Did not ourselves the cubits warp

Invictus by William Ernest Henley

2010-11-21T12:16:00.005+05:30

This one from Wikipedia and movie by the same name based on Nelson Mandela's efforts to unite South Africa.

Invictus is a short poem by William Ernest Henley. At the age of 12, Henley fell victim to tuberculosis of the bone. A few years later, the disease progressed to his foot, and physicians announced that the only way to save his life was to amputate directly below the knee. It was amputated when he was 25. In 1875, he wrote the "Invictus" poem from a hospital bed. Despite his disability, he survived with one foot intact and led an active life until his death at the age of 53.

Invictus

Out of the night that covers me,
Black as the pit from pole to pole,
I thank whatever gods may be
For my unconquerable soul.

In the fell clutch of circumstance
I have not winced nor cried aloud.
Under the bludgeonings of chance
My head is bloody, but unbowed.

Beyond this place of wrath and tears
Looms but the Horror of the shade,
And yet the menace of the years
Finds and shall find me unafraid.

It matters not how strait the gate,
How charged with punishments the scroll,
I am the master of my fate:
I am the captain of my soul.

Charge of the Light Brigade by Alfred Lord Tennyson

2010-11-20T21:29:00.005+05:30

Saw movie 'The Blind Side' a few days ago. A must watch. It has a scene which refers to this poem:

Charge of the Light Brigade

Half a league, half a league,
Half a league onward,
All in the valley of Death
Rode the six hundred.
`Forward, the Light Brigade!
Charge for the guns!' he said:
Into the valley of Death
Rode the six hundred.

`Forward, the Light Brigade!'
Was there a man dismay'd?
Not tho' the soldier knew
Some one had blunder'd:
Their's not to make reply,
Their's not to reason why,
Their's but to do and die:
Into the valley of Death
Rode the six hundred.

Cannon to right of them,
Cannon to left of them,
Cannon in front of them
Volley'd and thunder'd;
Storm'd at with shot and shell,
Boldly they rode and well,
Into the jaws of Death,
Into the mouth of Hell
Rode the six hundred.

Flash'd all their sabres bare,
Flash'd as they turn'd in air
Sabring the gunners there,
Charging an army, while
All the world wonder'd:
Plunged in the battery-smoke
Right thro' the line they broke;
Cossack and Russian
Reel'd from the sabre-stroke
Shatter'd and sunder'd.
Then they rode back, but not
Not the six hundred.

Cannon to right of them,
Cannon to left of them,
Cannon behind them
Volley'd and thunder'd;
Storm'd at with shot and shell,
While horse and hero fell,
They that had fought so well
Came thro' the jaws of Death,
Back from the mouth of Hell,
All that was left of them,
Left of six hundred.

When can their glory fade?
O the wild charge they made!
All the world wonder'd.
Honour the charge they made!
Honour the Light Brigade,
Noble six hundred!

This is the report Michael Oher submits about the poem: Courage is a hard thing to figure. You can have courage based on a dumb idea or a mistake, but you are not supposed to question adults or your coach or your teacher. Because they make the rules. Maybe they know the best or maybe they don't. It all depends on who you come and where you come from. Didn't atleast one of the six hundred guys think of giving up and joining with the other side. I mean Valley Of Death! That's pretty salty stuff. That's why courage is tricky - should you always do what others tell you to do? Sometimes you might not even know why you are doing something. I mean, any fool can have courage. But honour, that's the real reason you do something or you don't. Its who you are and maybe who you want to be. If you die trying for something important, then you have both honour and courage and that's pretty good. I think that's what the writer was saying, that you should hope for courage and try for honour and maybe even pray that the people telling you what to do have some too.

I'm nobody! Who are you? by Emily Dickinson

2010-11-20T20:18:00.001+05:30

IF by Rudyard Kipling

2010-11-20T20:15:00.000+05:30

If you can keep your head when all about you
Are losing theirs and blaming it on you;
If you can trust yourself when all men doubt you,
But make allowance for their doubting too;

If you can wait and not be tired by waiting,
Or, being lied about, don't deal in lies,
Or, being hated, don't give way to hating,
And yet don't look too good, nor talk too wise;

If you can dream - and not make dreams your master;
If you can think - and not make thoughts your aim;
If you can meet with triumph and disaster
And treat those two imposters just the same;
If you can bear to hear the truth you've spoken
Twisted by knaves to make a trap for fools,
Or watch the things you gave your life to broken,
And stoop and build 'em up with wornout tools;

If you can make one heap of all your winnings
And risk it on one turn of pitch-and-toss,
And lose, and start again at your beginnings
And never breath a word about your loss;
If you can force your heart and nerve and sinew
To serve your turn long after they are gone,
And so hold on when there is nothing in you
Except the Will which says to them: "Hold on";

