I had recently cleared my UPSC CAPF (Assistant Commandant) examination and was very happy. Was busy sending them my documents to be eligible for the physical and medical tests, my parents were very happy when suddenly I saw a mail pop up which had my SSB call letter for the Indian Navy. My joy had no bounds. I had always dreamt of joining the services and I often in my mind would imagine how it would actually be at SSB.  I had appeared for AFCAT 2 2015 but I couldn’t make the cut off (I scored 141 when the cut off was 144). I also appeared for CDS2-2015 and I did well at it and am expecting an SSB call through that entry as well in some time soon.
> Coming back to the SSB call I received I was so overwhelmed with joy that I straight away went to PP(he is my step dad, more of a friend :)) took him to the nearest travel agency had my train tickets booked. I was supposed to report on 19th Nov at the SSB board. But considering the rush the trains have during the Diwali season I took my ticket for 10th Nov.  I dint want to take any chances rushing for tickets at the last moment.

THE LAST MINUTE PREPARATIONS:

> Now came the last minute prep I was in a dilemma if I should take up SSB Training or not but I eventually decided that I will not take up any training. I felt SSB is about being yourself and I felt am pretty good at that. Besides as far as I know about SSB they look for a key that fits a particular keyhole. I felt if I am that right key I am bound to get selected so I dropped the idea for going to any SSB training program. Now I was very sure that I know about myself but yet I dint want to leave any stone unturned so I started with self-introspection. I started writing about myself, my own view of me, and my view of my parents, teachers, and friends, my strong and weak points. Then I started talking to my parents, my girlfriend, friends, and teachers to know what they thought of me.  When I was done with the research all the views were pretty much in conjunction. That boosted up my confidence as I felt if my view of me and others view about me are in conjunction that means I am not fake about myself.
> Few days passed on like this and it was 9th Nov choti  Diwali I really wanted to be home for the badi Diwali as I had never been home for Diwali since the last three years (I had done my graduation from Mysore so was away in that tenure)my parents were equally sad but I knowing that this is my train to turn my dream to reality I boosted up everyone’s morale and told them how am going to rock at SSB 😀 and that how I would call them for my POP at INA. I turned everyone’s dukhi mood to khushi mood burst some crackers had the delicious food mom made and slept. Next morning got up at 4am got ready bid everyone good bye cried a little 😛 and boarded my train at 6am.  Now the journey from Guwahati to Bangalore is 56 hours what I did in these hours was do repeated brainstorming about myself and SSB. I would often be talking to myself and people would stare at me:D. Hours passed on reached Bangalore on 12th Nov went to my friends place and stayed there. Now all I had to do was wait for 19th Nov to come.

19th Nov, 2015:

> Reported at SBC station at 2pm boarded the bus reached the centre and was sent back for not carrying my Provisional Degree Certificate(This is why you must make sure that you carry all relevant documents).Yes I was sent back my PDC was not issued by the University I didn’t know what to do. I couldn’t let my dream go away like this I went to the Call Up Officer who was kind enough to allot me the next date i.e. 24th November. I went back to my friend’s room a little disappointed as I was not sure if I will have my PDC issued by the university within that span of time.  I called my HOD who was very helpful and helped me get my PDC.

24th Nov, 2015: (REPORTING)

> Reported to the centre had my documents verified chest numbers allotted mine was #143 . Filled up the forms the PIQ as well.  I took great care while filling up the PIQ as i knew it was something that made the base of questions during the Interview.  I filled what was true of myself didn’t write anything unreal about me. Had rooms allotted went to the barracks gelled up with the other candidates there and slept.

