Thoughts & After-thoughts !

(Disclaimer: The following content is based mostly on my own perception, observations and limited experience whatever I have gathered so far as a rookie Civil Servant: still too young to make these sweeping observations though).  I had been seriously pursuing Civil Services as a career option right from Senior Secondary (School) days. The zeal and urge for becoming an IAS went on increasing thereafter so much so that I still remember, during our first (official) introduction at College, I straightaway introduced myself as an aspirant whose dream is to become a Civil Servant (read IAS). I hope, now you can relate to what must have been going through my mind when I said those words! Anyways, I kept on pursuing this dream of mine from college days and joined a Coaching in Delhi straightaway after graduation (B.Tech.) in 2016, though I had a placement offer of TCS in my kitty then. Fast forward to 5 attempts at UPSC so far (2 Mains, 1 Interview) and 2 attempts at state (now UT) PCS, when I

  So, in the UT of J&K, amidst the dipping temperature, the recently declared results (by JKPSC) of the Combined Competitive Examination (CCE) prelims 2021 aka JKAS /KAS have been warming up the temperatures for the aspirants. After this " very difficult " prelims paper, many anxious minds were unsure about their fate despite tremendous hard-work they had put in. As per initial trends, the cut-off  seem to be around 60s for General Category, much lower than (already low) 77-82 predicted by me and my colleague Vivek. Anyways, heartiest congratulations to all those who qualified the prelims. You should start focusing on Mains Preparation full-throttle in case you couldn't do so after prelims till now, and naturally so. For all those who unfortunately couldn't make it to the second stage, don't lose heart. It is definitely not the end of the world for you. I am saying this with full conviction as I have also faced similar situations in my journey. Take your time,

Imagine, you have been pursuing a goal, a dream that doesn't let you sleep. What if you successfully accomplish your dream or reach your goal? What impact will it have on your life? How different your life will be after you have achieved what you aspired for? Will that be the end of the pursuit? Will that satiate your hunger forever? Arguably not! Let me share my perspective: During my childhood, I dreamt of representing India in Cricket (like most children in India who play cricket dream about). I was so much passionate about this dream, that day-in and day-out, I imagined myself in team-India jersey. When playing in local-tournaments in my town, the feel of National Anthem being played just before the start of the game would give me goose-bumps, and I took the feel of being a part of an international game. I would be thrilled imagining, how satisfying it will be when I would actually be a part of an international cricket competition. Unfortunately, this dream of mine experienced