What UPSC has taught me? - Swapnil Pundkar ( CSE 2015- AIR 487, IAS)

Swapnil Pundkar
IAS (Andhra Pradesh cadre)

Grad- B.Tech (IIT- Guwahati, 

Comp Science)


Optional-Physics

4th attempt

working as IPS

_____________________________________________

Dear friends, it was in the year 2012 that I decided to take up civil services as a career option after working for four years in the software industry. I started my preparation in 2012 and it took me 4 attempts to finally cherish my dream of being an IAS officer. It has been a wonderful and  adventurous journey full of experiences. Experience has been a good teacher but the bad experiences were better at training me for the exam.

Few things that I have learnt in the making of bureaucrat from a technocrat:

1. Enriched

The preparation has helped me increase my knowledge base tremendously. I know my rights and the duties as an Indian citizen. I am able to appreciate the culture and traditions of our nation including my own local ones. I am able to contribute to discussions seriously. I have come out as a more matured person after the journey. Surely my common sense has Enriched !!!

2. That HELPED

It was the last week before 2013 mains that I came across an injured old lady while going from library to my room in Delhi. I helped her getting medical care and made sure that she reached her home safely. This incident took nearly 3 hrs of my busy schedule. I quoted this incident in one of my answers in Ethics paper and fortunately scored very well in Ethics that year. Similarly a conversation I had with my mother a few years ago about Takshila University helped me in writing one of the answers in 2014 mains. Being empathetic towards the rickshaw pullers, chai and ice-cream stall waalas and talking to them has helped me enrich my knowledge. Point  being everything that you do in your life is reflected in this exam. Keeping a positive attitude, a curious and critical mindset and at the same time being ground to earth, helpful, humble and honest has always helped.

3. Prioritization

Since utmost dedication is required for the examination it is necessary to prioritize all stuff in life. Important decisions were held up for later which also meant sacrificing close relationships be it friends, relatives or family. Even the subjects you like to learn and things you like to do took a hit over stuff that’s important for the exam. But it also doesn't mean I took the spice out of my life.

4. How to FACE THEM

Having been good at academics and throughout the professional career, failure in the prelims in the first attempt was a huge setback. Not that I didn't fail before, but getting to know that you are being "excluded" by UPSC for writing this exam was too much. Similarly there were numerous occasions when I scored low, failed in mains and failed in interview. The efforts didn't payoff and things just didn't feel right. Preparing for UPSC has given me strength to FACE these failures. With every failure I worked harder and crossed the mental boundaries.  I slogged 14 hrs a day daily and made the library my second home. When it felt like quitting I remembered the reason "WHY I had left a comfortable life" for a greater cause. These failures were taken up as challenges which had to be overcome.

5. Give it some time

All through the four years it never felt that 'what I am studying, how I am studying' was 100% right. But PATIENCE was the key. I kept on following the daily routine, day after day; week after week and believed that although it would take some time but there would be light in the end.

6.Thin line of difference between confidence and overconfidence

In the year 2012 during my first attempt I had prepared well for GS (paper I) but neglected CSAT (paper II) considering the fact that I am an IITian, worked in MNCs and completed my education till date in English medium. I scored miserably low in paper II, couldn't clear prelims and that’s when I learnt about overconfidence. Confidence without hard work can easily turn into overconfidence.

7. There are no shortcuts to success

When it came to deciding upon the optional I was firm on choosing Physics but after coming to Delhi I got introduced to subjects like Public Administration, Sociology, Pali etc. My friends and instructors from the coaching institutes convinced me that these were better optional subjects compared to Physics considering the time and effort taken by the optional. I chose sociology and had to face negative result in the mains due to low marks in Sociology even after studying the optional for two years. In the third attempt I chose Physics, loved the subject and could clear UPSC getting into the Indian Police Service and finally into IAS in the fourth attempt. Learnt about the tragedy of shortcuts.

8. Stars do matter

There is  a huge lot of civil service aspirants who have strived harder than many of us but couldn't find a place in the final merit list due to factors totally out of their control. Either the interview board was too harsh or the optional didn't perform well that year or they couldn’t clear the compulsory language paper. This exam needs everything to fall in place. Learnt to respect the stars and being grateful to life.

Finally I thank Akshay for this wonderful initiative and wish him best luck for all his future endeavors.

All the best.