If you can talk with crowds and keep your virtue,
Or walk with kings - nor lose the common touch;
If neither foes nor loving friends can hurt you;
If all men count with you, but none too much;
If you can fill the unforgiving minute
With sixty seconds' worth of distance run -
Yours is the Earth and everything that's in it,
And - which is more - you'll be a Man my son

Physics - Mains (Part V)

2009-07-11T10:20:00.007+05:30

I have uploaded my answers in CSE 2007 Physics exam at the following links. These are not ideal answers but approximately what I wrote in the examination. These answers fetched me 208 and 170 marks in Physics 1 and Physics 2 respectively. I am sorry that the file size is quite large (2.5MB for Physics - 1 and 7.5 MB for Physics-2). Please inform me in the comments when these links stop working.

http://rapidshare.com/files/254431430/Phy01.pdf.html
http://rapidshare.com/files/254432329/Phy02.pdf.html

Based on Mayuresh's inputs, I am also uploading files at Mediafire. This is the link to my answers.

Choosing science optionals

2009-06-24T17:05:00.005+05:30

This post comes quite late, more than an year after Civil Services results were declared. But it's better late than never. It has been necessitated by the fact that many aspirants are asking questions regarding taking two science optionals.

My view regarding science optionals (particularly Botany, Chemistry, Engineering subjects, Mathematics, Medical Science, Physics, Statistics, Zoology). I'll call above list as 'Science optionals' even though one Science subjects - Psychology - is outside this list: Please don't pick BOTH the optionals from the above list despite your interest in the topics. This approach has two significant drawbacks.

First, Civil services as a career benefits from exposure to Humanities/arts subjects. They give a new perspective which science students usually lack. Secondly, two of them make the syllabus for examination huge. Each Science optional has different concepts which don't add to either GS, Essay or Interview preparation. One humanities optional definitely adds to GS and essay.

Some secondary considerations are: A science optional takes more time to prepare than an arts optional. Advantage of having one science optional is that consistent scoring is easier in science optionals once the subject has been prepared well. Marks can fluctuate widely in Arts optional over various attempts but not so much in science optionals.

I chose optionals solely on the criterion of my interest in them. Whatever your background, your interest in the optionals has to be your first criterion. That probably helped to study them over a four year period. But during the attempts, I had realised that I was missing out on exposure to an Arts/humanities subject.

Why did I then stick to Engineering and Physics for four attempts? Simple, I had wasted my first attempt (appeared in Prelims without preparation and didn't clear it). Any optional is worth at least 2 Mains attempts - first Mains attempt gives very good feedback into preparation for next attempt. That's how I kept these two optionals for second and third attempts. And it didn't make much sense to change an optional for one final attempt after studying it for nearly 2.5 years.

It's crazy, I know!

Ode to solitude by Alexander Pope

2009-05-17T01:38:00.004+05:30

As I said, I'll be off Civil Services guidance and try to build a place my own. Starting with one of my favourite poems by Alexander Pope (written when he was 12 years old):

Happy the man, whose wish and care
A few paternal acres bound,
Content to breathe his native air,
In his own ground.

Whose herds with milk, whose fields with bread,
Whose flocks supply him with attire,
Whose trees in summer yield him shade,
In winter fire.

Blest! who can unconcern'dly find
Hours, days, and years slide soft away,
In health of body, peace of mind,
Quiet by day,

Sound sleep by night; study and ease
Together mix'd; sweet recreation,
And innocence, which most does please,
With meditation.

Thus let me live, unseen, unknown;
Thus unlamented let me die;
Steal from the world, and not a stone
Tell where I lie.

Season's Greetings and gear up for Interview

2009-01-05T21:21:00.005+05:30

Preparation for Personality Test has to be done as seriously as if appearing for Prelims or Mains exam. It is not possible to judge somebody’s suitability/unsuitability for Civil Services within a period of 30 minutes (my own interviews have not been more than 16-18 minutes). That’s where preparation comes in handy. Be prepared with answers for some of the expected questions on CV (from Mains form), background, optional subjects, Civil Services as a career option, current affairs etc.

Regarding Current Affairs, it is time to voice you opinions – yes, ladies and gentlemen, it is finally time to air your voice on issues as you see them and not as D.D. Basu or Supreme Court sees it. Take 26/11 as an example. What went wrong? What should be done to prevent further such calamities? Can we do an Iraq to Pakistan? Should we or should we not? Get your brain cells working on any matter that makes news. To get an in depth understanding of issue, EPW (Economic and Political Weekly) is an excellent source. It’s time to consult it. Regular reading of The Hindu along Mains pattern should be continued. But have your opinions on issues and be ready to supplement them if facts as and when required.

