a high-scoring subject.

It was just out of inclination, nothing else, she smiles.

See, I told you that there was no one to guide me. My
parents didnt know a thing about the exam. I should
have been told that English Literature is not a scoring
subject. And I definitely want to warn prospective
candidates against this subject. Scoring 50 per cent in
English Literature is an uphill task, it is almost
impossible.
Then how did she manage?
I dont know. Somehow, it seems, I have broken some
records.
But Psychology is a scoring subject, she adds.
She took coaching from Vajiram & Rao for Psychology,
for her third attempt. It was pretty good, she recalls
while talking about the coaching classes. They were
very down to earth. My problem was that being from a
research background I was too research oriented. I tend
to delve deep into books and journals. Thats not the
way. You have to be very professional about it.
The Mains exam is an applied one. You must know the
requirements of the exam. It is a process of bringing out
how to apply what you know about academic subjects in
real work, specially in the Indian context.
Both my subjects were totally new to me which made
me to start right from the fundamentals. In the process
of mugging up everything, I ended up reading a lot on

these subjects. You have to get the right books, they

hold the key.
What she has to say is precise. Understand the subject.
Orient yourself towards the Indian context and how to
apply it.
For example, in Psychology there is topic called social
deprivation the underprivileged classes, what
psychological consequences they suffer. You can quote a
lot from western studies, since in the west the topic has
been widely written about. But you are not supposed to
do that. You have to talk about the underprivileged in
India, in this specific socio-cultural system. This you
have to study and present in an original and
constructive way giving solutions.
Even in English Literature, you have to be Indiaspecific, though it seems impossible. Suppose you are
studying TS Eliots Waste Land, you can talk about
spiritual aridity, but you are supposed to connect it to
the Indian context too.
For general studies, limit your scope of study. Dont
spread yourself too much you are not supposed to do
research in various topics, not start studying science &
technology. Just pick up one or two good books and go
through them in order to gain an insight into the topic.
Thats more than enough.
She concentrated on reading a daily newspaper and a
financial newspaper everyday to keep up-to-date on

current affairs. I dont suggest reading magazines for

the written exam. They are for interviews.
For the essay paper, it is advisable not to do any extra
preparation. You ought to be spontaneous and fresh.
Here you have to write on a subject you cannot possibly
prepare for. The topic I chose was Truth is lived not
taught, leaving all the heavy topics like the United
Nations and Education in India today. I got 143 marks
out of 200. In the previous attempt I got 160, which was
pretty exceptional.
How about her studying hours?
I dont think you should study more than 6-9 hours.
Because people get stuck. Going beyond 6-9 hours
means you are inviting more stress, you need to refresh
yourself after long hours of study.
I studied perfectly alone, except for the classes at
Vajiram & Rao. If you think a group will help, go ahead.
But personally I feel it is a waste of time. You tend to
talk too much, you get divergent opinions and views,
your concentration scatters. What you need is to know
what the exam is about. Then get in touch with good
people who know about the exam and could guide you.
But studying in groups on a consistent basis is not good
for the preparation.

Manish Singh

Manish, who hails from Madhya Pradesh, was an

engineering student at BITS-Pilani. He had valid reasons
for coming to Delhi. Delhi is the place you get all the
information, coaching centres and lot of dedicated
students taking the Civil Services exam. I had friends
who were taking this exam and staying in Delhi.
So its rather obvious that he applied in Delhi University
and joined the law classes.
He cleared his third attempt ranking 8th, the first and
second attempts taking him only till the interview and
Mains levels respectively.
There is something interesting about his second
optional. He took Geography for the Prelims, leaving
behind Instrumentation (the subject he had at BITS)
and Maths Maths because he was fed up with it. He
had planned to take Electrical Engineering as his second
optional but couldnt because someone with whom he
was supposed to prepare for the subject had left Delhi.
So he had to settle for Anthro, that too after giving the
Prelims!
Basically what helped me was the preparation during
my first attempt. That time I had put in lot of hard work
and that helped in all my following attempts.
For the general studies paper (it has three parts) the
best material which he found was IGNOUs Modern India
booklets. They dont cover the whole syllabus, but are
enough to take care of major areas. For the remaining

topics I relied on guides and coaching materials.

Reading newspapers and magazines regularly is
considered as a necessity among the candidates. Manish
was no exception. Regular reading will surely pay, he
recalls. In the end you have your own list of topics from
which questions are likely to be asked. You can also
refer to the shortlist provided by various coaching
institutes. Since they are in this business for long years
they know better; they give you an idea as to what are
the major areas where you should focus on.
The law classes at DU had helped him while preparing
for the polity part in the general studies paper. Manish
has taken his coaching classes seriously and relied a lot
upon the material prepared by them. He had access to
many of such materials through his friends all from
the Jubilee Hall, which is considered as the mecca of
competitive examinations.
According to Manish newspapers which are less spicy
and more informative will help while preparing for the
essay paper. Take a story, read it and then try to write
it yourself. You can also identify areas from where topics
are expected, and finally concentrate on two-three
areas.
Moving on to his optional subjects he says that there is
no consolidated material where you get everything for
the Geography paper I which is a theory-based one.
Depending on topics you have to rely on different books.

