Trek Experience Part-4

Day4 (Har ki doon-Osla-Taluka)

It was freezing at Harkidoon in the morning which is located at around 3600 metres. So probably the temperature dipped to negative part of scale at night. I went out for my morning ritual as usual. By this time I was quite Ok with doing it outside( probably getting into my muscle memory!!!). But the water of the stream was so chilled that my hand and legs collapsed for some tym.  Anyways that stream was coming out of a glacier which was just a kilometre away!!!.

            It was a long trek that day. We were supposed to cover the entire return journey from Harkidoon to Taluka via Osla which we took 2 days to cover while going up. Around 30 kms had to be covered in a day’s time which consisted of descend of around 1000 metres.

            So we started early. Photography and loitering were almost banned inorder to save time. We had our breakfast at the forest guest house( guess the food!!!). Tiwari ji(Baibhav) was seen distributing sweets- it was his birthday!!!. He assured us a party( we went to Tavern at Mussorie after coming back, according to him that was the best B’day party ever). Sharing your birthday with Gandhiji and Shastriji is something very nice- you get an official holiday!!! But the problem is with the ‘dry day’ thing.

Anyways Tiwari ji is gandhian all the way- no meat , no alcohol( He was sipping some fancy flavoured tea at Tavern where almost everybody else was drowning in liquid which was coming out of coloured bottles).

            The first group started early( around 4 people who were by this time famous(??) for reaching first were in that group- They were given the responsibility to  make sure that we get food at right time at Osla). For the first time, the entire group was in mission mode- we were walking very fast, surpassing the khachhars on the way!!! We covered substantial amount of distance in initial 2 hrs of trek. But while descending it hurts at knees as the entire pressure of body comes to it. After a while I felt like my knees are getting stiffened. I used the stick to the best and tried  not to give pressure to my right knee as almost 20 kms of trek was still left. Some how we reached Osla at around 12.30 pm. We were welcome by a smiling Malik saab(our GL). I went straight to the guest house lobby and stretched for a while on the sofa. By this time we had started valuing the small small things in life that we take for granted otherwise in day to day life- sleeping on a sofa was never better. We had our lunch at the dhaba( aaloo rajma). Rakhee ji suggested me to take an MR(muscle relaxtant) from Shena. I did so and we started for Taluka.

            After a while that MR started working and I felt better. I would have taken a combiflam had Rakhee ji not told me about that MR thing. So it’s always advisable to consult a doctor than doing quackery!!!

 It was fourthday without mobile network and people were desparate to call their near and dear ones- in particular the married people!!!. We came to know that STD facilitiy is available at a village near the maggi point( this was the place where we had maggi on the way to Osla). Rakhee, Irina and Baibhav went to call and were seen coming happy. Rakhee was happy that she could talk to her 6 yr old daughter-( mother-child relation is special, no conditionalities atall).

We took break for some time at the maggi point, unfortunately that was closed that day. Our GL came up with an idea of going to Taluka from that place through a short cut. Some locals had told him that the short cut is straight and there is less ups and downs. The route was just along the river. We asked the khachhar walas but they declined by saying there are some blockades due to fall of tree which khachchars cant navigate. It was enough of a warning but we didn’t listen and started along the river- the short cut. For initial half hour or so it was too good- almost level path and was not rocky at all. We were happy that we took a nice decision. But after a while things strated changing.

We came across those points where the trees had fallen which had literally blocked the path. We had to crawl down the trees at several places to cross that. It was thick forest and as we were walking very close to the river, we could hear the roaring sound of the river. After few minutes we came to a point which was almost like ‘lands end’- there was no path beyond that point along the river and the river had narrowed down dangerously at that point and was making frightening sounds!!. Everybody was perplexed. The same people who were in awe for malik saab started cursing him for taking the short cut. I could recollect the warning given by Rawat ji(our PT faculty) “if you take a short cut, it will make you cut short”.

Sadanand(ITBP guy) looked here and there for some time and took a muddy path  upside. After deliberations among us we decided to climb up in that path. Few steps later we could here Sadanand saying that there is a way!!!! We came across few more points like that which we navigated the same way. By that time we had become apprehensive. Weather had started to become hostile as it became cloudy and soon rained. This was nothing but Murphy’s law working- when you fear that something will happen, it does happen. Fortunately it rained for brief period. It was almost sunset time. We had to anyways reach the guest house at Taluka before sunset.

