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Brief Introduction about Poola Dhanush from Rankers Cave:
Poola Dhanush is a true gem and an exceptional human being, embodying humility, integrity, and unwavering honesty. His remarkable character and principled nature are rare and inspiring, making him a perfect fit for the civil services. We are thrilled to see such a humble and virtuous individual join the ranks, as his presence will undoubtedly elevate the quality and ethos of public service.
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Introduction:
My name is Poola Dhanush. I am from Hyderabad, Telangana. I completed my graduation in electronics and communication engineering. Post my graduation, I worked as Associate Technical Writer in corporate for 2 years. I cleared UPSC CSE 2023 and was allocated IDAS.
Why Civil Services?
I wanted to pursue a challenging career with a sense of public service.
Coaching/Mentorship for UPSC
- Foundation coaching – La Excellence
- GS and Essay Mentorship – Rohini madam from ForumIAS
- Geography Optional Mentorship – Venkateswarlu (ENSO academy) and Sandeep Mahajan sir
Prelims and Mains books:
History – Seenaiah sir’s and La Excellence notes along with NCERTs and Tamil Nadu 11th and 12th History.
Geography and Environment – Optional preparation was sufficient along with Current Affairs from The Hindu, Vision PT 365 and Mains 365
Political Science and Governance – Lakshmikanth, Vision PT 365 and Mains 365, Current affairs from the Hindu, La Excellence Notes.
International Relations – Current Affairs from The Hindu
Economy – Mrunal Win series, Current Affairs notes from The Hindu, Vision PT 365 and Mains 365
Internal Security – Current Affairs from The Hindu, Vision Mains 365
Indian Society – La Excellence Notes, Current Affairs from The Hindu, Vision Mains 365
Disaster Management – Malleswari madam La Excellence DM Notes, Current Affairs from The Hindu, Mains 365
Ethics – DK Balaji, KM Pathi sir notes, La Excellence notes Toppers notes, Case studies from Newspapers
Problems faced in Prelims
- Doing silly mistakes without properly reading the question.
- CSAT for me was not that easy, though I always cleared CSAT. I had to practice more.
- Rigorous practice by writing free test series helped me.
Problems faced in Mains
Mains was the tough part for me as answer writing was not easy for me due to my slow writing speed. Time for brainstorming was limited due to this. I had to practice a lot to improve my speed while keeping the quality of answers high.
Optional preparation needs comprehensive preparation. For an Optional like Geography you need lots of latest examples, case studies to substantiate and make the answers interesting. This I was never able to accomplish as I was always in the UPSC loop, so could not get enough time to go back and update my notes. I should have spent more time on my Optional which is my regret.
Why Geography Optional?
Was interesting and had good coverage with many of the GS papers. Being a popular Optional guidance was also readily available.
Advantages of Geography Optional
- Has good coverage of a large number of GS topics. Thus helps in preparation
- Gives you an edge in Prelims as we prepare well even in topics such as environment.
Disadvantages of Geography Optional
- This is not a disadvantage, but candidates need to be careful in their approach.
- Candidates often prepare Geography Optional like they prepare for GS as usually the paper seems very simple. This is a big mistake as we cannot score good marks in this case.
- Geography Optional requires extensive effort in content, Basic content won’t be sufficient. Lots of examples, case studies, and even creative presentations are required to make your content stand out.
- Geography does not provide you any major advantage in scoring papers such as Essay and Ethics unlike other Optional such as Sociology, PSIR, and Philosophy.
Interview Preparation Strategy
- Made notes on DAF. Regular revision on DAF topics
- Started reading more news articles from different sources – Used Times of India as my major source during the interview stage.
- Collaborated with other aspirants to discuss various topics.
- Participated in 4 to 5 mocks and a few one on one sessions that helped me to assess myself.