02 May 2012
10:01 PM
MONDAY, APRIL 9, 2012
The Interview
For the uninitiated
The Civil Services Examination is a year long process and is divided into three stage comprising of -
• a preliminay examination consisting of objective type questions, generally held in May, comprising
of two papers testing knowledge of general studies and aptitude, including mental ability,
comprehension skills and decision making ability in real life like situations. Around 10-12,000
students get through this round. (this number varies depending on the availability of seats)
• a mains examination consisting of subjective type questions, generally held in Oct - Nov. It
consists of 9 papers including 2 compulsory language papers (English and mother tongue) whose
score is not added in the final tally but are held to check a basic minimum level of language
proficiency expected to be present in a civil servant, a compulsory essay paper worth 200 marks,
two compulsory general studies' papers worth 300 marks each and two papers each of two
subjects (which can be chosen from a total of about 46 options available), again worth 200 marks
each. Overall, this stage of examination carries the weight of 2000 marks. This year, 2418 students
got through this round.
• a personality test consisting of a 20-30 minute interview conducted by a panel of 5 members, the
chairman of each panel being a member of the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC). This
round carries 300 mark.
The final list of selected candidates is prepared on the basis of the sum of their scores in the 2nd and 3rd
stage.
The nitty - gritties
When i had first come to know about this pattern as a child (yes, i have known all this since i was a kid), i
used to think that the interview is a farce since its worth just a teeny weeny 300 (since it doesn't have a
Leonidas in it) in front of the mighty, mountain like, TWO THOUSAND mains' marks. I am sure that a
lot of 'the uninitiated' must be thinking on similar lines as well. To be honest, the child - me and the
uninitiated - you are both right and wrong. I would like to use last year's scores as examples to justify my
point of view here.
The cut - off last year for getting an interview call was around 45% (900/2000). The last candidate to be
eventually get through (gen category) had around 1130 marks. To get into one of the coveted three
services ie IAS, IFS or IPS, one neeeded a minimum of about 1090 marks. Most of the students who clear
mains generally lie in the badwidth of 900-1000 marks (although a few, very few though, are able to
cross 1100 even). Now in the interview, the highest that marks that i have heard someone achieving is
240, though till date i have about only one student securing the same. On a good day, a very good
candidate can cross the 200 barrier and reach 210-215. So if one does some mathematics here, one
would realize that yes, the 300 marks do remain teeny weeny for a candidate who has entered the third
round having had just about managed to clear the cut-off (900), for then, he would have to perform
exceedingly well in the interviews to stand a chance of hoping to see his name in the final merit list, let
alone getting into the three coveted services. But, these marks assume importance for these are the 300
marks which decide who gets which service. One might have scored 1000 or even 1050 marks in the
mains, but a poor final performance will definitely throw back his rank by a few hundreds at least,
whereas a candidate who has scored only about lets say 970 marks, can break into the coveted services
riding on the basis of a stupendous final performance.
The Preparation
The mains' result was declared on 1st March, 2012. Interviews started being conducted 19th March
onward and mine was scheduled to be held on the 27th day of the month. I got myself enrolled in a
couple of institutes for 'mock interviews', though when i look back now, i believe joining them was a
wastage of both time and resources. A lot went through my mind on what needs to be prepared and what
i needn't waste my time on. Though to be honest, a greater part of my time was dedicated to this
meaningless deliberation. In effect, what I was able to prepare well was my biodata (i think i went a bit
too far in my attempt to leave no stone unturned here by even finding facts such as my roll number is the
pin code of which place in India et al :D ) and my home state. I wasn't able to prepare the major issues as
well as i would have liked to, and this gave me nightmares which had, in my head, turned the room in
which i was to be interviewed into a cage and the panel members into a pack of wolves waiting there to
tear me apart as soon as i entered the chamber. Needless to say, i was one of the most nervous of
candidates on the day of my interview.