We met some people working on the bank of river who told us the path which leads to the main path(which we left at maggi point). Finally we were back on track and almost sprinted towards Taluka. It was 6 pm by the time we reached. Directly We went to the dhaba( Thakur Dhaba) where we had maggi with moong dal toppings!!!

I took a bath after 4 days at the guest house. People started playing cards. After sometime, bonfire was lit and we assembled. We played Dumb-charades that day. People were distributed into 2 groups- those who drink and those who don’t. The teetotallers won with a margin as large as 6-3!!! Probably alcohol made those who drink, dumb enough to play the game. We had dinner and went to sleep. As next day was scheduled to be entire a bus travel, people were realaxed. The 1^st phase of trekking came to an end.

Trek Experience Part-3

Day3( 1^st October) (Osla to Harki Dun)

It was chillingly cold morning at Osla which is located at around 2700 metres. We cancelled the plan of going outside for our morning rituals. It was second day at a strech that I didn’t take a bath. The trek was to Har ki Dun which was 13 kms away and at 3600 metres. So it was a uphill trek. Locals told it would take us 5 hrs to reach there.

            We started at around 8 am after having our breakfast(again roti and aaloo ki sabji!!!). There was a bad news, our GL, Malik saab fell ill after taking a bath. I don’t know who gave him suggestion to take a bath at that altitude at that time of day. Later we came to know that He is married!!!. We found him ‘bheegi billi’ type inside his sleeping bag in his room. He decided to stay there. One of the OTs who is a doctor(Prabeen) also stayed with him.

            We started our trek under the leadership of our AGL- Irina. She is from Himachal, lahaul Spiti district. So she was used to this kind of terrain and situations. Snow cap mountain which was our destination was visible from that place.

            We crossed the river Suben which originates from the glaciers( Jaundhar and Swargarohini) which we were heading towards. The bridge that we crossed was hanging and also swinging with the wind. As soon as we crossed the bridge, we started ascending steeply. We had to remove all our winter garments immediately. Sun was bright. At higher altitudes, UV rays are quite harmful. We applied our sunscreen creams.

            Songs, jokes, merry making continued through out. We clicked several pics on the way which made us slow. But we didn’t bother about that. There was no faculty around to say anything!!!. We navigated various tricky landslide points. Group dynamism and espirit de corps were at their best. One local boy was accompanying us to Har ki Dun.

            We came across several beautiful places from where the valleys were looking green and awesome. Some valleys were resembling Jurassic Park movie where one can recollect the helicopter descending scene.

            Himalayas is magnanimous. One feels like an insignificant creature in front of the mighty Himalayas. I can recollect the same feeling when I saw the sea for the 1^st time. But look at the human spirit, a 5 feet 6 inches tall guy with a stick in his hand has thought of conquering the mountains!!!. Kudos to academy for making me do so. We used to feel this trekking is meant to harrass and rag us but I think we are more confident and have developed sufficient endurance post trekking.

            Osla( the place from which we strated that day) is the last village in Indian territory in that route. So, we didn’t come across any civilisation on our way. We had to drink water from streams and had to pull our limited resourses. Annapurna devi( Asha)  kept distributing food stuff from her bag like madam santa clause. By that time Rakhee had twisted her ankle. But she kept walking. In hills there is no alternative- if u have started a trek u have some how reach your destination. Irina gave her the company. During rest of the trek, they were always seen together( Seeta- Geeta type).

            We were almost drained by 12 pm. We asked the local boy who was accompanying us about how much distance is left. Every time we asked this question, He told 10 mins. I don’t know why people have to lie regarding this. In our short treks in Mussorie, our PT faculty members used to do this trick with us.

            In between, the 1^st group( having capacity of walking fast!!!) had already reached the place. We got a call from them. Some how, we reached by 2 pm. The place – Harki Dun was simply awesome. The forest guest house was located inbetween the glaciers. The ‘swargarohini glacier’ is significant from mythological point of view. It is through this route, the pandavas travelled to heaven!!! We had lunch there( again rajma and aaloo ki sabji!!!). aaloo ki sabji never tased better. Actually these pahadi aaloo has an inherent saltieness which makes it tastier.

            Initially I thought of Har ki Dun to be a tourist place but we found it  completely lonely, inhabited by only 2 people( forest guard and GMVN choukidar). The GMVN guest house had 2 dormitories with 16 beds(exactly the number of male OTs!!!) at the rate of Rs200 per bed. Nothing better could happen. The ladies OT stayed at the Forest guest house.

