I have had several memorable interviews. Two such cases are reproduced here:

First Interview

• This is a true story of a NCC entry girl from Manipur. Miss X had done her schooling from her home town in Imphal. She was an average student in school, with average performance in academics & no noteworthy achievements in sports or extracurricular activities.
• She graduated in Arts from Delhi University. She obtained a third division (below average), had no involvement in sports extracurricular activities & wasted a considerable amount of her time in Delhi in non-productive activities, like quite a few young girls, with no clear aim in life who are unable to positively cope with the freedom of college life, coupled with the freedom provided by hostel life, when staying away from their parents supervision.
• She was a highly unlikely candidate for selection to become an officer in the Defence Services. Expectedly she was rejected by different SSBs four times. At this stage of her life Miss X took stock of her life & concluded the following:
  • She had wasted considerable time in her life in non productive work for which she alone was responsible. Her parents, friends, & teachers could in no way be held responsible for her current state.
  • She was rejected by the SSB because she deserved to be rejected.
  • In the same way that she had wasted her time, by her own free will she could utilize it constructively to improve herself.

She undertook the following actions :

• Started spending time in the library reading about her subjects current events & whatever she found interesting & stopped wasting her time.
• She began to exercise regularly to improve her fitness & bring in greater discipline in her life.

I interviewed Miss X in her fifth attempt at SSB. She was cleared & is an officer today.

Lessons

• We are responsible for whatever good or bad that happens in our lives. Blaming others & circumstances does not help us in any way.
• We can proactively change our lives for the better.
• Candidates clearing SSB need not have a past record of high achievements.
• There is no point in wasting time regretting past actions. We should focus on the present & work purposefully towards a bright future!

Second Interview

During my stint as selector at 17 SSB, I met several remarkable persons. One such person I interviewed in 2010 was “DHARAVI SLUM OFFICER” (This is the name I have given him). He was about 5ft 6 inches weight about 52 kg slim & wiry.

He came from the Dharavi Slum in Mumbai. He had been working since childhood doing odd jobs. He had to work to survive. He had been supporting his parents since his teen years. He had financed his own education & had done MA in English (evening classes throughout his career). He had played no games or pursued any hobbies. Life never afforded him that luxury! When I asked him as to how he had prepared for SSB as regards fitness, he said frankly that he had never practiced running because his life style left him with very little time & I quote him

“There is no space to run, where I stay?”

However, with his hands he was good- push ups, chin-ups & more. He was very confident & comfortable about his background & upbringing. His energy was infectious. His overall competence was impressive. He was such a fascinating person that I went to see him during the GTO tests. His abilities in some obstacles would have made a monkey proud!

Success in SSB

He would be a responsible officer somewhere today & would be upgrading the lives of his family & infusing energy in the unit in which he would be serving.

Lessons for Aspirants

• Don’t worry about what destiny has not provided you. Instead focus on what you can do to change your destiny!
• Great things can be accomplished if you have clear goals and work towards them with enthusiasm and purpose.
• Don’t be apologetic about your circumstances and environment just accept them as facts and move on in life!
• Difficulties which don’t break us make us stronger!
• You don’t need to have played games or pursued hobbies and interests to get selected in SSB. Being responsible and competent is far more important!!