Questions on CV have to be guessed and prepared on your own. Be thorough with areas of interests, hobbies, your Home State and choice of Services. I had read Geography of Punjab, its history and culture especially related to Sikhism (3 books of BA syllabus), Human Development Report of Punjab (available on internet) to cover topics related to my home state (no question was asked on these, but it’s always good to be prepared).

My areas of interests and hobbies included Bird Watching, Skating, work with NGOs. Since I had pursued these interests quite seriously I didn’t have to work up much on these except revising my work experiences and learnings from these activities. I was asked nearly 8-10 questions on bird watching (difference between falcon and hawk, name of bird kept by Guru Gobind Singh, famous Congressman who was also a bird watcher, latest books about Indian birds, which species of vultures are dying and why, which community would suffer the most if vultures were to get extinct), though none on other interest areas.

Be thorough with basic principles of your optionals. Preparation should not be as thorough as Mains preparation, but basics must be quite clear. Moreover, their application to governance/administration must be done. For example, I had Electrical Engineering as an optional. I consulted Ministry of Power website for latest developments/schemes, role of regulatory commissions, non-conventional energy sources in India etc. from it. During both my interviews, nearly half the questions have been from background topics.

Personality Test is an interesting exercise because it allows your own style to show. Some like to answer a question in 20 seconds, others answer the same question in 2 minutes. No problem with any style as long as you hit nail on the head. I remember answering my opinion on liberalization in India in 2 sentences i.e. around 20-25 seconds (many candidates can speak on it for 3-4 minutes), and a friend of mine answered a most basic equation in Physics in 10 sentences (I would have answered it in a single sentence). Both of us had good marks. All that matters is whether your content was relevant or not.

To improve spoken skills and expand your horizons, sit in group discussions with friends/fellow competitors. It is a must as it brings differing opinions to the fore and increases ability to tackle different point of views. Take mock interviews after getting interview call. Not more that 2-3 mock interviews – any more practice will take way your spontaneity.

Learn to say “I don’t know” to questions on which you know nothing about. It is safest reply to factual questions about which one has no idea. If many questions are going “I don’t know” way, try to hazard a guess but after saying “I don’t remember the answer, but I think, it is …..”. It is quite normal not to know answers especially in pressure cooker situation. However, try to answer opinion/situation based questions (that do not require prior memorization) to the best of your ability. Keep thinking!!

There will be tricky moments; there will be some serious moments. And if lucky, some humorous moments too in the interview. Just try to give a good account of yourself. Don’t show arrogance. If questioned on opinion, state facts to prove it. If questioned on fact, state your reference source or humbly say “I have forgotten the source, but I will check it up”

Lastly, be true to yourself during the interview and believe in God. It’s gonna be just fine.

Questions faced during CSE 2007 personality test:

Chairman:
What is your Roll No. and Date of Birth?
What is your work experience till date?
Why do you want to shift from Engineering to Civil Services?
1st Member:
How does a Hydro electric generator start?
What are the various ways of generating residual flux in hydro-electric generator?
What are the energy sources from ocean?
What is the status of Tidal energy and wave energy in India?
2nd Member:
What is your opinion on increasing inequalities due to liberalization in India?
What are the demands of rebels in Nagaland and why cannot State give in to these demands?
3rd Member:
· “Democracy is against law of nature. Explain”
4th Member: Questions on bird watching as described earlier
Chairman:
· Delhi Police writes its motto “With you, for you, always” on its vans. Somebody wrote underneath it “That’s the problem”. What will you do to correct image of Delhi Police?

My interview lasted for 17-18 minutes and was filled with “I don’t know answers”. Especially in the question “Democracy is against….”, my interaction was somewhat like this.

Board Member (BM): Democracy is against law of nature. Explain.
Myself (C): According to Darwin, stronger survive at the expense of weaker while democracy tries to protect all.

BM: I am not interested in Darwin. You have a background in Physics, think along those lines.

C: (After a pause of about 10 seconds) I cannot think of an explanation right now, Sir.

BM: You have done Physics, you have studied Engineering. Think along these lines. I give you more time.

C: (Again after a pause). I am sorry Sir.

BM: What do you know about “State of Entropy”

C: I don’t know, Sir.

BM: You don’t know what entropy is?

C: Sir, entropy is state of disorder of system. But I don’t know the term “State of Entropy”

BM: Ok, water flows from high altitude to lower altitude; current flows high potential to low potential. Can you think now?

C: Sir, a natural process goes from low entropy to high entropy.