            After our evening naps we gathered around the bonfire. It was very cold outside. Night descended, tea came along with other drinks too. We decided to play truth and dare- basically it was truth and truth. Credit should be given to Upadhyaya ji( Gaurav) for conceptualising and coordinating the game. He is from Lucknow and has all the ‘tehzib’ to make everybody comfortable in a gathering.

            Truth and truth game was a complete hit. We came to know many bare facts about fellow OTs- particularly the love stories, crushes, break ups. Story of Ragul was the most touchy one. Upadhaya ji’s love story was most filmy, I would like to share something here. He was supposedly a freesoul, I-give-damn kind of personality after 3 failed attempts at IITJEE and had to join another college. He fell for a girl. That girl told him that if He tops the semester exam, then she may consider for his proposal. Upadhaya ji topped the exam for 6 consecutive times!!! He cleared IIFT after graduations and now Civils!!!. This is what u say power of love. I thought, woman quota should be introduced at IITs and NITs(these colleges have the skewest sex ratio) so that people’s performance at exam can be increased and better engineers can be produced!!!.

            After truth and truth session we went to sleep. By this time we had developed concern for everybody. Trekking was doing its job- we started gelling with each other.

           

            

Trek Experience Part-2

Day2-(30^th September) (Taluka- Osla)

Day started as usual at 5.30 am. We got up hurriedly( this has become a habit recently, We are now used to wake up early and do everything in as little time as possible. In one of the PT sessions, we have been told that, we need just 15 mins to do our daily rituals!!! i.e. 5 minutes each for brushing teeth, shaving and toilet. Off late I have observed that it is true to some extent. Probably I’ll be having six sigma type proficiency in doing those 3 things in 15 mins by the end of FC!!!!).

One toilet and 20 male(including 2 staffs)- which drove me out of the guest house to look for an alternative open air spot along the banks of river Suben which was flowing near the guest house. Me along with 3 other male OTs started for the same. We found a small tributary stream to the river which we considered apt for our morning rituals. It has been almost over a decade when I last did something like this. We moved in 4 different directions in 90 degree out of phase to each other. I found a decent place behind a tree. It was basically a good feeling doing something raw like this, one can feel the morning breeze healing every inch of body, it also makes the whole process lot easier as the posture gives extra pressure to the abdomen- some body told, it was divine experience!!! Hmnnn… why not, we were anyways in devbhumi!!!

By the time we were back from the stream, people were having their breakfast at the dhaba. We got ready soon- shoes, cap, sunscreen, waist belt- everything was done. I was handed over some medicines by our group doctor- Shena( She was the treasurer too. Academy wala knows who are all the responsible OTs...). We were the priviledged goup of having the all India topper with us. But frankly speaking she is lot more than that- sweet, pretty, down to earth girl without any air.  Our GL(Malik saab) was busy negotiating with the khachhar(mules) walas. In the trek briefing at academy, we have been given instruction for not taking service of porter or khachhar. But it was an unanimous decision in the group to take khachhar with us. Our heavy rucksacks were tied to the back of the animals. We were never this much happy seeing an animal before. Comments like  ‘ÓMG’ and ‘they are so cute’ were heard coming from the female OTs.

We left Taluka at around 8.15 pm. It was a 14 kms trek to Osla. The group was full of energy. We have been given 2 codless phones to communicate with each other. People with ham radio as their extra curricular module(ECM) were assigned the job i.e. Shiv and Tiwari ji (Abhisek -as we had 2 Tiwaris in our group).

We came across beautiful landscape and fields. People kept on clicking pics.We met some locals on the way. They asked us for medicines. This thing continued till the end of trek!!!. We got a first hand experience of reach of healthcare facilities in rural India. Shena gave medicines and I was doing the job of compounder!!! I thought why didn’t the academy tell about this and they should have given us more medicines so that we could have distributed or held a health camp as we had 2 doctors in our group!!!

Anyways, by this time, some informal groupism started. Some people (who were inherently capable of walking fast!!) led us. 23 nos of OTs is a quite big sample space. One can find different variety of people- some used to speak more and some less.