DAY1: (SCREENING)

> Got up early had the rest of room mates get up everyone got ready way in advance.  Now when all were making strategies about PP & DT i only had one thing in my head that in the test which is a GROUP DISCUSSION i would try to keep it a discussion and not make it a debate. I would not try to forcefully imbibe my views on other’s. And all i would do is narrate my story well and try to have the group come to a conclusion.
> Had breakfast went in for Screening test.  First we had OIR test first set i attempted only 37 questions out of 50 as i thought wrong answers carry negative markings which was not the case. (This is why we must give attention to the instructions ) .But i was not disappointed at the same time i was sure that my answers were mostly correct and that in SSB Quality outweighs Quantity.Next set i answered 47 questions out of 50. Now OIR done next was PP&DT.
> The picture i saw had three characters a young boy, a elderly man and a women. I saw myself in the picture and the situation was appt.  I remember telling my parents i want to be in the services and they being a bit paranoid about it and i explained why i want to be in the services and later on had them convinced.
> So my story was something like this Gagan was a graduate in BCA who wanted to be in the forces told his parents about it who were paranoid and said it was a risky profession to opt for.  He explained to them that these are not risks but thrills that the services offer,the high perks and allowances,the adventure, the pride, the respect and ultimately had their nod to him joining the services(i convinced my parents in the same way).Next he started preparing for SSB he then got a call for SSCExecutiveIT(June2016 course) for the Indian Navy (This was the very same course i was attending the SSB program for) faced the SSB got recommended. Is now a Sub-Lieutenant in the Indian Navy having passed out from the largest Naval Academy (Indian Naval Academy, Ezhimala, Kerela) as a topper of the batch. His parents who were earlier paranoid now took great pride in saying that their son is an officer in the NAVY.

> Next came GD some candidates were narrating the story to the accessors when you are supposed to discuss it with the group.  I kept that in mind and never looked at the accessors and sat upright, narrated my story to the group in a loud and clear voice maintained eye contact with everyone in the group.We were then asked to come to a conclusion which eventually became a fish market i tried to regulate the group dint work out though. The accessor asked us to leave i was sad and felt might have to go home but there was still this little positiveness inside me that said il make the cut.  Results announced Oh Yes i got screened in.  Out of 151 candidates in the batch 16 got screened in. My chest number was now #3 .
> Was happy told my parents il be here for another 4 days.Bid the guys who were leaving good bye and filled up PIQ again.
> Post that went back to rooms.
> Had lunch then played basketball then dinner then slept.

DAY2: (PSYCHOLOGICAL TESTING)

> TAT: 11 slides shown each slide shown for 30 secs time given 4 minutes to write a story on each.  After11 slides a blank slide was shown where we had to write any story we wanted.
Wrote all the stories was happy with the performance.

> WAT: 60 words shown one after the other we had to write a sentence on each word shown. Time allotted for each word 15 seconds.  I attempted 56 words out of 60.

> SRT: 60 situations given we had to give our responses and how we would react at the moment. Placed myself in the situation wrote the first thought that came to my head. Attempted 45 out of 60 was little disappointed as i missed 15 but i recalled quality outweighs quantity.

> Self Description: Had to write about myself. My parents, teachers, friends view of me both strong and weak points.My view of myself both strong and weak,it was easy could do it in time.  Anyone can do it easily if you have given a little time to introspect yourself.

> Testing done the pyschologist came to us asked to help him write a code for a software we all helped him.  (not part of the test) .

> Testing done had a nap went out with friends came back had dinner and slept.

DAY3 : (GTO1)

> The GTO officer came dressed in a leather jacket with his rayban’s on.  Introduced himself as a Captain of the Navy.  I had goosebumps when he said he was a captain in the Indian Navy i always to have the prefix which he.
> He gave us instructions asked us to sit in a circle than we had our GD.  We were given two topics:
1)The situation in Kashmir.what should be done? Should we still try dialogue with Pakistan though it has failed to bring any resolution or annex it by force with a war.
2)For the progress of the nation which of the following should be given more priority. Population Explosion, Illiteracy, Terrorism?

> I wanted to speak on the first topic as i was very thorough with the subject but few in the group were not. So we decided to speak on the second.
> Had a discussion went very smooth. There were candidates trying to initiate when they did not even have something factual to say. That did them more harm than good as they were not able to stand their ground when they were counter questioned. I had my say i let other’s have their say. There were candidates who wanted to speak but couldn’t grab an opportunity i helped such candidates have their say.

