Interview with Mohtashim Akhtar Rank 6 WBCS Exam 2014-DSP
Posted: Tue Apr 05, 2016 11:19 am
WBCSMadeEasy:When and how did the inspiration and idea of joining civil service come in your mind?
MOHTASHIM AKHTAR:Straight after my 1st attempt at wbjee in 2009 where i fared poorly in chemistry and had come to the conclusion that MBBS is nt my cup of tea , I joined Education support council where weekend classes were conducted for wbcs. I hit it off with wbcs instantly.
WBCSMadeEasy:Tell us something about yourself?
MOHTASHIM AKHTAR:I am an average lower middle class guy,born and brought up in kolkata in the bastees of mechua ,jorasanko. i was always a gud studen and topped my class from 1st std to 12th Std. Even in college i was the joint topper in my discipline. upto Xth had studied in Lawrence academy , then join SVS Vidyalaya , finally graduating in physiology at Vidyasagar evening college.
WBCSMadeEasy:What factors did you consider before selecting your optionals? What were they?
MOHTASHIM AKHTAR:Optionals was a headache for me because Physiology, my hons aper , is nt there in UPSC , hence i took anthropolgy as i cud get readymade materials. I later repented though as it was a very very dry subject for a science student. I answered only 2 questions out of 10 in anthro 1st paper , otherwise might have been the topper (:D).
WBCSMadeEasy:How did you sustain the study-momentum throughout the year?
MOHTASHIM AKHTAR:I believed in daily study, even if its for an hour. Never was a day from april 2012 to september 2013 (graduation exams to joining SBI as asst manager)
that i didnt study. and i m not joking.
WBCSMadeEasy:How many hours did you study per day? How many months did it take you to complete the core syllabus of Compulsory and optional subjects?
MOHTASHIM AKHTAR:Hardly studied optionals. as i was also vying for upsc , focussed only on compulsory. some days i studied 10 hrs..somedays only one hour.
WBCSMadeEasy:Did u use internet, was it effective?
MOHTASHIM AKHTAR:yes. i rarely studied from books. i used facebook by creating study groups thus bringing like minded people with a common goal together. It contributed to knowledge sharing and assesing one's position among the lot.
WBCSMadeEasy:Were you doing any other job during preparation?
MOHTASHIM AKHTAR:I joined SBI as PO in september 2013 , after which i didnt get any time to study, result being me missing IAS interview call by a few marks in 2013 which was my maiden attempt at IAS . also i didnt get leave for appearing in 2013 wbcs mains. The reason i cleared 2014 wbcs was because i had studied hard in 2012-13.
WBCSMadeEasy:Which newspapers & magazines you went through?
MOHTASHIM AKHTAR:Prayiyogita Darpan i used to follow because it helps in ias exams also. To be honest i never read newspapers but i made up for that by following news pages in facebook.
WBCSMadeEasy:Did u take coaching? How was the experience?
MOHTASHIM AKHTAR:yes, XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX initially and then XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX with their brilliant sets of mock tests. Both helped me a lot.
WBCSMadeEasy:What about Interview in WBCS? Was the board cordial? What should be a proper preparation?
MOHTASHIM AKHTAR:Interview has never been a problem for me. I had appeared in Interviews for SBI where i was one of 1500 selected out of 17.5 lakhs. I had also appeared for interview in RAW. Here the only problem for me was writing bengali as i had never studied it. Nevertheless , The board was very cordial and they made me feel at home, I had a good interaction with each of the board members. Consider Interview as an interaction. Take the board members as ur frnds. Discuss ur opinions and views with them all the while keeping a smile in ur face.Sit Confidently , appreciate their comments , show ur views gracefully and u will sail through.
WBCSMadeEasy:Plz suggest some good books for pre, comp, optional.
MOHTASHIM AKHTAR:i didnt really follow any book for optionals while for prelims subjects wise boooks is best. laxmikanth for polity , jibon mukherjee for histry , tojammel hossain for economics shud be with every aspirant
WBCSMadeEasy:What should be the strategy for cracking this exam?What message you want to give to all aspirants?
MOHTASHIM AKHTAR:Study Daily ; Have Patience ; Keep aassessing urself ; appear for all exams while remaining focussed on wbcs; be confident :)Use internet to clear all doubts. dont depend on answers in books.
WBCSMadeEasy:Was it ur 1st attempt? If not what about previous ones? You are from which batch and what was your rank in WBCS Exam ?
MOHTASHIM AKHTAR:2013 was my first attempt where i was nt granted leave to appear in mains exam as i had already taken leave for appearing in IAS Mains. so 2014 was my first attempt in mains. i have ranked 6th in DSP 2014 batch.
WBCSMadeEasy:What about the changing pattern of WBCS exam from 2014?
MOHTASHIM AKHTAR:Mains now is a different ballgame. One has to study subjectwise text books thoroughly. history geography polity economics should nt be compromised upon at any cost.
WBCSMadeEasy:Have you seen our website, was it helpful?
MOHTASHIM AKHTAR:Yes i have seen it a couple of times and its really helpful especially u can get prebvious papers answers interviews job profile etc which helps in clearing doubts of aspirants and spreading awareness.