One of the OTs , Manish who is a very good friend of mine is an inherent sayar, became the star of the trek. We were probably the only trek group who did trekking listening to gazals and sayaris. For every situation , He used to quote Basir Bhadra ( We never heard this name before!!!). The funny part was that nobody could understand that fully. Initially people didn’t tell anything other than ‘wah wah’ but later people started teasing manish as Basir Bhadra. Now He is famous in LBS as Basir Bhadra. He was carrying an old fashioned nokia phone which had innumerable number of old tracks of kishore, lata and likes which according to him were meant to set ‘mahaul’ for evening party. One can imagine, in that almost no man’s land, we were accompanied by Kishore da. Kudos to manish, I mean Basir. Interestingly, battery of that nokia phone lasted for few days where our sleek smart phones were down in 1^st day itself.

We were supposed to reach Osla by 2pm but reached at around 4. Had our lunch at the nearby dhaba- roti,aaloo ki sabi and rajma chawal. During our 9 days of trek, this menu was common for both lunch and dinner at all places. We got into the guest house at ‘ Seema’- place where we had our lunch. We were fortunate to get a bed for each one of us with razai. This is something what you say luxury in hills that too during trekking. We had evening nap. By the time we woke up bonfire was ready( credit goes to GL and Gaurang bhai who made sure we get bonfire everywhere we go). We had tea and slowly it became dark. There was no electricity in that place. Moon was bright. Colourful bottles came out of bags for the ‘mahaul’ part.

We decided to play antaskhari. Plan was given by Gaurav Upadhaya- (the guy having awesome interpersonal skills - can be given credit for setting the mood of entire trek. I’ll write about him in some other posts). Antakshari was Girls vs Boys type. Our AGL(assistant group leader) Irina is a repository of hindi movie songs. So competition was hard fought. I observed one thing, girls were mostly singing the 90s wala yash chopra,barjatya and vanshali type and guys were the more vocal who sang varieties starting from ‘mere sajan hai us paar’to ‘yahoo- koi mujhe jungle kahe’ to the gazals!!! Antakshari ended in a tie. We forgot the pain of walking for around 15 kms in hills for 8 odd hours. The group started to gel.... We had dinner(again rajma chawal!!) and went to sleep.

Trek experience part-1

TREK EXPERIENCE(29^th Sep – 7^th October) ( Mussorie-Taluka-Osla-Harkidoon-Hanumanchatti-Dharwadhar top-Dodital-Uttarkashi- Mussorie)

Right since the day I joined LBSNAA, I have been listening about trek more than anything else from the staff and faculty members. We have been given excuses for gruelling PT schedule that, it is meant to condition us for the long trek. In the last 30-35 days, we have spent around 12-13 days in trekking.  Sometimes I confuse FC as TC i.e. Trekking Course. Apart from the 3 small treks to Kempty Falls, Binog Hills and Lal Tibba which were meant to kill our weekends, the most awesome experience so far has been the 9 day trek to the higher Himalayas from 29^th September to 7^th October. I thought of documenting the experience and write it down. So here it goes…

            The day before the trek i.e. 28^th September, we were given 2 classes off to prepare for the trek. The trek manual was of something around 60 pages which I never read before. OTs were seen reading and noting from the trek manual on their way to Mall road to do their shopping. It was just like an exam situation where everybody is confused and in a hurry to meet the target. Some people did the short cut by copying from the shopping list of other people. I also went to mall road to buy some necessary stuff. The mall road was full of OTs. Any shop I went, I found some OTs shopping something or the other. I bought a wind cheater and a pair of sun glasses. For that I had to stand in a queue. The shop keeper said, “I never sold so many sun glasses in an hour’s time”.

            So finally it was packing time in the evening. The rucksack with the sleeping bag itself was quite heavy where I put more things to make it unbearably heavier. I got a call from one fellow OT who requested me to pack a bottle of alcohol too which I cudnt deny. So finally it was done around mid night. I tried to catch a sleep.

             

Day1-(29^th September)

The day began at 5.30 am( I used to sleep at this time during my preparation years!!) and as usual I found my roomie ready with everything. I have never seen a person so organised and punctual before. He is gem of a man. I’ll write about him sometime later. Coming back to the trekking, I got ready in a hurry and reached my scheduled bus and group on time i.e. Group2. later I discovered that I had left my room key in my room itself!!!(hope academy will be successful in mending me by the time FC ends!!!).

            The bus started at around 6.30 am. We were a group of 23 OTs, one ITBP personnel(Sadanand) and a mess boy(Dinesh). Ours was a so called soft trek. (According to trek manual we travelled 469 kms in bus and 127 kms on foot in 9 days time in the challenging terrain of Himalayas. I didn’t found anything soft in that.)