The Wait : Part I
My interview was scheduled in the afternoon slot and i was the last of the 6 candidates to be interviewed
by my panel on that day. I got up at 8, unusually early by my standards, but perhaps it was the
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by my panel on that day. I got up at 8, unusually early by my standards, but perhaps it was the
nervousness which had got the better of my sleep. I had decided to read the day's newspaper and went
through the headlines and the major issues of the day. But i was hardly able to concentrate on what was
written inside the columns. the clock seemed to be ticking a tad too slowly. I watched bits and pieces of
the best comedy series ever, Seinfeld (yes, the best is Seinfeld and not Firends :P ) to relax. I went to
meet my parents thereafter.
I had taken care of my appearance to try and look my best in those circumstances (and though i couldn't
have moulded my Amjad Khan looks overnight into Hrithik Roshan physique overnight, i tried what ever
i could to make myself presentable in the best possible way). Now i have this belief that the day i shave
my beard, i develop a sudden gay-ish appearance (though i don't have anything against the community)
and to counter the same, i had taken care to shave a couple of days back so that a subtle stubble would
have placed itself perfectly on me by the time my interview would bagin. (Yes, i agree with you, i was
fretting way too much over the details, but i couldn't help it, more than a year's hard work was at skate
here). But alas, i hadn't foreseen the future events.
While having lunch and mindlessly watching some instalment of bal Hanuman, or was it bal Ganesh (?),
i was talking with my father. Bored as he was with the ongoing cartoon on the idiot box, he turned to me
and reacted out of the blue as if he had seen a Cobra pr a python in the room and said "ye kya hai". yes.
He was talking about my stubble. A debate ensued on whether or not to keep it in which majority
prevailed (such are the travails of democracy) and i was forced to shave. :(
Anyway, i said my prayers to all possible names of all Gods who cam to my mind hoping that at least one
of them might decide to help shift the scales in my favour. After that followed the ritual cum exercise, the
blessing seeking one. My girth makes it one hell of an exercise for me.
Enough said. I reached the venue, Dholpur House, my Kurukshetra, the place which i hoped will not
become my Waterloo, at 1 PM
The Wait : Part II
I entered the UPSC building, underwent the necessary security checks and was allotted table 13
(ominous sign, or was it?) to sit on and wait. There were 5 other people sitting with me. All of us were to
be interviewed by the same panel. Till now, I had that nervousness in me, but i must say, the people
sitting with me, though themselves nervous in their own right, had been able to reflect elegant calmness
though their faces. So chilled out were they that after spending ten minutes with them, i had completely
forgotten where i was and i was feeling as if i was sitting in a cafe with some long lost friends.
All of us were from engineering background. And since i was the last one, thoughts of the board
members getting frustrated by seeing engineering background students only (for it is rumoured that
some board members do -not take kindly to students from this background believing that these students
can better serve the nation in the capacity of a technocrat) started creeping in me.
Also, I had secretly hoped that i be the only one of the 6 from IIT for then, a discussion on the choice of
this career path after graduating from IIT was sure to ensue, for which i was very well prepared. But this
wasn't to be for the 5th one in line turned out to be from IIT Bombay (not Mumbai but Bombay) and yes,
he was asked questions along the aforementioned lines (another ominous sign?).
Each table is attended to by a clerk who takes care of all the documentation formalities. And this takes
some time. An hour went by like the blink of an eye. And then came the announcement of the start of our
interviews. Ours was the first table to get started with. Perhaps the board was in a rush.
We were informed that the chairman of our board is Ms. Rajni Razdan, a retired IAS. All of us had been
praying that a certain 'supposed to be tough' board does not go on to be the one that we have to face, and
not hearing its name brought big smiles on our faces.
The 1st candidate left the table to face his demons. He was the only one amongst the 6 of us who had had
a previous experience of this grind. He had faced Ms. Shashi Uban Tripathi's board last time around and
had ended up with a paltry 135 marks, which, according to him, were much more than what he had
hoped to get (100). Anyway, he had left that baggage behind, was looking relatively relaxed (exp in
relation to me). And so, we hoped that he would be able to kickstart the proceedings in a nice manner,
make the board happy with his performance so that they aren't in a foul mood when we follow him later.