BM: Now can you answer the question?

C: Sir, Democracy tries to bring equality –a state of low disorder or entropy. Hence it is not a natural process.

BM: Yes, now we understand why Communism failed!

This interaction lasted about 3-4 minutes. Needless to say, I was at my wits end and trying best to extricate myself from the situation, but to no avail. In retrospect, what probably helped me was that I did not panic and secondly, took questions after this one in right frame of mind. It is easy to think after a bad phase in interview that all is over. Avoid that. A few good answers can dramatically alter the scenario. KEEP YOUR COOL. TREAT QUESTIONS ON MERIT.

My conversation on “your opinion on increasing inequalities due to liberalization in India”: Sir, when a new system comes in place it is quite natural that people who are ready for it will benefit while others will lag behind. It is the role of government to make sure that all people benefit from the new system.

BM: Then where has government faltered because inequalities are rising in India?
C: Sir, I believe we have policies in place but they are not being implemented properly due to various factors.
BM: So, you are positioning yourself to become a bureaucrat?
C: (At this I could have said that above was true and various factors are so and so. But question was “Am I placing myself to become a bureaucrat”. I coolly decided to say:) Yes, Sir. (All the members laughed at this, and I was thankful for it. It was a double edged answer that was taken in good spirit by the Board).

Interviews, Competitive Magazines and Media: Something for the future toppers (Part I)

2008-09-02T19:21:00.005+05:30

During the first three weeks after the D-day (May 16, 2007), I took many interviews with magazines, newspapers and was involved in two programs with NDTV. This post is mainly concerned about my experiences during that time.

First, the competitive magazines. My interviews were published in Civil Services Chronicle, Civil Services Times, Competition Success Review, Competition Refresher and Pratyogita Darpan. I won't go into the details of my experiences with each of these, but experience ranged from disappointing to outright disgusting.

Two of these magazines didn't leave any stone unturned - including trying to make a complete fool of me (trying to get signatures on an empty sheet of paper or on a pre-written letter), bribing me, asking favour in the name of religion etc. - to ensure that I recommended their magazines to the aspirants. I did not recommend any of these and even told one of them not to publish my interview, but to no avail. The interview format itself gives away the intentions. Questions like "Apart from our publication ...... what else did you read?". And since they ask to fill up the form in a hurry, many of these tricky questions slip by and it appears as if the successful candidate is endorsing these magazines. I was lucky enough to spot most of these and strike out such questions, but many have fallen into the trap. BEWARE!!

All the five magazines (including the interview published in the magazine that I actually read) have altered the interview to suit their interests. What I wrote does not appear in toto in any of these. Thus none of these gives a complete picture of my preparation. After my experiences with first three magazines to approach me, I asked the remaining two to get the final interview approved by me before printing it. None of them did it and changed the interview as per their interests.

And one the magazines has quoted me completely out of context. I always say that newspaper reading is much more important than magazines even though magazines are excellent from an examination perspective. So I was very surprised to see a statement which implied that magazines are all important for the examination.

Why am I posting this today? That is due to the conversation I had with Mr. Adapa Karthik (AIR 1) today. After my experiences, I realised why he had refused to be interviewed by any of these magazines. He was aware about all these tactics and refused all interviews. Bravo Karthik, that was well done! I just wish I had been aware too.

And as I write this I am aware that at least two toppers from previous batches and one from our batch had similar experience.and couldn't do much about it. Out of the five of us, Karthik has done what each of us wished we could have too.

Attempting the Mains Examination (Part II)

2008-08-27T23:17:00.006+05:30

I’ll probably be going against popular opinion among serious aspirants when I say this paper is not a no brainer. I agree that innovative thinking and conceptual clarity have a limited role to play in the paper. Memorizing the facts is a must. But utilizing those facts in the paper requires a cool, calm and thinking brain. I’ll illustrate my point:

Let’s take the first question in General Studies Paper 2 (CSE 2007):

Answer in about 150 words
(a) Indo-Russian Defence Co-operation
(b) India’s response to political crisis in Bangladesh
(c) Elaborate on India’s Nuclear Doctrine

Question (a) does not read “Recent Developments in Indo-Russian Defence Co-operation”. So if an examinee just mentions the recent developments the answer is incomplete. What’s required in this answer is, probably, 60-75 words on defence relation between the two countries from 1947-2007 and 75-90 words on recent developments.

Question (b) is quite self-explanatory but examinee must organize the answer into various heads like India’s stand on the issue, political response, diplomatic response, humanitarian aid etc.

Question (c) says “Elaborate on …”. This does not mean just mentioning the points in India’s Nuclear Doctrine. The answer to this question should explain the need for the doctrine, and the reason behind each and every point in it.

