Life always gives you a second chance…..It’s up to you whether you want to stand and hit century or get bowled out”. Since nothing comes easy to you in life….even my fate was the same. Things kept on changing and everything seems turning out to be negative but the ‘burning desire to wear that uniform and serve the country with pride’ kept me alive in the hunt. Certainly it was not my time then but today yes it’s mine. That’s how the roller coaster ride called “life” goes on..! After passing from school I appeared for NDA written test. The preparation was not upto the mark as I have to struggle a lot with Mathematics and yes the Engineering entrance examination…the so called dream of every parents to see his child in IITs and NITs. The final result was that I was failed everywhere….failed in NDA and failed in AIEEE and IIT JEE miserably. I know I can’t make it to IITs/NITs but I thought I could make to NDA….but dreams shattered and at the end of the season I found myself in a private engineering collage in the eastern coast of the country studying “Mechanical engineering”. Half-heartedly applied for NDA again but the semester exams crashed with the NDA exam date….and finally I lost all the patience. A new life of compromise had started for me and engineering was nothing but getting the degree for me. At the end of third year Indian Navy came to the nearby collage for UES Entry but I couldn’t go as I have 1 backlog in 2nd year. So after back to back many defeat….I completed my engineering and like many engineers I was unemployed. I went to Delhi and started preparing for CDS examination as I convinced myself and my family to give a final chance to defence and side by side I could find a job.
On 13th Dec my phone biped and I saw the call letter to attend the SSB Interview on 31st Dec, 2012 at Bangalore. I was really very much surprised and couldn’t express how happy I was then because while sending the form 3 months back I forgot to attach the documents and later I resend the form with all proper documents and attached an apology letter for the blunder I have done earlier with a hope that they will accept it and the luck favored me.They also felt that this guy was so desperate to comeJ. I checked the mail and I got the call letter in the attachments. Called Dad and told I am going to Bangalore for my 1st SSB. Dad told finally u got the call and I shouted loud “YESSSSSSSS”. After that started the preparation as I got just 15 days. Read haphazardly many newspapers, articles, and Arihant’s SSB Interview book and got some idea about the procedure. As I am little bit good in current affairs and giving lectures on India and reading social science specially geography is my childhood passion and hobby so I was aware of many issues happened in the country and was little confident that I can manipulate things according to my knowledge and the same thing happened. My two friends “RAUNAQ and RAVINDER” helped me a lot by brushing me in wide variety of topics weather it’s TAT,WAT,or SRTs…we had a good time and and I am very thank full to them as they listened me patiently to my all lectures and my strange awkward philosophy that I have towards life. After watching DABBANG 2 together it was the time to chase my dream.
DECEMBER 29 : Raunaq dropped me to Nizamuddin Railway station in the chilly winter morning at 5 am. All India Radio said the temp. is 4 degree Celsius. But I was feeling more than that. I was having a waitlisted Sleeper class ticket in “Sampark Kranti express” as no rooms were there in all the trains but with stroke of some luck when I reached the station my ticket was confirmed as a new compartment was added and in that I got birth no 69. Felt really happy that my ticket was confirmed. Surely the luck was on my side. Raunaq gave me hot coffee with some chips packet and wished me luck and said Janemannn “Recommend” ho ke aana and then he waived off bye and left. Train started and till Jhansi I was shivering with cold until Sun came out and I felt relieved. In front of my seats I found some Air force employees going to Bangalore. They asked me some questions and I replied accordingly and finally they said don’t worry baccha…tu pass ho jayega…even I wished the same. Train kept running and after tiring 2 days journey I stepped down at Yashvantpur Railway station at mid night 12 and by that time train was 5 hrs late. I searched a hotel near the station and put the luggage and went to eat. I was given a plate filled with rice, sambhar and sabzi…the sambhar was sooooo sour more than I expected and I said “Welcome to Bangalore boss” .
DECEMBER 31 : I woke up at 9.30 am and then got freshen and had my breakfast then boarded the Yashvantpur-Mysore express to Bangalore City Railway station at 11.30am. I reported the MCO at 12.30 and found some guys there waiting. The reporting time was 2.30 pm so I thought of having my lunch so with 2 other boys I went to hotel near the railway station and had the lunch.
The main difference that time was….while leaving Delhi I was shivering with cold and standing near the Bangalore city rly. Station I was sweeting like hell….I said to myself. This is my Incredible India..!!
