Since the number of successful English medium candidates has been consistently much higher than Hindi medium candidates in the last few years, it signifies the challenges before Hindi medium aspirants to crack the UPSC Civil Services Examination.
However, the challenges are tough but not unsurmountable, as has been proved by many Hindi medium successful candidates. So, was it their preparation strategy that saw them through?
To know the answer, Indian Masterminds brings to you the UPSC journey of Ms. Rheecha Ratnam who cracked CSE 2019 with AIR 274. A software engineering graduate, she had opted for Hindi as her medium for writing the exam.
BACKGROUND
Ms. Ratnam hails from Sivan, Bihar. She started preparing for the UPSC exam after finishing her B.Tech in Computer Science from Jaipur in 2012. It was in her 5th attempt that her hard work finally paid off and she cleared the exam with History as optional.
Till class 10, her medium of education was Hindi. In class 11, she shifted to an English medium school. Hence, she became well versed in both the languages. She once said in an interview, “The language in which you can express yourself well, go for that only. In this way, your goal can be achieved easily.”
CHALLENGES AND HOW TO TACKLE THEM
She also said that the first and foremost challenge before Hindi medium aspirants is the non-availability of good study material. Another challenge is clearing the CSAT exam. Though it is of qualifying nature, in the CSAT of the preliminary exam, Hindi medium students often get nervous thinking they will not be able to clear it.
To get over this nervousness, she advised Hindi medium aspirants to solve questions related to aptitude, reasoning and comprehension for two hours daily before three months of the preliminary exam.
To overcome the problem of limited resources in Hindi, she advised to read in a language in which the material is available sufficiently and later make your own notes.
HER PREPARATION STRATEGY
While talking about her own preparation strategy, she said, “For general studies papers, sources should be precise and limited. I stuck to basic NCERTs for Politics, Geography, Economics, etc., and then made the basis of select specific books. I used only Laxmikanth as the basis for politics. In the preliminary exam, the emphasis is on concepts rather than facts. If the concept is clear, then the answers can be given easily.”
MAINS STRATEGY
Emphasizing on the need for consistency, she said, “Regular preparation should be done for optional subjects in the main examination. As far as the essay paper is concerned, I believe that studying GS helps a lot in this. Categorizing essays ease your work. To be consistent, I used to practice writing an essay every Sunday.”
At the same time, she continued, one must attempt test series along with preparation. This not only helps in understanding your level of preparation, but also helps to identify the shortcomings.
“On the day of the preliminary paper, there were 40 questions about which I was damn sure because of the mock tests I had attempted,” she said.
MISTAKES TO AVOID
As she could qualify in her 5th attempt only, she advised aspirants about mistakes to avoid. “Don’t attempt the exam until and unless you are fully prepared. Keep your sources limited. As guidance plays a significant role throughout the preparation, try to get in touch with someone who can guide you thoroughly or join some guidance programme. It’s important to practice answer writing in detail and read content in English, too.”
Last, but not the least, she advised to “keep motivating yourself daily by reminding yourself that hard work would definitely pay off one day.”