So read the question very carefully. Spend time on thinking what the examiner is asking and then bring out the relevant facts and analysis from memory. There is enough time to think. Please don’t start writing the answer straight away. Don’t get carried away thinking you know all the relevant facts and will do well in the question. Chances are that by doing so you’ll end up with much less marks than what you deserve just because you didn’t answer what was asked.

The above is equally true for optional papers. I will try to bring out a similar analysis on Physics paper later.

Physics - Mains (Part IV)

2008-08-26T22:04:00.005+05:30

Electricity and Magnetism: I had studied Field and Wave Electromagnetics by D K Cheng at college and that remained my textbook for the topic. It explains concepts well but it is not a popular book though and neither is it sufficient.

Cheng does not cover multipole expansion which is done adequately in Griffiths (a popular textbook for the topic). Cheng is quite good in solutions to boundary value problems. Magnetic shell is from D C Tayal. Clausius Mossoti equation can be done from textbook in Solid State Physics.

Cheng and Tayal are ok for Current Electricity portion of the syllabus.

Chopra/Aggarwal is a must for Electromagnetic waves. It’s a good book. Concepts are explained well in Cheng also but not in sufficient detail. EM Field Tensor and covariance are from J C Upadhyaya (Classical Mechanics). Rayleigh scattering is dealt well in Chopra/Aggarwal.

For Black Body Radiation and Thermal and Stastical Physics two books are needed – Thermal Physics by Garg/Bansal/Ghosh and Heat Thermodynamics and Statistical Physics by Satya Prakash. Garg/Bansal/Ghosh is a better book for most topics. So be thorough with it.

Satya Prakash is needed mostly for Otto and Diesel Engines, derivations of statistical distributions (Maxwell-Boltzmann, Fermi-Dirac, Bose-Einstein). Again stick to the syllabus and prepare answers. There will be more than one way to derive many questions. Be thorough with the one you are confident about.

Physics - Mains (Part III)

2008-08-26T07:50:00.006+05:30

Mechanics: The syllabus has changed quite significantly, so keep a look out for better sources. Textbook: J C Upadhyaya

Mechanics of Particles: Upadhyaya does not have topics related to gravitation. Most of the others are covered well. Centre of mass and laboratory reference frames can be done from Kleppner-Kolenkov.

Rigid Bodies: Again, Upadhyaya is quite good. “Top” is covered in it but the treatment is very mathematical. I referred to T W B Kibble to get a good physical understanding of the topic.

Continuous media is a new topic and I don’t know about it.

Relativity is done well in Upadhyaya especially Minkowski, Four vector, covariance. But the book won’t give conceptual clarity. Read Bieser for concepts before starting with Upadhyaya.

Waves and optics:

Waves is covered well in Bajaj. Stick to the syllabus and see previous years questions to get the orientation. Huygens principle is from Ghatak (Optics).

Geometrical Optics can be done from Ghatak. Nodal Planes are not explained well. They can be done from B S Aggarwal.

For Interference, Diffraction and Polarization follow Brijlal Subramaniam. Certain topics which are not in it can be done from Ghatak. Circular aperture is a tough topic, but I did the needed mathematics from Ghatak. Focusing of laser beams is another tough topic but it is given in Ghatak. Don’t go into mathematical details of holography. Just a simple “General Studies” approach.

Physics - Mains (Part II)

2008-08-26T06:52:00.005+05:30

Nuclear and Particle Physics: Textbook S B Patel (Nuclear Physics), Pandya Yadav (for Particle Physics. The book is titled Elements of Nuclear Physics).

Patel is a good source for most topics. I particularly like the way it deals with Liquid Drop model. However, it is not as conceptually correct as I would like it to be.

Semi empirical mass formula and mass parabolas, deutron problem and non-central forces are done well in Patel. While discussing mass parabolas be sure to mention all the four cases with examples.

Shell model should be done from Resnick-Eisberg (It is a good reference book for entire Paper II). Do the need for the model, assumptions, results, physical interpretation, successes and failures – done well in Eisberg and somewhat in Patel.

Violation of parity in beta decay is done extremely well in Irving Kaplan. A must read for this topic.

Mossbauer spectroscopy is in Chapter 9 of Patel. But it does not give good applications (especially regarding application in general relativity). Do some of the applications from Eisberg. See question asked in Indian Forest Service Examination 2007.

Nuclear fission is done well in Eisberg. Eisberg is also a must for nuclear fusion, role of quantum mechanics (barrier penetration) and energy production in stars.

B S Aggarwal deals ok with critical mass required in nuclear reactors. Four factor formula is done well in Patel. But no book goes into detail of types of nuclear reactors. All just give an overview. Be happy with it.