For the 1^st hour of journey it was a descend. I have motion sickness problem, so had already taken an avomine. Inspite of that I puked once. I was sitting beside a lady from Kerala, Asha, later we discovered her to be the Annapurna devi as she used to carry a bag full of food. She was a complete chatter box too. We had our breakfast at Nainibagh at around 8.30 am. I came to know that our bus had 2 punctures and we have to wait. In the mean time another trek group reached that place.

We started for Purola, our scheduled lunch place. We were travelling on NH 123 on the banks of Yamuna. It was almost a level road. Scenery outside my bus window was enjoyable and the song list(taken from my sister) of my smart phone did complement quite well.

We reached Purola at around 1.30pm and went to the GMVN(Garhwal Mandal Vikas Nigam) guest house. We had to search for the choukidar(Rana ji) who was having a nice sleep in his room and came out with a big smile and a ‘namaste’.In civil services one has to learn to condition oneself to receive ‘namaste’ from elderly people. To our utter dismay, we discovered that the food preparation had not yet started. But Rana ji kept smiling and started his stories of his stint at LBS ( lesson to be learnt- ensure everything before hand- nothing can be taken for granted). The khansama came with tea and started preparing for lunch.

Lunch was too good, rice dal with aaloo ki sabji- welcome change from the monotony of LBS mess. We kept on eating as if world would be over next day. One thing we didn’t compromise through out the trek i.e. food. We spent lot of time, enegy, and money on food.

            By the time we left Purola, we were 4 hrs behind the schedule, we didn’t notice that. We were supposed to reach Sankri by 1 pm and take a jeep from that place to Taluka but we reached at around 5.30 pm. We drove through the Govind wild life sanctuary to reach Sankri. It was a serene experience, the evening wind had become slight cold and one could easily hear the typical hissing sound of jungle. We hired 2 jeeps to go to Taluka which was 11 kms away from Sankri. It was completely dark by the time we boarded the jeeps. The jeeps passed through innumerable number of streams and narrow cuts. I observed complete silence inside the jeep, probably people were happy thinking that 1^st day of trek is about to end without a single metre of trekking!!! After a while we were asked to get down and welcome by few local youths. They told us that there is a land slide on the way and we have to cross the landslide point to reach the guest house.

            I was taken aback but was confident that we would do it. But very soon my confidence evaporated. The land slide was nasty and it was pitch dark. I switched on my torch but soon our GL(group leader) took it from me to help others. I had my rucksack on my back and was finding it really difficult to walk as I was influenced by the gravity due to the heavy rucksack. After a few steps, one deadly curve came which was to be navigated. It was an ‘U’ curve with maximum 6 inches of unconsolidated muddy path which was definitely not firm when I put my leg. I tried to get help from the roots and stems of trees but later I found that most of them are the stems of uprooted trees. This was the 1^st time I felt like something wrong is going to happen. But the local boys did their best to help us out and we reached safely on the other side of the land slide point.

            So, we started our trekking by navigating a fresh land slide point at night. The guest house was ok type. It had 2 rooms. 5 girls got into one room and the rest 18 male OTs to another. This is what u call gender inequality but the male OTs were gentlemen enough to do that gracefully. Cigarettes were lit- probably to celebrate the victory. We had our dinner at nearby dhaba where we got egg bhujia to our surprise. We slept at around 10 pm in our sleeping bags.  

The journey beckons

I just saw the cadre allocation... have been allocated Odisha cadre... feeling good. It is a commendable job done by DOPT- cadre allocation before FC is something that I never thought of... now everything seems to be set for Mussorrie... The dream journey... after so many sleepness nights, so many ups and downs in last 4 years, Finally I'll be heading towards the academy in less than 24 hrs... I dreamt something 4 yrs back, and it came true with all the necessary add ons ... Getting into IAS, that too home cadre is the ultimate dream every civils aspirant dream of... so I m really thankful to the almighty for whatever bestowed on me...