We thank MOHTASHIM AKHTAR for sparing her precious time to help for aspirants by giving this interview.
MOHTASHIM AKHTAR:Straight after my 1st attempt at wbjee in 2009 where i fared poorly in chemistry and had come to the conclusion that MBBS is nt my cup of tea , I joined Education support council where weekend classes were conducted for wbcs. I hit it off with wbcs instantly.
WBCSMadeEasy:Tell us something about yourself?
MOHTASHIM AKHTAR:I am an average lower middle class guy,born and brought up in kolkata in the bastees of mechua ,jorasanko. i was always a gud studen and topped my class from 1st std to 12th Std. Even in college i was the joint topper in my discipline. upto Xth had studied in Lawrence academy , then join SVS Vidyalaya , finally graduating in physiology at Vidyasagar evening college.
WBCSMadeEasy:What factors did you consider before selecting your optionals? What were they?
MOHTASHIM AKHTAR:Optionals was a headache for me because Physiology, my hons aper , is nt there in UPSC , hence i took anthropolgy as i cud get readymade materials. I later repented though as it was a very very dry subject for a science student. I answered only 2 questions out of 10 in anthro 1st paper , otherwise might have been the topper (:D).
WBCSMadeEasy:How did you sustain the study-momentum throughout the year?
MOHTASHIM AKHTAR:I believed in daily study, even if its for an hour. Never was a day from april 2012 to september 2013 (graduation exams to joining SBI as asst manager)
that i didnt study. and i m not joking.
WBCSMadeEasy:How many hours did you study per day? How many months did it take you to complete the core syllabus of Compulsory and optional subjects?
MOHTASHIM AKHTAR:Hardly studied optionals. as i was also vying for upsc , focussed only on compulsory. some days i studied 10 hrs..somedays only one hour.
WBCSMadeEasy:Did u use internet, was it effective?
MOHTASHIM AKHTAR:yes. i rarely studied from books. i used facebook by creating study groups thus bringing like minded people with a common goal together. It contributed to knowledge sharing and assesing one's position among the lot.
WBCSMadeEasy:Were you doing any other job during preparation?
MOHTASHIM AKHTAR:I joined SBI as PO in september 2013 , after which i didnt get any time to study, result being me missing IAS interview call by a few marks in 2013 which was my maiden attempt at IAS . also i didnt get leave for appearing in 2013 wbcs mains. The reason i cleared 2014 wbcs was because i had studied hard in 2012-13.
WBCSMadeEasy:Which newspapers & magazines you went through?
MOHTASHIM AKHTAR:Prayiyogita Darpan i used to follow because it helps in ias exams also. To be honest i never read newspapers but i made up for that by following news pages in facebook.
WBCSMadeEasy:Did u take coaching? How was the experience?
MOHTASHIM AKHTAR:yes, XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX initially and then XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX with their brilliant sets of mock tests. Both helped me a lot.
WBCSMadeEasy:What about Interview in WBCS? Was the board cordial? What should be a proper preparation?
MOHTASHIM AKHTAR:Interview has never been a problem for me. I had appeared in Interviews for SBI where i was one of 1500 selected out of 17.5 lakhs. I had also appeared for interview in RAW. Here the only problem for me was writing bengali as i had never studied it. Nevertheless , The board was very cordial and they made me feel at home, I had a good interaction with each of the board members. Consider Interview as an interaction. Take the board members as ur frnds. Discuss ur opinions and views with them all the while keeping a smile in ur face.Sit Confidently , appreciate their comments , show ur views gracefully and u will sail through.
WBCSMadeEasy:Plz suggest some good books for pre, comp, optional.
MOHTASHIM AKHTAR:i didnt really follow any book for optionals while for prelims subjects wise boooks is best. laxmikanth for polity , jibon mukherjee for histry , tojammel hossain for economics shud be with every aspirant
WBCSMadeEasy:What should be the strategy for cracking this exam?What message you want to give to all aspirants?
MOHTASHIM AKHTAR:Study Daily ; Have Patience ; Keep aassessing urself ; appear for all exams while remaining focussed on wbcs; be confident :)Use internet to clear all doubts. dont depend on answers in books.
WBCSMadeEasy:Was it ur 1st attempt? If not what about previous ones? You are from which batch and what was your rank in WBCS Exam ?
MOHTASHIM AKHTAR:2013 was my first attempt where i was nt granted leave to appear in mains exam as i had already taken leave for appearing in IAS Mains. so 2014 was my first attempt in mains. i have ranked 6th in DSP 2014 batch.
WBCSMadeEasy:What about the changing pattern of WBCS exam from 2014?
MOHTASHIM AKHTAR:Mains now is a different ballgame. One has to study subjectwise text books thoroughly. history geography polity economics should nt be compromised upon at any cost.
WBCSMadeEasy:Have you seen our website, was it helpful?
MOHTASHIM AKHTAR:Yes i have seen it a couple of times and its really helpful especially u can get prebvious papers answers interviews job profile etc which helps in clearing doubts of aspirants and spreading awareness.
We thank MOHTASHIM AKHTAR for sparing her precious time to help for aspirants by giving this interview.