For Elementary Particles do the Chapter in Pandya Yadav. Physics of neutrinos is done in Patel. Unification of forces is from Beiser. Eisberg may also be referred to but at a later stage.

Solid State Physics: Textbook S.O. Pillai. Handles most topics well.

Space groups are just given a passing reference in Pillai. It is a very tough topic and details may be omitted. Details of Point Groups are available on internet. Curious Aspirants may go through 32 point groups from internet.

I don’t know about electron microscopies.

In Band theory, Pillai does not give proof for Bloch Theorem. That may be done from C L Arora. Omit the solution of determinant in Kronig Penney model and just give the final equation obtained after solution followed by the interpretation as given in Pillai.

Superconductivity: Done ok in Pillai. Deifference between a superconductor and perfect conductor is done well in J P Srivastava (Prentice Hall India publication). High Temperature Superconductivity and BCS Theory need a “General Studies” answer. Prepare 20 marks answer for them.

Physics - Mains (Part I)

2008-08-25T21:27:00.007+05:30

I have secured 378 (208 + 170) in Physics in CSE 2007. I had 269 in CSE 2006. The improvement was primarily due to emphasis I gave to answer writing practice during the attempt. I practiced (and memorised) most of the questions asked in past 15 years and prepared relevant notes.

Notes are a must for this optional. Best way is to read a topic, solve past years papers and improve the answers to the best of your ability. The answers form your notes. Go through this process religiously. It will help because the paper does not give time to think. Only rigorous practice can help in writing answers well in the time alloted.

With some exceptions, most topics require more than one book. Pick up a standard text book for the topic (I'll mention mine topic wise below) and study the parts mentioned in syllabus thoroughly from it. For books for other topics follow borrow, beg, steal, buy policy in the correct order.

Quantum Mechanics: Textbook Ghatak. It's a tough book but I am happy about my choice. Atleast it does not give wrong concepts, only tough concepts. Covers most topics well. But here's what's not in it.

Exact proof of uncertainity principle: It does not solve the general case. But do it on your own. To simplify use properties of Hermitian operators which I did from a borrowed Gupta-Kumar-Sharma.Satya Prakash also deals Hermitian operators well. Do see and solve question on uncertainity principle in CSE 2004 examination.

Proof that Gaussian wavepacket is minimum wave packet: It is given in unsolved with hint but does not solve the equation. Be brave, go ahead and solve the differential equation. Do normalise the final result.

Ehrenfest Theorem: It is in unsolved with hint but in three dimensions using del operator. Solve it in one dimension using integration by parts. Or see solution from Satya Prakash.

Finite well: It solves the problem but it's much better in H C Verma Quantum Mechanics. Please read H C Verma for this.

Linear Harmonic Oscillator: Follow the book and reach till Hermite polynomials. The only problem is it's quite lengthy. So delete the part where the author proves that s = 1 is invalid. Start with assuming s =0 i.e. remove s from the picture altogether. Not correct according to rigorous mathematics, but we are talking Physics. This topic will require lots of practice to finish in the time alloted.

Hydrogen atom Problem is a head ache, but there is no shortcut. If a question is asked in examination, read it thoroughly and see whether it demands a complete solution or not.

Do operator algebra and Pauli spin matrices from Satya Prakash. It's a must

Atomic and Molecular Physics: Raj Kumar for Atomic Physics and Banwell for Molecular Physics are a must and good enough. Stick to the syllabus. The topic missing is "Importance of neutral .......". The only question asked till date is H21 cm line. Prepare answer on it from internet.

Important Current Affairs topics for CSE 2008

2008-08-24T22:56:00.002+05:30

Prepare answers (facts + analysis + organise answer) in your own words for them and treat them as a part of syllabus.

India and World
============
Indo - US relations (due to nuclear deal)
Indo - Pak relations (due to recent political developments in Pakistan and firing across LoC)
Indo - China (Tibet issue and boundary talks)
Indo - France (Visit by Sarkozy)
Steps by India to get civilian nuclear cooperation
Energy Security (due to Nuclear deal)
SAARC

International Affairs
===============
Developments in Nepal
Developments in Pakistan
Developments in West Asia Peace Process
Developments on Iran nuclear issue (do mention turnabout in US policy)
G8 summit
Lisbon Treaty

Economy
=======
Inflation
WTO and Agriculture
Global recession and oil price rise
FAO summit on food crisis
WIPO and its Development agenda

Science and Technology
=================
DNA, its structure and functions (A pioneer in the field - Gunther Stent - died recently)
Genetic Engineering
Chandrayaan/India's space programme (it was postponed from February this year to sometime next year)
India's three stage nuclear programme

Polity
====
Trust Vote
Role of Speaker
Parliamentary control over executive
2 markers on Rule 184 and Rule 192
Trial by Media (Arushi murder case). See some points from P M Bakshi for this topic.