Dont read the whole book. But focus on the areas which
are mentioned in the syllabus.
Geography paper II requires a wide reading. Other than
standard books, Yojana and relevant materials in
newspapers/ magazines will make good reading. For
paper II you have to be slightly inventive. Here you have
to supplement your answers with maps, diagrams and
dates etc and try to make it more up-to-date.
Try to be more geographical in your presentation.
Tackle the problems region-wise. I believe that will get
you good marks. For the Anthro papers he entirely
relied on coaching materials. I didnt go through any
books other than the notes provided by Interactions.
NEELESH KUMAR
Neelesh Kumar is a civil servant in the making with a
difference despite being ranked at the 7th position in
the Civil Services examination he opted for IPS. Many
would have considered leaving the comfortable and
high-profile job of an IAS officer a foolish act, but
Neelesh is least concerned because he loves
challenges.
Its a matter of choice. There are many people who go
into IPS because they did not get IAS. I was not
interested in IAS. It is largely desk work. IPS was my
right choice since I had the temperament.
Isnt it risky?

Well, it has the fun. Zindagi jeeni hai to mauth se kya

darna?
Neelesh was working with the railways as an assistant
mechanical engineer a Class I employee at
Bangalore before he was bitten by the IAS bug. He
couldnt clear the exam at the first attempt. I wasnt
serious enough. Though I wrote the Mains in the first
attempt, I didnt get through, he says.
Maths and Anthropology were my optionals Maths
because it was the only subject I understood and Anthro
because I had to choose one more subject for the
Mains, came the cheeky answer when asked about the
optionals.
Neelesh, energetic in his appearance and emphatic
about what he says, had some advice for the aspirants
regarding his favourite subject, Maths. If somebody
knows Maths, he should take Maths. Its a make or
break subject. Thats a warning, I guess. If you are
comfortable with Maths you should take it, but if you are
not it is better to leave it.
According to him the Mains is a slogging exam. The
more you slog, the higher your marks. Its not an exam
to test your intelligence. It is more analysis-based and
fact- based, he adds.
I took two months leave and prepared day and night. I
slept at 2 am and got up at 7 in the morning. I needed
tea at midnight. I used to wake up my mother and say I

am hungry. She too slogged as much as I did. A lot of

credit for my success goes to my mother for the support
she gave me. My father too helped me a lot he
advised me about what to do and what not to and gave
me mental support, which is important. He is a doctorhe couldnt help me out in the actual preparation for the
optionals. For the personality test, he used to conduct
mock interviews for me.
Neelesh was lucky enough to have relatives who were in
related professions. His cousin is in the IAS. She too had
Anthro as one of her optionals. Another relative is an
anthropologist. The guidance they provided were of
immense help, he remembers.
He attended coaching classes for his first attempt when
he was in Delhi. For the general studies paper he went
to Vajiram & Rao and for Anthro he attended Vaids. I
didnt go for coaching classes for my second attempt.
Once you get the coaching it is enough, you get the
notes, you get to know how to study. Nobody can teach
you. They can just guide you. You got to study for
yourself.
Getting hold of standard books plays an important role
in the preparation. There are books available on each
and every topic, for example, Vidyarthis Tribal India,
Majumdars Social Anthropology etc.
Prospective candidates, particularly in big cities, come
together for their preparation, in what they call peer

groups. It helps a lot in sorting out ones problems,

sharing notes and view points, and tackling the exam in
a strategic and planned way. But Neelesh was a loner. I
was slightly different from my friends. They studied
together. I was comfortably posted and had a world of
my own. I was alone for whatever I did for the sake of
the exam.
He was at his eloquent best when he recollected Paper II
of the Maths examination. It was really good. If you
start writing 15 questions (each paper has 15 questions)
that itself will take three hours. The moment you are
going to attempt the problem, you should know what it
is. I was quite happy that I completed the exam half-anhour before the stipulated time. I got good marks for
the paper 268 out of 300.
Maths Paper-I was okay. I could attempt only 11 or 12
questions out of 15.
Anthro too was an okay paper. I was an engineering
student. Anthro being a theory paper my writing skills
had to be honed. Keeping this in mind I used to take
mock exams in this subject. I used to take a particular
topic, say family, and sit down and write short notes and
essays on it. By this method you can easily structure
your answer if you get a question on the same topic.
It seems that the UPSC is very consistent on being
inconsistent in the syllabus of some subjects,
particularly Anthro. Agrees Neelesh, The syllabus has

almost doubled in recent years. I believe it is to

discourage students since too many of them opt for
Anthro.
The coaching he took for the general studies paper for
the first attempt came handy for the second attempt
also. Other than general magazines, competitive
magazines too helped him to be up-to-date in current
affairs. While he read competitive magazines for the
sake of gaining knowledge, reading general news
magazines were out of sheer interest. You cant go on
reading text books for the whole day and night. You
have to relax also. I used to take time out to read
magazines like India Today and Frontline. It was my way
of relaxing. It was definitely informative also.
Presence of mind and writing skills are what counts
while attempting the essay paper. Mock written exams
for the Anthro paper had helped to develop his writing
skills, Neelesh recalls.