Thoughts & After-thoughts !

  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 ...

About me: Hometown : Sunderbani, Distt. Rajouri, J&K. Education : B.Tech. ECE. Hobbies/Interests : Playing Cricket, Experimental Cooking, Attending Panel Discussuions. Optional : Public Administration. Board: Dr. TCA Anant (All male panel). Total 5 members. From entering the gates of UPSC (Dholpur Bhawan) till the verification of documents, I had this natural anxiety and nervousness. But, while interacting with fellow candidates, and waiting for my turn my anxiety gradually went away. At the time of being lead towards the Board room, I was somehow getting positive vibes about my Interview. While waiting outside the room for my turn, I had around 10 minutes to get myself prepared for the “final encounter” with the board members. I quickly scanned the surroundings around me, reading the room nos. in the corridors, name of office bearers etc. (perhaps preparing myself for those “unexpected questions” about situational awareness). I took a few deep breaths t...

In the afternoon hours of June 14th, 2020, people came to know about the tragic news of the death of the Bollywood star Sushant Singh Rajput (SSR). The suicide of this 34-year old young man who had just entered the best phase of his Bollywood career naturally sparked lot of debates across the media platforms. The tragic, abrupt and unfortunate end to a successful career left his family, friends, fans and well-wishers in a state of utter shock and disbelief. The unnatural demise of this celebrity naturally sparked an outrage across Bollywood circles and beyond. It gave an impetus to oft-raised debate of Nepotism in Bollywood, with even some insiders blaming the patronage culture of Bollywood as the reason behind his suicide. Naturally, the fans and others having sympathy, high regard towards self-made actors and a grudge against the family prodigies, gave a call for boycotting certain production House films. No doubt, the sudden and tragic death of a young, dynamic and successf...

Hello Everyone! Today, I intend to share my own experience of returning home amid Lockdown restrictions during COVID-19 pandemic. Since I am Civil Service aspirant, therefore this post will be an experience sharing cum critical appraisal  of the administrative setup, through the prism of my own expectation from the administration. As the title suggests, I returned from Delhi to my hometown Sunderbani, District Rajouri, J&K. I was stuck at Delhi where I had appeared for my Personality Test ( Interview ) on March 17 for this year's UPSC Civil Services Examination. I planned to return home somewhere around 22/23 March, 2020 after I received the report of my Medical Examination. But, as with several others, my plan could not be realised because of the nationwide Lockdown announced on March 23. So, after a wait of about 2 months I planned to return home by Train on May 18th. But, on 17th Morning one of my friends sent me a video on WhatsApp where people who had arrived by train...

Pigeons are strange creatures- arguably among most resilient and even most invasive.Who knows, they might be thinking same about us Humans! This article comes from an entirely personal experience of mine. Pigeons are almost ubiquitous in cities like Delhi. More often than not, they are a sheer nuisance in case they chose to reside in spaces of your home- more particularly, if over the Air Conditioner! Let me start a brief overview for the context: Since second half of the year 2018, I along with my cousins (while preparing for Civil services) rented a  furnished flat in Delhi. Naturally, we got an AC (window AC) pre-fitted. And since past more than one and half years, we haven't been able to use that AC even once- thanks to some uninvited guests- PIGEONS!  It is not that we never tried to get rid of the pigeons. I tried every possible way to scare them away. Even searched on the internet about ways to get rid of pigeons. In fact, once We covered the entire spa...

Hello there! Hope you are doing well amid these challenging times! Today I don't intend to write a post sharing any gyan whatsoever. Rather, I just want to have a fruitful discussion with you people. A discussion seeking answers to some of the questions that keep on coming into my mind at (ir)regular intervals. I hope you will participate in the discussion. You might have observed that there are times when we know that we should or shouldn't do something, even then we end up not doing or doing those things respectively. I would suggest you to think of any such instance, where you know that you should not do a particular task. It might be as naive as indulging in some extra calories (your favorite dessert) even if you are dieting (or suffering from diabetes). Or the case of a (arguably) bad habit like Smoking, Drinking etc. which you know that you shouldn't pursue, even then you crave for indulging in those habits. In these times of Coronavirus (COVID-19) we all kno...

Amid widespread panic, chaos and equally massive response against Coronavirus Pandemic (COVID), I would like to draw your attention towards some of the news reports :   Donald Trump thanks India for Supplying Hydroxychloroquine (HCQ), says this act would not be forgotten.   Brazilian President Bolsanaro equates India’s move to supply HCQ to Brazil as that of bringing “ Sanjivani” Herb by Hanuman.    India's coronavirus Mediplomacy: Russia says thanks to New Delhi; HCQ sent to Gulf.     India is supplying HCQ to 55 countries; will not procure PPEs from China. What do these news reports suggest? Let me draw some possible extrapolations . India is winning over the hearts of the COVID embattling nations by its Mediplomacy . So this Mediplomacy (Medicine Diplomacy) can be said to be a diplomatic masterstroke by the Indian government. In these challenging times, when the world seems to be falling apart, India has emerged as a binding glue....