         While preparing for exam in Delhi, I went to Shimla for a break after 1st PT results, went to Haridwar- Risikesh with parents but never went to Mussorie... the Shimla plan was initially for Mussorie but for some reason or other we changed it... from that day onwards I decided that I'll be goin to Mussorie only after getting selected i.e. only for LBSNAA... I used to think that if I wud go to Mussorrie before then I wont be clearing the exam... I knw this sounds funny, complete superstition... but I followed... Superstitions, beliefs and faith work beyond the domain of science but it helps to condition one's mind...

        now, the packing is done... Most challenging part was to meet the demand of joining instruction- oxford shoes, trekking shoes, 4 sets of bedsheet and pillow cover and what not... I ended up packing 2 big baggages now... before getting a single penny as salary, we OTs are asked to spend so much... anyways loving it... Public services meant for the aam admi of India with all the sophistication is all what makes IAS  an interesting career... anyways it is we people who will be responsible now on to bridge the gap between the people of India and the Govt...

          

Writing an Essay

Essay is a compulsory paper in Civil Service Examination carrying 200marks... It plays a prominent role in getting a rank... Marks obtained by candidates varies in a wide range of around 40-140... So in these years of low scoring game in UPSC, essay along with interview play vital role.. I would be focusing on essay here...

              Lets discuss some of the important aspects of it...

1. Choosing the right choice of essay- Every year UPSC asks around 4/5 essays from which 1 has to be written... So choosing the right Essay is the most important thing...  It should be chosen only on the basis of your knowlege and comfort level in that topic.. Devote some 5-10 mins in deciding which one to write... Some time one particular essay seems tempting from 1st look and we decide to write that without even reading the other ones... So read all the options and think about them for few seconds and then decide... There is a notion in civils preparation arena that it's not good to write the most attempted one as it fetches less marks... But I feel nothing lyk that happens, you'll be awarded marks only on the basis of your write up...

2. Brainstorming- This is very vital.. around 45 minutes should be given to this process... At the rear part of ur answer sheet jot down what ever point that is coming to your mind regarding that topic without bothering about the logical flow...  Then make the structure of the essay... i.e.
                          Introduction
                          Body
                          Conclusion

              Prepare an introduction, write it there itself... This is important, as one shouldn't experiment with words at the very beginning of the essay itself in the fair txt...

              Then the body part... I usually follow the formula of writing both +ve and -ve aspect of any essay as most of the topics are opinion and explanatory in nature... Lets take the example of the essay that I wrote this year " Creation of smaller states and the consequent administrative, economic and developmantal implications " .... I, 1st wrote about the postive implications then the negative one and finally in the conclusion I integrated everything and wrote in the futuristic lines on which the Govt is thinking i.e. bringing 2nd SRC- which should consider various aspects and not only 1 single factor as it was done in 1st SRC i.e. language...
So rearrange ur points under +ve and -ve columns...

3. Writing the essay- around 2hrs should be devoted to this part... Elaborate the points that you have already written in the rear side of answer sheet. Make it a logical flow of idea. Even if you come across a vey good point while writing, that you haven't noted in the rough part but at the same time it is disturbing the flow of essay then avoid writing it. Because its not an issue if you miss 1 point but are writing 20-22 other points.

              Always try to write in simple english.. Avoid cutting any word or sentence... Don't make your essay very short or very lengthy.. 1000 to 1200 words is ideal.

4. Quotes and anecdotes- These things fetch extra marks. Always try to quote Indian persons only, preferably the big trio-GNP( Gandhi, Nehru and Patel).. Gandhi ji is timeless and even relevant today.. Quoting Gandhi ji is always safe.. So prepare some quotes from internet...

5. Review/ Revision- after writing of essay, devote some 10-15 mins and read your own essay.. rectify any grammatical and spelling mistakes... UPSC has given 3 hrs to write a single essay.. So it'll expect it to be complete in all aspects... Do underline few points that u want examiner not to miss...

                 It's always advisable to write atleast one essay at home before you write in the examination hall.. Do write one essay and get it evaluated from teachers, friends and somebody who is not from the field of civil service preparation.. take the feed back and improve on that...

Books that are helpful:-

India after Gandhi by Ramachandra Guha
My Experiments with truth by MK Gandhi
Discovery of India By JL Nehru..

Buts these books should be read in free time.. I would request people writing this mains not to read these books now and concentrate on their optional preparation but those people who failed in PT this time or planning to write next PT can read these books...

All the Best...

Geography for Civils

It has been quite a long time since I wrote my last blog here... the worst part is that I committed in my previous post that I would be writing about civils preparations in the subsequent posts, but I didn't.. So first of all, I beg apology from everybody- particularly from ppl who asked me regarding Geography optional preparation and I told them every time that I'll be writing soon... For last one month I had been travelling for various reasons, so I coudn't write... I am sorry for that...

