APJ Abdul Kalam sir has quoted in his book “Dreams are not those which come while we are sleeping, but dreams are those which do not let us sleep.” Hi friends. My name is RAVINDER KATANIA. I have given 8 attempts out of which I have 2 screened out, 2 conference out and 4 recommendations. My father is a JCO in INDIAN NAVY and I have done my schooling from NAVY CHILDREN SCHOOL. I was the Sports Captain of my school. The lifestyle of defense has always attracted me. And therefore my dream is to have stars on my shoulders.
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My journey to fulfill this dream started in 2014 when I gave my first NDA SSB. I was too nervous and therefore got screened out. 29 people were recommended in that batch. Many of them were my classmates. I felt bad for a few days but then returned to my normal self and I did not work upon my personality. After this, I gave 2 more NDA SSBs in which I got conference out and screened out. The mistake I made was NOT PREPARING for the SSBs. I missed the chance to join NDA and then I joined an engineering college.
During college, there were times when I thought I do not have it in me. I used to daydream about being an Army officer. During college, my younger brother got into NDA. I visited NDA and realized what I had missed. That day I made a promise to myself that I will not miss IMA chance. Though a 9 pointer, I did not opt for college placements and focused on SSB only.
I started journal writing. I recorded my day and my feelings and thoughts on paper. This helped me to organise my thoughts. First half hour of the day, I used to spend on planning for the day and used the last half hour for journal writing. This was my long-term preparation for SSB.
I got my first call letter for TGC 127 SSB during the final year of engineering. One month before the SSB, I downloaded TAT WAT SRT series from SSBCrack. I divided the month into 4 phases. First 10 days, I practiced TAT by writing. I wrote the observations from the TAT picture and put a questions mark on each observation. Then I thought of my own answers to those questions and connected them to form a simple story. I kept my story as simple as possible. I practiced 1 TAT set each day taking my own time for each picture.
After this, I started preparation for the personal interview. I wrote all my answers for the rapid-fire questions and also prepared my answers for the cross questions. This took me 5 days. I wrote all my answers for what all I did in my life and why I did it. Then I practiced WAT SRT for the next 5 days. For WAT I thought of another word which can replace the word given and then connected these 2 words in a sentence of my own. I kept my SRT answers as small and simple as possible. I wrote the actions which I would do in real life situations. Last 10 days were for my revision and final touch up of the preparation. I gave my 100 percent for the preparation.
The first SSB I gave was TGC 127 ( 24 SSB Bangalore). 400+ people reported for the screening. I was very nervous. I motivated myself by repeating the lines, “If not me then who ?”
I was nervous before every task during the 5 days. But during the task, I kept my cool. I did not think about the tasks which were over. I focused on quality and not on quantity. During the conference result when my chest number was called out, my brain went completely blank. It was the best feeling ever. I could see my dream getting fulfilled. But I got medical unfit for this entry. Again, I was recommended for CDS 2 2017 ( IMA ) ( 17 SSB Bangalore). But I had another heartbreak in the form of medical unfit. Family and friends encouraged me and I started preparing for my next SSBs. I was again recommended for CDS 1 2018 ( IMA ) (17 SSB Bangalore) and TGC 128 ( 34 SSB Allahabad ). I am medically fit for both and waiting for merit list. It is the hard work and preparation that matters. After 4 recommendations I believe simplicity is the key to success in SSB.