Discussion went great GTO came and concluded our discussion told us we did well.

>Next we were given a topic of the GTO’s choice and had to speak on it. The topic was Provisions for Sports in India. Why do we don’t get as many medals as China in international level. When the population of China and India are almost similar?

>I was very comfortable with the topic as I have been on ground zero when provisions about sports and games. (i have played cricket at a district and zonal level) so I spoke about my own experience and what can be done to boost our morale to encourage people to take up a career in sports and games.  Also spoke about the corruption level and gave my views on what should be done to curb it.

>Discussion was great we were concluded by the GTO and congratulated again on doing well.

Next was (GROUP PLANNING EXERCISE):

> GTO explained the problem gave us 15 min to write our solution to it.  I write solutions giving priorities to the problems also avoided giving superhuman stunts and kept it real.  Also kept the time, distance, speed constraint in mind.

> Next we had to conclude in 15 min.  We couldnt come to a conclusion until the GTO said last 5 minutes gentlemen.
> Now I knew we wouldn’t come to a conclusion by debating so I raised my voice a little higher and gave my solution to the problem I asked the team to add their views on it. It worked out we were actually coming up with conclusion to each problem. After coming to a solution for each problem I would ask the team to vote if they agree to the solution by simply raising their hand for a yes and keeping it down for a no.  Everyone complied eventually we solved all the problems and had everyone’s nod to each solution thanks to the voting.

>Then the GTO asked one of us to conclude the Team nominated me, i narrated the solutions to the GTO who in turn asked the whole group do you agree to the solution and the team would say YES. We did not have a problem on that since I made sure that the solution we developed had everyone’s consent at the final level. GPE done.

NEXT WAS PROGRESSIVE GROUP TASK, FULL GROUP TASK,HALF GROUP TASK:

>When a few were vying to hold the patta and balli I was looking for ways to solve the task. I let people have their say contributed to it when things dint work I nominated and I said I have an idea that is going to work please follow accordingly started off and with everyone’s contribution we finished the first task.  Moved on to the second we followed the same approach moved to 3rd and 4th eventually in PGT. During FGT, HGT I had the same approach we did well in the tasks.

SNAKE RACE:

Here we had a battery of obstacles we had to cross while holding  the snake. 6 of us had to hold the snake at all times when on ground while 3 of us had to hold when on an obstacle.  We were asked to decide a war cry.  Chest #4 said har har Mahadev we agreed and that became our war cry. The GTO pumped us when he asked us have you understood the task?  We said yes.  He then said say it loud and clear.  We screamed Yes Sir.  He said ISLAMABAD should shake say it louder we screamed YES SIR our voice echoed throughout the ground we were all pumped.
Now the race started everyone were trying to hold onto the snake and none were leading on the obstacles i took initiative.  I would run and get on the obstacles first help my team cross it then get down second last and run to the next obstacle and repeat the same.  I was the only one who could get up on the walls without help and i helped everyone cross it. I had my hands bruised while trying to bring up a few candidates but i was so pumped at that point of time that i felt no pain.
This way we went on to cross the final obstacle when our opponent team was 1 obstacle behind.but when we thought we finished the GTO said one of you must go and repeat the last 2 obstacles as you broke a rule. I ran and i finished the two obstacles again. Now all we had to do was run towards the finish line.  I screamed HAR HAR MAHADEV and the team screamed back HAR HAR MAHADEV.  We finished the task and won.Gap of a few minutes given to us.

