The song continues...

I was in Jia sarai for the interview. I stayed with Rahgu and Ravi. Ravi is working with an upcoming internet site in the field of marketing. He sells a site called parikshaguru.com to the coaching institutes. He asks them to advertise on the site. With a name like that, I, for once, wouldn't if i ran a coaching institute. 

Raghu, an ex IBM employee is now preparing for civil services. He quit his job and came here. 

Ravi and Raghu smoke like chimneys. Sitting in their room, my nicotine level automatically increased to their levels as they smoked inside. I didn't mind. I smoked once and had now given up. 

Ravi is the leanest person i have ever seen. Bare bones and skin, no muscles. In the morning, he was flexing himself. As ravi is from Koraput in orissa, I took a dig that he is a living proof of the poverty level in his district. He countered saying that he is a karate expert. I bought it. Being lean is something many youth don't like (get some body yaar) but come to cherish it during their middle ages (and run marathon running age) Anyway, there was no reason to disbelieve. 

 I walked around Jia Sarai. I met some old faces. The shops were the same. The faces too. Just that somehow i was finding it difficult to relate myself to all that. It was difficult for me to believe that i stayed in this hellhole for so long. The stinking latrine in the building almost made me puke and the bath was not different. When i was here, i never cared. 

The filth on the lanes is the same. It doesn't matter to anyone. It didn't to me once upon a time. 

Ravi got me a bottle of baba ramdev brand hair oil and shampoo in the evening. He told me that it would help to arrest hairfall. Well, neat way to say that i am losing hair. We boozed the night after interview. Boozed a lot. Mishra ji joined us. With his stories of his friends who had succeeded in the previous years. Only that those friends do not recognize him any longer. 

Many of my friends who prepared with me have left the place. Some made it, most didn't. None died in the process though.

The song continues, the dark bylanes sing the blues. Of failures, of successes, of the hunt, of the hunters, of those who dreamt, those who aspired and those who still stay there. With the fire in their hearts, to warm those winter nights when chai suttas alone can't keep one warm. To urge one to go on with their preparations. To never give up. I was once there. Living my dream. 

My Last Civil Services (UPSC) interview

I was in Delhi a day before the interview. Jia sarai had not changed physically but the number of students preparing for civil services exam had considerably come down. 

I got Mr. K K Paul's board in the interview. The interview didn't go well. The chairman started by telling me that i have lost age advantage and went on to ask questions about evolution and history of civil services in India, a dark area in my knowledge base. It was like they were asking a fish to climb a tree. Perhaps that's what I have been trying to do all these years...being a fish...trying to climb a tree...Anyway, here are the questions I was asked this time:

Chairman: You passed out from college in 2002, this is 2009, what were you doing after that.

- I recounted my experience from wipro, infosys and eaton after college and told that I am working currently in aerospace industry in the field of actuation and control systems as a senior engineer with a leading aerospace organization.

Chairman: What is your nature of work?

- I explained

Chairman: You have already crossed the age limit for civil services and I don't think you will grow to the highest level of civil services with the remaining number of years of service. Why then should you come into the services?

- I gave an elaborate explanation

Chairman: Ok, then tell me about the evolution of civil services in India.

 - I somehow tackled it. But I was very poor with facts here

Chairman: You don't seem to know much about history. Do you atlest know something about Bhagat Singh? 

Chairman: Tell me why Bhagat Singh was arrested? Where? 

Chairman: What is the difference between UPSC and other commissions like Human rights commission, competition commission etc?

 - I answered these questions but not to the satisfaction level of the chairman (I might have read him wrong....hope so)

Then chairman gave it over to other members

Member 1: Why did you take Pali as an optional?

Member 1: Can Pali be used to understand Indus valley civilization? How does it help?

Member 1: Do you blog? (my hobby). What do you blog?

Member 1: What is 2x, 3x, 5x in pyschology? (I didn't know this)

Member 2: Do you read MS Swaminathan's articles? What does he say about the level of food consumption coming down an all that. By what value it has come down in last decade as per his view?(I didn't know). 

Member 2: What is the population density of India?

Member 2: How would you compare the density of India with China? Which is higher and by how much?

Member 2: What do you know about Biofuels? Do you think it will solve the fuel problem in India? What is your opinion on it?

Member2: Did Buddha believe in God? Did Buddha think that God is required to attain Nirvana?

Member 3: If Pali is interesting as you said, then so is maths? Why didn't you then take mathematics?

Member 3: When did the Fort williams college operate in India? For how long?

Member 3: How do you ensure that the facts that you read are authentic? (he asked me this as one of my answers was wrong and upon asking where did i read it, I told him that i don't remember but it must be in one of the books)

Member 3: If a student is doing a project in which he has to refer internet, what suggestion would you give in order to ensure that he uses only authentic material?

Member 4: What is G20? Is India a member or an invitee? Why are they meeting this week and where?

Chairman: Your interview is over now. You can leave. 

I got up and wishes all the board members a nice day. Only one board member replied by saying that you too have a nice day. Other looked down or sideways. I was happy that it was all over. I can start my life now. 

Tiru