People started gathering and by 2.30pm there were around 100 candidates from all parts of the country speaking different languages were present and the number kept on increasing. Suddenly a Green Army Bus entered and parked near the MCO. An Army men came and shouted to make lines…explained some rules in anger and then signaled to enter the bus keeping all luggage at the top of the bus. I was standing at the end of the line so by the time my chance came the bus was full and then he ordered the rest 30-35 candidates to wait for the second trip. I sat near the road and started talking to a guy named VARUN from Belgaum, Karnataka. He was nice guy and we had a great time. By the time we were not knowing that we will become great friends in the coming 5 days and will be placed in the same group. Then bus came and we loaded our luggage and started our destination to SSB CENTRE, SOUTH (BANGALORE). I was looking everywhere on the road as this was my first visit to the “ Garden City of India” and I want to admire it to the fullest as traveling was part of my hobby too. We reached the Centre and filled the forms and were given chest no. mine was 45. Then we were shifted to our accommodation and finally provided with food. I felt relieved as I was really very hungry. I ate and then came back to my bad and told VARUN to wake me up by 3 am.
SSB @ FIVE DAYS
January 1 : He woke me up at 2.45am and told me go and shave and get fresh else water tank will be empty. I rushed to bathroom shaved, bath and got freshened up. So by the time other people started waking me and Varun had already finished everything……all thanks to him. Then we went to the nearby Temple in the compound and offered prayer on “New year’s day”.
After breakfast we assembled and went for OIR test. The questions was maximum nonverbal type accompanied with verbal and little bit of tricky questions too. I did 45 out of 50 in the first paper and in the next attempted all 50. Then we were told that PPDT “Picture perception and description test “will be the next. In that we were shown a hazy picture where I saw a young lady with few scratch was sitting on the bed. A young men is holding her hand and checking and an old lady is standing in the backside. Some people saw a new born baby beside in a cradle but I couldn’t see that. So I made a story that she is young newly married bride who suffered injury and burns as she was harassed and beaten by her in laws in demand of dowry and her body was burnt. I made that boy a skin specialist and the old lady her
mother and wrote the story that the boy while coming to hospital found her in the casualty ward lying unconscious and her mother screaming in pain He examined and ordered for emergency operation and with the help from panel of expert doctors successfully done the surgery and saved the life of the lady. I was happy with my story and then explained confidently in 45 sec. When the individual discussions ended…there was a little pause and I my engines blasted and fired and pressed the throttle and initiated the discussion and I got almost 15 sec to continue then others joined and later it became a fish market and finally the bell ranged and the discussion was over. I thought I can go through and after the lunch result declared and my chest no. 45 was called and I was screened in. I was happy and called home and informed parents that I am going to enjoy Bangalore and this roller coaster ride experience for 4 more days.
mother and wrote the story that the boy while coming to hospital found her in the casualty ward lying unconscious and her mother screaming in pain He examined and ordered for emergency operation and with the help from panel of expert doctors successfully done the surgery and saved the life of the lady. I was happy with my story and then explained confidently in 45 sec. When the individual discussions ended…there was a little pause and I my engines blasted and fired and pressed the throttle and initiated the discussion and I got almost 15 sec to continue then others joined and later it became a fish market and finally the bell ranged and the discussion was over. I thought I can go through and after the lunch result declared and my chest no. 45 was called and I was screened in. I was happy and called home and informed parents that I am going to enjoy Bangalore and this roller coaster ride experience for 4 more days.
Out of 124 reported 24 people screened in finally and out of that 1 withdrew so we reduced to total 23 candidates and I was there standing with my “trademark” smile on my face as usual. We were shifted to 12 SSB new accommodation which was far far better , clean and hygienic then the previous one and I find it as reward and respect for getting screened in. I entered my room and met my screened in friends. The room starts from Chest no 9-16. Chest no.9- Varun, Chest no. 10- Allan, Chest no.11- Sandipan, Chest no.12- VP (that’s me in my short form), Chest no.13- Akhil Jaykumar , Chest.14- Jai Vignesh
Chest no. 15: Kaushik, Chest no. 15- Harpreet.
We formed a great company and all are very humorous and entertaining……simply WOW….we were so happy and comfortable and from the first day acted a team.
January 2 : Psychological test started sharp at 7 am. There were continuous 11 slides showing different situations and 1 Blank slide in TAT. I made some good story in 7-8 slides but yes I did wrote all with little logic. In WAT I did write all 60. I completed 58 in the time given and the rest two I wrote while they were explaining about the SRTs. In SRTs I increased my speed but and finally ended with doing 55 SRTs in 30 mins. Then Self-description was a bit simple and I finished in time. Overall satisfied with my psych test. This test will clearly show you what your brain can react within the fraction of seconds. If you’re able to cope up and came with sum good ideas beating time……then think you’re on the safer side but as everybody’s perception is different so no answer is right or wrong…it’s just what the right attitude at right time that matters….rest things will automatically will fall into place.