Then we had our INDIVIDUAL OBSTACLES:

We had a warm up we were made to run, we did it with josh.
Now the GTO was briefing us on the obstacles when he was briefing us i was deciding the sequence in which i would do the task. By the time he finished explaining i had a clear cut plan of the sequence i was going to follow.
We were made to sit and wait for our turn my turn came i started doing the obstacles i could do all with ease except for the jump using the rope over the ditch where i was about to fall down. But thank god i was able to swing back.  Now  i was in a dilemma if i should try doing it again or skip it i decided doing it again. I took a step ahead and came back again. I was trembling i took a deep breath and i took the leap i completed the task. Went onto the next and next when i realised i have finished my 10 obstacles. Now i still had time left i repeated another 3 obstacles.that carried additional marks.So in my IO i did 13 obstacles(10+3).I was happy with my performance.

INDIVIDUAL  LECTURETTE:

I picked my card i had four topics i chose the topic about “CONSTITUTION OF INDIA” i was able to speak on the topic fluently for the 3 minutes tike that were allotted to me.  My study about the topic for CDS, CAPF entrance exams came handy here.
After this our GTO1 was concluded i was very happy with my performance.Had my bruises attended by the nursing attendant there and went back to our barracks.

DAY4: (GTO2)

COMMAND TASK:

I was made the commander i had to pick two subordinates my task was explained to me. And to summarise it i would say it was a task where i had to get my troops and myself off titanic with the help of a rope, pata, balli.Titanic was surrounded by explosives so i had to be cautious.  Was stuck in the first few minutes but i eventually devised a plan i gave instructions but my subordinates were not able to execute them properly i took initiative i made them stand at the safe corner and pass me the materials i built a bridge made them cross and then i crossed it. Completing the task.
> Post the task the GTO asked me commander you were made the commander for a reason you were supposed to command but you made your troops stand at the safe corner and did it yourself they had a very little contribution to the task.  I replied saying Sir as you said the ship is surrounded by explosives i had to make sure my troops were safe so i made them stand at the safe distance and i built the bridge when i was sure that the bridge was safe i had them cross over.  The GTO looked satisfied and smiled at me and asked me to go.

FINAL GROUP TASK:

> It was simple a little practical knowledge came handy here. When people were trying out of the box ideas i saw a simple way of solving it.  I told my team about it.who asked me to move first i moved using the patta balli combo. Had the rest of the team come there eventually and finally finish the task with ease.

Gto2 done.

INTERVIEW:

I had my interview the same day.  I was interviewed by the President of the board. He was very warm, gentle, smiling and polite. He made feel comfortable and i was at ease in a fraction of minutes. He asked about my place, education, family etc. I have a step dad had the whole thing discussed i told him how loving he was and how happy i am to have him with my mom and us.  I told about my 6 yrs old younger brother and how much i love him.  I got a little emotional talking about my childhood which was not very smooth.  He asked me to have water and take my time.  I took 2 minutes and when i was normal had my interview resumed.  I had about 3 Rapid Fire Question rounds.i tried to listen to him very carefully devised a way to remember the keywords and thereby remember the set if questions. I answered almost all and after answering i always told him sir i believe i have answered all the questions to your satisfaction if in case i have missed out on anything then i would be very thankful to you if you could repeat them for me.

> My education was discussed at length.He asked me you know to write telugu?  I said yes sir i told him i had it as my second language. He asked why did i opt for telugu.  I told him i did my schooling from VIJAYAWADA, ANDHRA PRADESH and there when i was in 10th telugu was made a compulsory language.  I had to appear for it.  He asked if i learnt reading and writting telugu in one year i said yes.  He was amazed.  He asked me how i prepared i told him how i did.  I told him while preparing on top of a telugu word i would write the pronunciation in english and below it the meaning in english i prepared that way.  He said that is nice.  I scored 68 in telugu and he said had it not been for telugu you wouldve scored higher i said yes sir my score would have been above 95 %. He asked about my score drop in 12th i told him the reasons. He asked me why i opted for BCA and not BE i told him my scores were less in 12th i couldnt have  got an engineering seat on merit and i dint want my parents to spend their hard earned money on donation.  Besides i did bad in Computer Science in my 12th i had this thing to prove to myself that u can do well in computer science so despite my parents advise i opted for BCA. He asked how did you do in BCA i said i did well.  I scored 100% in my final semester at college that was project development he congratulated me.
> The interview was casual i felt like im talking to a friend.Kudos to the president who made me feel so comfortable.
> I couldnt answer a few questions on current affairs in the interview and i was a little sad about it. But the rest was good.
> Interview went long when we were done he told me he had a great time talking to me. He stood up from his chair and shook my hand again. I was very happy.