National, Social and Environmental issues
=============================
Climate change and India's Climate Change Action Plan
Project Tiger
Internal Security

Try to add relevant points from Current Affairs even in traditional questions. For example:

(1) On Parliamentary control over executive make a reference to current govt. taking trust vote on a deal with foreign country even though no law has been passed for it yet.
(2) In Project Tiger give the recent developments on it (National Tiger Conservation Authority has been formed recently for Project Tiger areas. Give its functions too)
(3) In Internal Security give reference to recent blasts and steps taken by govt.

Climate Change could be an essay topic this year.

Coaching Institutes and their relevance

2008-08-24T22:38:00.001+05:30

This is what I've attended:

(a) two years with my uncle Dr. Brijpal Singh for gs/essay/interview (2nd and 3rd attempt)
(b) DIAS for physics and interview (during 4th attempt)
(c) Sriram's for gs/interview (during 4th attempt)
(d) Mock interviews at Samkalp (3rd and 4th attempts)

I only read Civil Services Chronicle magazine. If any other institute/magazine makes claim, please inform me which one and where did it advertise. I'm in a position from where i can follow it up and take them to task.

Coaching institutes are just a guide to preparation. Please don't depend on them solely. Lots of individual effort is required in understanding needs of this paper and finding one's strengths in it. My preparation is much deeper than what coaching institutes taught me. One size fits all approach won't work. Plan and practice for each and every topic given in the syllabus.

Attempting the Mains Examination (Part I)

2008-08-24T18:45:00.003+05:30

My attempt in mains exam: Here is the breakup which may surprise many:

(a) GS:
Paper I: I didn't know 10 two markers. I was very dissatisfied with my answers on Regionalism (30 marks) and Child Labour (30 marks). My score 203.

Paper II: Again, I didn't know 10 two markers. I didn't know anything about Q.5 (2 * 15 marks) i.e. i played blind in that question, wrote hardly 140-160 words for Q.4 of 250 words, was very dissatisfied with my answers to Q.7(a) paper ii (impact of globalisation on state system). My score 160.

(b) Electrical Engineering: My correct attempt is 410. 210 in Paper I and 200 in Paper II. My scores are 186 and 166 respectively.

(c) Physics: I have a correct attempt of about 550. I missed out about 25 marks in each paper. My score is 378 ( 208 + 170).

My experience with the exam is that no marks are rewarded for writing wrong or irrelevant stuff. Stick to what is asked and answer it very clearly. Organise the answer in a coherent manner.

The important thing is that if I read a topic, I am thorough with it. I make sure I'll put up among the best answers for topics that I read. That approach has worked for me.

Even last year (CSE 2006), I had 991 marks in Mains and my attempts were 420 in EE (score 298), 390-400 in Physics (score 270).

GS paper 2006 gave me excellent feedback. I'll share it.

GS I: I am weak in Social issues and National Movement was very tough that year. I stretched my attempt to 280 in GS Paper I even though I hardly knew about 200 marks. My score - 118.

GS II: I knew 230-240 marks and attempted them very well. I left 12 economy 2 markers!!, one 15 mark question and many 2 markers which I didn't know. Attempt of about 240-250. I scored 168.

This may or may not work for every one. But last year topper Mr. Muthyalaraju Revu had the same experience.

Here are the inputs from last year topper Mr. Muthyalaraju Revu regarding his attempt last year. I quote him:

"Most of the aspirants believe that they have to attempt more questions rather than concentrating on quality. I would like to share my experience as it may provide some help to future aspirants.

GS1: I do not know ten 2 markers. I attempted three 30 mark questions in last 25 minutes. My score is 173.

GS2: I attempted only four 2 markers in economy. I wrongly interpreted one 30 marks question and one 15 marks question. My score is 147.

Maths 1: I got answers for 278 marks. I got 179.

Maths 2: I got answers for 234 marks. I got 172.

Electrical 1: I attempted correctly for 253 marks. I scored 200.

Electrical 2: I attempted correctly for 245 marks. I scored 195. "

Electrical Engineering - Mains

2008-08-24T18:34:00.002+05:30

Till 2007 the syllabus of this optional differed vastly from IES. However, since 2008 syllabus is nearly as per IES syllabus. that's good if you want to prepare for both the exams. But please don't take 2 science optionals. I have covered that in a later post.

Circuits: A. Chakrabarti (Dhanpat Rai) Circuit Analysis and Synthesis covers the entire syllabus well.