In the evening we all went to roam the nearby malls at Manipal centre and M.G Road and had great time together.
January 3 : At sharp 6.30 in morning we assembled in the ground and met our GTO officer. He had a pleasing personality and I find him damn smart but the best part is that he is very calm and supporting. Group discussion started and the topic we choose was “VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN – RECENT HAPPENING OF DELHI GANG RAPE” the discussion went smoothly as everyone has something to speak and all of us cooperated well. I spoke 3-4 times. The next topic the GTO gave of his choice was “Which country or a group of country is a serious threat to India” and the moment he declared I said to myself….beta V.P….phod de..yahi mauka hai…as I am well versed with all border disputes, current affairs and yes with my strange philosophy. All of us pointed CHINA as bigger threats…most of the people told about the Kahmir related problems and lastly I spoke about the condition of Arunachal Pradesh and Sikkim and how China is a bigger threat there and yes in the end the dispute in the South China Sea. The group discussion went fine and we’ll were happy. Then it was time for Military planning exercise and yes we did well in that too.
Then we went to ground and PGT started, I was standing quite for some time but finally I managed to give some idea to the group but I was not satisfied with my performance.
Then it was time for the Group Obstacle’s Race or simply Snake Race.…our War Cry was “BRAVO”….We started the race running & carrying the snake made of gunny bag in the hand and suddenly while climbing the structure Kaushik ahead of me lost the balance and hit the ground with bang. We stopped for a while but GTO told to continue and we ran ahead….Since the big men was injured so finally I have to fill the gap as I am too healthy. I pushed all group one by one to 8 and 10 feet wall and finally we crossed d line and guess what…..we beaten everybody despite the fact that our one soldier was wounded and we stopped a little to check his condition.
Kaushik was sent to Command Hospital in Army Jeep .He had fractured his left hand and had wrapped crap bandage all around. A bad news for him and rest of us L
In the evening I was called for the Interview. I was alone candidate that day for that Interviewing officer so I thought a complete postmortem is waiting for you baby. I waited outside and was watching two birds fighting on the nearby tree. Suddenly call bell ringed and I came back to sense and steeped inside of the hall. It was old British structure with a very large hall and the distance between the chair and table was more than I expected. I submitted my certificates and my first question was “From how many minutes you were waiting outside?? I Said Sir 25 mins. He asked what you were doing then. I said I was watching two birds fighting on the nearby tree. He looked into my eyes deeply and asked what so funny in that?? I said Sir it’s better to see two live creatures fighting/playing rather than sitting silently and looking at wall, chair and other non-living things. He smiled and said well. The interview started and 3 rounds of rapid fire questions were bombarded at me one by one. I answered as per the sequence and it was all from my PIQ. But the most interesting thing was that at the end of my every answer he just put Justify it with an example from your life???? That increases the complexity but I answered it with all real incidents blend with some of my strange philosophy and he kept smiling. At the start of the interview I said Sir I am very humorous and he said how? I said Sir just spent some time and the end of the interview you’ll be smiling and that’s what exactly happened. The interview went for almost 1 hour and all questions are mostly from my hobbies like “ TRAVELLING, TREKKING, GEOGRAPHY, ENJOYING NATURE, LECTURE I GAVE ON INDIA AND SOME OF THE ARTICLES THAT I HAVE WRITTEN” and at the end he asked 3-4 technical questions and out of the I answered 2 and rest I told Sir I don’t know. He asked me any question you want to ask???? I said Sir what is the difference between Frigates and Corvettes?? He told you Google so much. Don’t you googled it too?? Smiled and then explained. I wished him and then came out. I was happy and was getting the feelings that half of the damage has been done. Now concentrate on your Day 4.
JANUARY 4 : In the morning we gain went to the GTO testing spot and started with HGT. This time we all suggested some good plans and cross the line in the given time and then went to Individual obstacles. I did 7 out of 10. Then we went for the Lecturrette . I picked the paper and went away…I saw 4 topics out of which 2 I know with all data n facts but in the mean time I was looking at 2 crows fighting at the tree and again same thing happened what happened before the interview and 3 mins passed in a jiffy and bell ranged.I saw the topics as my mind was completely blank as I was watching the live show on the tree. I choose to speak on “Working Women” as it don’t needs any fact and figures just good thoughts and little appreciation. I spoked whatever came to my mind in those 3 mints. Overall I was okay with the performance. Final group task also went well and we showed some good team spirit and ended within the time given.