> Evening we went out i went to the cafe found out the answers to the questions i couldn’t answer in the interview.Post that went to the mall had fun with the group and came back.

DAY5: (CONFERENCE)

Put on the best of my clothes got ready. Waited for my number to be called. Was excited and nervous. Finally i was called i entered the room with a smile of confidence, wished them good morning loud and clear. My eyes were wide open seeing all the officers in their crisp white and olive green uniform. The President being my interviewing officer was the one who spoke to me in my conference.Asked me what have you learnt through SSB i told him i know myself better now.  I know where i lack most importantly, he asked me what was that.  I smiled and told him current affairs.  He smiled back. He asked me to tell 5 weak points i told him accordingly. He asked me what would i do if i dont get recommended i told him im pretty sure i will bag a recommendation this time but if in case i dont i will come back again and bag it. He asked me to rate my performance at ssb i said 8.He asked me to rate it individually i said 7 for psychology,8 for gto, 7 for interview. He asked me why. I told him 7 for psychology as i feel had i used my time better i could attempted all the srt’s.  I missed 15 so i deduct 3 marks for it.

> Gto 8 cos i said i couldve done more better at FGT, HGT.

> Interview 7 cos i  was unable to answer the questions on current affairs so i deduce 2 marks for that and 1 mark for self introspection.
> He said okay Animesh.  Is there anything you would like to say to me?  That was my oppurtunity i told him the answers to the current affair questions that i couldnt answer in the interview.  He smiled and asked me to leave.

> Then after all were done with their conference we were asked to assemble at the hall.  An officer of the navy came in briefed us and told us chest#3 please stand up he is the only recommendation from the batch. The rest dont be disheartened and come back again.  I had tears in my eyes. It was my dream that had come true.  Everyone congratulated me hugged me while i was still in shock 🙂 .. After that everyone left and i was briefed on the medical process and was told to get my bags.  I ran not to get the bags but to bid my friends a proper good bye.  We all hugged and jumped.  Took a selfie and then got my bags and came back to report to the tester JCO.

> I learnt there that i was the only recommendation in the last 4 batches for  SSCExexutive(IT) june 2016 course.  The last three batches had been wash outs.  Ie 0 recommended.  I was then detailed for me medicals. Which started the next day lasted over 7 days it was done at COMMAND HOSPITAL AIR FORCE(CHAF),BANGALORE. i have now completed my medicals and have been declared medically fit 🙂
I am awaiting the all india merit list and im pretty sure to have a place in that list 🙂
> I have now started preparing for Afcat1-2016 and CDS1-2016 .. I hope to crack them as well and get calls for ssb and get more recommendations.
> “YE DIL MAANGE MORE” is what i would like to quote right now 🙂

In my success apart from my parents and my near and dear one’s i would like to thank COL. DEEJAY CHAHAL whose blogs on current affairs and ssb helped me become aware. I would like to thank SSBCRACK for the guidance they provide online. It definitely helps a lot of candidates like myself. And I take this opportunity to thank you for the selfless service.

For best SSB preparation and to crack the SSB code get this book “Let’s Crack SSB Interview”

I hope my story helps aspirants boost up their morale and be confident about facing SSB’s. Nothing is undo-able if you have the confidence and will in yourself. If i can be of any help to any aspirant i would love to connect to them.

I can be reached through facebook my user name is Animesh Kakati, my id is [email protected]

One can also drop a mail on the email id given below: [email protected].

All the best aspirants. Never give up on yourself nothing is undoable. Good luck!