A minute later, i had one of my many urges that day. Yes, the unmistakable urge to pee under pressure.
The toilet was at the end of a long corridor. That corridor was lined with doors to hell (or so i thought).
The room of each UPSC member was present along the corridor. I got a glimpse of my battlefield while
passing through. The door was ajar and inside i could see the wolves. But what caught my attnetion was
the way they were positioned. The room was big. And yet, they were seated so closely as if they were in a
huddle, planning perhaps on how to shock and awe their preys.
We waited. After about 25 minutes, he came back. On being asked, he said that the interview went fine.
All that was asked was biodata based. No issues. Nothing from the subjects. And these words of his were
no less than pure bliss for us all. We became extremely relaxed now, each one hoping that his interview
too goes along similar lines.
And suddenly, breaking this pleasant chain of thoughts came in the 2nd candidate, looking dejected,
devastated and frustrated to say the least. "Her first question to me was 'name 5 trees' and when i
included mango in tree, she asked me not to include the fruit-trees. I could name only 4. After that she
asked me to name 5 winter flowers. All i could guess was rose. Nothing else. i lost it from there. I screwed
it up. Completely". This was it. The demons were back. We started discussing all sorts of possible
questions, but most of us were terrible in this department. We hardly knew the name of any plant around
us in our vases. This was when my bouts of coughing started, which again happens with me under
pressure. I told them, 'its the tie, i hate wearing it, its killing me' but inwardly i knew, it was the pressure.
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pressure. I told them, 'its the tie, i hate wearing it, its killing me' but inwardly i knew, it was the pressure.
And then came the 3rd candidate. He had been asked to name 5 shurbs which grow in a kitchen garden.
All my nervousness had come to the fore. There wasn't a moment when i was able to control my
coughing and in between came my 2nd trip to the loo.
Each second of wait seemed to me like another hour gone by. I had the passing thought that this was a
better way of explaining relativity than the way Einstein himself had done it by saying "put your hand on
a hot stove for a minute, and it seems like an hour. Sit with a pretty girl for an hour, and it seems like a
minute. That's relativity." Or going by the great man's dictum and mixing it with my predicament, i felt
as if i was sitting on a stove, strapped to it with my arse on fire. A few moments later, i was left alone. The
5th candidate had been called and i was waiting for my turn. It came. A few moments later. I was asked
not carry along a pen or a watch. Another security check followed. After which i was asked to wait
outside the room while the th interview was in progress. Since i had ten minutes to wait at least, i
decided to make a 3rd trip to my penthouse.
I came back and started waiting. I was asked to sit in a chair in which i was just able to fit in. I thought,
what if i am unable to fit in the chair inside. Will i be allowed to give the interview standing of will i be
offered a sofa? I stood up. I walked. I sat down. I got up. I walked. I sat down on a bench. I got up. Moved
near a fan. Got up. Went near the little garden. Thought of smelling the flowers there but decided
otherwise. And suddenly a bell rang. It was like a school bell. The 5th candidate had come out and
believing it as a call for me to come in, i moved towards the door but then something struck me. I looked
around for the attendant. he wasn't there. I found him in a nearby room and asked him if the bell means
i need to go in. He said, "arre aaraam kariye sir... aapko hum bhej denge jab aapka number aaega... abhi
nahi aaya hai". I thanked my luck and my better sense for barging in uncalled for would have been the
worst possible start. I started my walking and sitting down routine again. And suddenly, another bell
rang. It had a melodious tune. I was asked by the attendent to go in. My turn had come. I adjusted the
knot of my tie. ('how much will i get... will it be 30% or 40%... i will definitely screw it up...') While
adjusting, a hundred images and a thousand thoughts crossed my mind. All the loved ones. Parents.
Brother. Friends. All their expectations. All their wishes were heard by me in that moment. I saw every
person's face who had genuinely wished me luck. I saw the expectation on those faces. Who believed in
me and thought i would do well. And then i knocked on the door and opened it. It was 4:25 PM.
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