Then we went for the Command task. I was called twice by my group mates and finally I was the last one to be called by the GTO for my task. As I have already seen 2 obstacles then he took me to a different one and gave it me. I started well with help of my 2 friends whom I have called and finally I did it. So GTO DAY 3-4 was finished. The GTO called all of us and congratulated and said Best of Luck for tomorrow. So we are done with everything….So after lunch we played Basketball and Table Tennis and in the afternoon we all went to see Bangalore together. We went to see Shiv temple, Lal bagh,bull temple, Tippu’s sultan palace, ISCON temple ( the best out of everything…simply fabulous) and Vidhan Soudha…We returned little late and was asked the reason but the driver smartly told that we were caught in traffic….and we went inside. Whole night we passed laughing, sharing out life experience and yes talking about girl friends…hahahhahhahaha.
JANUARY 5 : CONFERENCE——- >>>> We got ready and had our breakfast and then assembled together . We were taken one by one and Conference started. When I was called……phewwwwwwwwwww…….I was tensed…Adrenalin was pumping high in my blood and I entered the hall. I greeted all the officer in White uniforms of NAVY simply lookin awesome and sexy with medals hanging from their chest. I sat and was asked 4 questions :
This is your first SSB?? I replied “yes” Sir. How’z your journey?? I replied…my first visit to the garden city of Indian is simply awesome.
Rate your Performance from best to worst? I replied…best was 2 days GTO as we all acted as group and had a great time….next was Interview and Psych test and worst was Individual obstacle (though a part of GTO) . He asked why? I replied coz Sir I just finished 7/10. He told me that you should have completed all 10.
What you have learnt?? I replied ….5 days SSB is a different testing procedure much much different then the simple monotonous aptitudes test and theory examinations at schools and collage. This test simply shows you the mirror and you see where you stand.
You want to change anything? I politely said “No Sir”……………after a pause…The Lt.Cdr who was also my IO said all rite Mr. Vishwanath Pratap Singh….Best of luck..!!
I too wished everyone and walked out of the room. Similarly Conference for other candidates too finished by 11.30 and we went to eat and after that we took our luggage and stationed it in the Clock room. Then we are advised to go the big hall upstairs where we wrote our Psych Test and told to seat. After 15 mins Lt.Cdr (my IO) came with the result. He started his discussion about 5 days SSB and yes 15 officers like quality ….OLQ..!! Then he told if you get selected you will join the elite Indian Navy….if not then take it as experience and come back with more preparation. He given the result to a JCO and he told us to make any guess…..Many chest no were called…like 6, 10, 9, 1, 11 and so on and then Harpreet called 12 and I winked at him.
He told few guesses are correct and here is the result —
Chest no. 6 : Aravind
Chest no. 10 : Allan
Chest no. 11 : Sandipan
I quietly said….10 is in, 11 is in….aab sala Hat trick to nahi hoga L
And then….Chest no. 12 : V Pratap Singh….was called…….n I said..damn men…yes it’s hat trick ..you made it…I jumped in joy and went to him.
Chest no. 15 : Kaushik (My wounded Soldier had also made it… standing tall beside me with his plastered hand and sweet smile)
Chest no 24 : Kiran
Out of 6 recommended candidates…..(10,11,12, & 15 ) it means Allan, Sandipan, Me and Kaushik are from the same group………Simply WOW…!! That’s what called Team Effort!
Some eyes were wet in pain and some in pleasure……..and I was jumping like hell…just like a small kid and I said to myself…….YES I HAVE IT IN ME…..!!!!
5 days of the ROLLER COASTER ride finally came to end …… and I was recommended for the Indian Navy by 12 SSB BANGALORE.
Medicals : The medical examination went to 5-6 days…Made some new friends like Lavanya, Vyshnav and some other girls who all were recommended for Army. We had a great time at hospital too. It was all fun in morning and accompanied by madness in the evening when we roam together in the malls and roads in the city. It was a life changing experience for me and I have made some good friends whom I’ll cherish till my life end.
Was found overweight and given TR……ran hard to reduce the weight…finally I am within the limit and I am declared medically fit. J
I’m thankful to the almighty, my family, my friends (Raunaq & Ravinder) for supporting me everywhere and yes to my sweetheart ‘Srinjini’ for holding my hand and encouraging me in my most difficult times way back in ‘engineering’ and had kept faith in me till now.
“People call it SSB and I call it a Roller Coaster Ride”
Author: V Pratap Singh: A Mechanical engineer who had spent his 4 years understanding “life” rather machines.
