My first introduction to ias examination was quite early in life as most of my family members have given examfor ias. I used to be overwhelmed by the kind of duties and responsibilities which they shouldered. One very inspiring lesson as told by my uncle about civil service is that it is the only service through which the source of livelihood itself becomes the medium to serve the country.
My schooling honed my skills, developed in me a love for learning and taught me the value of people while my graduation years opened up a whole new world for me to explore. Thereafter the ias examination process brought a tremendous sense of self–discipline, self–control, patience, balance of views and above all humility. With these ideals, I kept alive the flame of making into the coveted ranks even after a number of failures.
I started a conscious preparation for the exam for ias in Pune in July 2006, soon after my graduation. I was also working in a software company where I got the job through campus placement. Initially for a few months, I tried to engage myself in both but then I realised that in this way I can’t be doing justice neither with my ias examination. So after a few months, I resigned and came to Delhi in December.
By this time, I was concentrating about civil services. After arriving in Delhi, I gave a decent thought on optional decision. I decided to leave Electrical (my graduation subject) because I saw that its syllabus has gone beyond reasonable standards. Then I pronged upon History, Geography, Public Administration, Political Science, Sociology and Philosophy. I consulted few basic books for all these subjects and after a number of deliberations, I finally zeroed on Geography and Public Administration.
I decided to prepare Geography by myself. I therefore purchased the necessary books and made sure that at least four readings of all the books get complete till May 2007. In between, I also managed to devote some time to Public Administration. The knowledge which I gained through these subjects helped me greatly in General Studies.
After the Prelim, I decided to do extensive writing practice as I considered it very necessary for Main. For this, I joined ALS to know about civil services. However due to paucity of time, I was not able to cover the syllabus of Public Administration properly and due to this, I became slightly nervous.