Signals and Systems: I had Oppenheim and Willsky. The only thing missing was handling initial conditions in z-transform. Any Indian author book that has this can be used as a supplement.

Power Electronics: PS Bhimbra is enough. Stick to syllabus, prepare notes for this topic. They'll be quite handy.

Machines: Nagrath-Kothari or Ashfaq Hussain is enough. I had Ashfaq.

EMTheory: Follow any standard book. K D Prasad is considered The Bible for this topic of the exam.

Communication(Analog/Digital):Whatever the book followed in college, supplemented by Singh/Sapre (TMH) should be enough.

Measurements: Sawhney is the only book. Solve IES EE papers for this topics (a must). Questions are repeated.

Power System and Power System Protection: Ashfaq hussain and Wadhwa for Power Systems. Bardriram-Vishwakarma for PSP. Again IES papers are a must.

Controls: Kuo is good even though I haven't read it. I read Nagrath-Gopal.

Digital Electronics: Any book that covers the syllabus.

Analog Electronics: I followed Boylestad though I wasn't happy with it. Sedra-Smith goes too much into depth that isn't needed for this exam. I also had Millman-Grabel.

Don't try to go for full attempt. It may prove disastrous. Stick to what you know. I got 352 on a correct attempt of 415.

Thanks to last year topper Mr. Muthyalaraju Revu for guiding me in this optional.

General Studies - Mains

2008-08-24T18:30:00.002+05:30

If conventional topics (National Movement, Polity, Economics, Geography) are prepared well during Prelims itself, then it eases a lot of pressure in preparation for the Mains as during the period May-October effort can be focused on practicing for Mains and Current Affairs which have become very important in GS exam. I'll try to deal with each of the topics mentioned in syllabus.

For National Movement, I used to read from Spectrum “History of Modern India” and practice from NCERT. There is usually a surprise element in UPSC history questions (though this year's were straight forward) and practicing from NCERT without reading it gave me adequate practice. I'd read a chapter after solving the questions given at the back. I tried approx. 5-8 tough questions from most chapters. Also, some topics – State People’s Movements, Rise of Left Front, Communalism – are covered very well in Bipan Chandra “India’s Struggle for Independence” (Penguin).

For Polity, I read Dr. D.D. Basu “Introduction to the Constitution of India”, Wizard Indian Polity and Constitution and solved questions given at the back of Wizard book (they are just Previous Year questions). To add some extra points or clarify doubts for important topics, I used to go through P.M. Bakshi’s “The Constitution of India”

For Geography, I read NCERT books - India's Physical Environment, India People and Economy.

For Economics, I had notes from Sriram's institute and substantiated them from Misra/Puri. I was thorough with XIth Five Year Plan and would read important topics from Economic Survey. These were: State of the Economy, External Sector, Infrastructure, Social Sectors.

I practiced previous year papers for Statistics.

And now the most important part- Current Affairs - India and World; International Affairs; current topics in Economy and Polity; National, Social and Environment issues; Science and Technology.

I was regular with The Hindu - took clippings daily, underlined important points in them right away (so that I didn't have to read the article all over again later) and arranged them topic wise once every fortnight or so. I also read Chronicle and important topics from Frontline (20 pages in each issue out of 130 pages). By August mid I had a list of important issues from all topics. This includes:

Relations with about 10-12 countries (Russia, US, Pakistan, Nepal, Brazil, South Africa, China, Japan, ASEAN, SAARC, G8, Italy, Germany; any country important for that year). I arranged the clippings topic wise and wrote answers for relations with each country. For example: In India-Russia relations I divided answer into 6 sections (Energy, Defence, International affairs, Economy/Trade, Cultural, Miscellaneous). There would be about 5-10 points of recent developments under each heading.
Nearly 10-15 topics each from International Affairs, National issues, Polity issues and current Economy, Science and Technology.

I prepared and practiced answers for these important topics. Atleast 3-4 revisions are must to get the best out of this effort.

Many of the 2 markers were covered from these news clippings. Also, I practiced to write maximum information in minimum words. This is a must to do well in 2 markers.

Tackling the exam: For me time is a big issue in exam. I write quite slowly. So I would answer all the questions I knew first and leave all the flukes for the last (around 30-40 marks detailed questions). This way I could give my best in the questions I was thorough with. Moreover, before writing the answer I’d think on it for a few minutes and prepare a basic framework. This is a must. I wrote to the point answers. Moreover, if I could write only good 150 words for a 250 words answer, I’d leave it at that rather than trying to stretch my answer to required word limit.

I left 2 markers which I didn't know rather than attempting flukes in them.