           Now the prelims result is out, service allocation is done and everything is set for next mains... So I find it obligatory on part of me to write at least now before I forget the jargon of geography and Pubad and everything...

           This time around after the disclosure of marks of CSE2011, it has been observed that Pub.ad, Geography and Sociology particularly have been at the receiving end of UPSC... people who scored 350s in pubad and geography in their previous attempts have been reduced to 280s-290s... So a drop in average score is quite evident.. Some how or other I managed to score 376(201+175) in geography... So I feel like sharing my preparation strategy for geography here...

           To be frank enough, in this attempt I devoted most of my time towards Pubad preparation as I was not confident in it.. After PT results, all of a sudden I realised that Geography is almost untouched... It was almost a panic situation... I still laugh remembering about that time when I was sweating inside my a/c room.. I settled down in few days and revised the entire Neetu madam's(direction) notes in 12-14 days straight...
That gave me a sigh of relief... but the thing to be noted is that I had Geography as my 1st optional in both my previous PT attempts...So I had already read the standard books several times... so the cummulative effort had worked...

          Now lets approach the papers systematically

Paper1:-

               1. Coverage of syllabus- The structure of the paper has changed over the time.. now UPSC is no more asking 60 markers.. so the demand is that the candidate is required to cover the entire syllabus.. short notes have become compulsory too. So it is always advisable to know sumthing about everything rather than everything about something.... If somebody knows 2/3 points about a topic, it is good enough to write a 12 marker short note... So dont leave any chapter or topic.. atleast have some basic knowhow about all the subtopics written in the syllabus...

               2. Time management-  the major challenge is completion of paper.. this year as many as 16 questions were to be answered in 3 hrs which is a bit challenging... completion of paper shoud be given priority, at the same time standard of answer has to be maintained... I followed the formula of writing 2 full questions in first 1 1/2 hrs and 3 full questions in next... so initial 2 questions were well written which carried a good impression I suppose...

               3. Diagrams- draw as many diagrams as u can but don't draw redundant ones as it kills tym at the same time carries bad impression.. I had drawn around 35-40 diagrams in paper1... I drew diagrams in black gel pen with free hand in most of the cases there by saving time at the same time it was complimenting well to the blue gel written text... eye appeal works... so give emphasis to that...

               4. Length of answer- UPSC prescribes definite word limit for every answer... but its my own experience that its not a crime if u cross it... So it is up to you to manage time and space... try to write more than others... always start an answer from a fresh page...

Paper2:-

              1. Mapping- This the trickiest one to handle in geography optional.. previously it was an asset when UPSC used to ask to locate entries like Hirakud dam and Cauvery river... now they r asking almost anything.. but if one observes carefully, entire mapping question can be divided into 2 parts- static and current entries... they are equally distributed also... for example if 12 entries are asked then 6 has to be from static Indian geography and 6 from contemporary relevance.... candidate with above average geography knowledge can easily answer 4/5 out of 6 static entries.. So knowing 2/3 contemporary entries is good enough... my point is that its not advisable to go after contemporary entries as one cannot actually trace UPSC and time consumed in that process will be too much.. So read the static entries thoroughly from any source and for contemporary entries make your individual compilation from newspaper reading and all that entries that are available in the market of various institutes... I would request candidates not to get emotional with mapping and devote much time on it...

              2. India map and diagrams- minimum one India map has to be drawn for every paper2 answer.. Draw it neatly with 3/4th of page with proper bordering and indexing. Pick up diagrams from Khullar book- particularly unit 3 has very good diagrams...

             3. examples and case studies- these things are always appreciated... Newspapers and magazines like yojna and 'Geography and You' carry good case studies... anticipate the questions and prepare some examples with data for them... for example last year, 'civil aviation industry' and 'pharmaceutical industry' were in news and UPSC asked questions from that.. So be very vigilant while reading newspaper..

Books and references:-

• Physical Geography - Savindra Singh
• Human Geography - Majid Hussain
• Models and Theories - Majid Hussain( this book has good compilation of diagrams)
• Indian Geography - Khullar( unit 1 has to be thoroughly read.. unit 2 can be avoided.. unit3 is good, some chapters like water resourses, multipurpose projects can be read)
• Dictionary by K Sidhartha
• Any institute's notes can be supplemented for timely revision...

Queries are welcome... I'll try to address to the best of my abilities...