- Mrunal - http://mrunal.

org -

[GS1] Culture: Answerkey & Analysis of Mains-2013

Questions Sangam, Chola, Tandav & Studyplan,
Booklist for UPSC Mains-2014
Posted By On 04/01/2014 @ 12:16 am In History | 77 Comments

1. Prologue
2. Q1. Sangam Literature
1. Part#1: doesnt help in Political history because:
2. Part#2: Social conditions in Sangam Age
3. Part#3: Economic conditions in Sangam Age
3. Q2. Chola Temples
4. Q3. Tandav Dance
5. Analysis/Rambling/Commentary/Observations:
1. Marks per question
2. Difficulty level & BackbreakingTM
3. Causal revision = #Epicfail
4. Focus on Dramatic part = also #EPICFAIL
5. Studyplan for Mains-2014 Culture section
6. Working professionals dont waste salary
7. No point in crying over the spilled milk

Prologue
The syllabus is new, pattern is new, BackbreakingTM techniques are new:
hence any analysis is hollow and shallow, without solving the questions first.
So, Lets start with the
Culture Questions in GSM-I-2013
Following questions were asked:

marks words

1. Though not very useful from the point of view of a

connected political history of South India, the Sangam
literature portrays the social and economic conditions
of its time with remarkable vividness. Comment.

10

200

2. Chola architecture represents a high watermark in the

evolution of temple architecture.

100

3. Discuss the Tandava dance as recorded in the early

Indian inscriptions.

100

20 out of 250 marsk= only 8% of the paper.

20

400

The Answer Sources

To solve above questions, Ive used following books:
Book type

SchoolTextbook

CompetitiveExam

Academic

Did the book have sufficient

content for the given question?

SANGAM CHOLA TANDAV

NCERTs

hardly

hardly

didnt
find

NIOS Culture

hardly

few
lines

one line

Tamilnadu Class 11

yes

yes

ICSE Class 9

yes

yes

Indias Ancient Past RS Sharma.

aka the fabled old NCERT.

yes

yes

Spectrums Culture book

hardly

yes

TMH General Studies Manual

yes

yes

Krishna Reddy

yes

yes

Readymade material from

didnt
Coaching/Correspondence/postal
use
class.
AL Basham, A Wonder that was
yes
India

didnt
find
didnt
find.
didnt
find.
just 1
line
didnt
find.
didnt
find.

didnt
use

didnt
use

yes

Few
lines.

Yes= means at least 60% of the answer content was available. Yes
doesnt mean 100% content for the said question is given verbatim in the
said book.
Didnt find= either the answer was not given there OR I didnt read
carefully.
Didnt use=because same content given in standard reference books for
free/ cheap price.
Now time for the answers:

Q1. Sangam Literature

Q. Though not very useful from the point of view of a connected political history of
South India, the Sangam literature portrays the social and economic conditions of
its time with remarkable vividness. Comment. (10m | 200words)
Approach: Have to comment on three issues:

1. Sangam literature doesnt help much to dig POLITICAL history of South

India.
2. Sangam literature helps understanding the SOCIAL condition of South
India.
3. Sangam literature helps understanding ECONOMIC condition of South
India.
BOOKS NOT MUCH
USEFUL
1. A few rudimentary
points under
NCERT Class 6
and class 12.
2. NIOS culture
course, Ch6 talks
about Sangam but
hardly anything on
socio-economic
details.
3. Spectrums
culture book talks
about Sangam
literature but
hardly anything on
society or
economy.

USEFUL
1. 2/3rd of the answer (Society + Economy) can
be directly finished from ICSE Class 9 History
textbook alone. But doesnt talk about first
part (Why Sangam literature doesnt help
understanding pol.history of S.India?)
2. ^same as above with TMH General Studies
Manual.
3. Old NCERT Class 11 = Indias Ancient past RS
Sharma (under Oxford Publication). Matter
Covered under chapter 3 and 22.
4. Tamilnadu State Board History Textbook Class 11,
Chapter 8

5. AL Basham, A wonder that was India: under

chapter 9.
6. Indian History, Krishna Reddy Chapter on Post
Mauryan India.

Part#1: doesnt help in Political history because:

1. Three Sangams held between 100-250AD
I. First sangam: attended by Gods and Sages. Work didnt survive.
II. Second: only Tolkappiyam (grammar book) survives = doesnt help
much.
III. Third (last) Sangam: has eight anthologies (Ettutogai). Here too, not
all work has survived. + has following limitations:
2. Since poets were patronized by ruling elites- exaggerations about the
victories, territorial influence. Even a cattle raid on village would be
narrated as war.
3. More focus Hero-worship rather than how they shaped power balance
and foreign relation with other states.
4. some of the names, titles, dynasties, territories, wars and like mentioned
these poems are imaginary.
5. No archeological evidences to corroborate certain settlements mentioned
in Sangam Poems. e.g. Kaveripattanam.
6. Many of these poems are erotic / romantic in nature.
7. Much of the work still untranslated. Thorough study yet to be done.

Part#2: Social conditions in Sangam Age

From Sangam literature, we get following information about South Indian

society:

VALUES

VARNAS

South Indian society celebrated both love (Akam poems)

and wars (Puram poems)
Heroic death, sacrifice, stones and memorials greatly
cherished.
Sangam poets mention four Varnas:
1. Arashar (King/nobility)
2. Brahmanas (priests)
3. Viashiyar (traders)
4. Velala (Farmer)- they even held civil and military post.
Brahmanas (priests) performed yagna before wars
Priests, poets and bards (Panar): respected by society and
patronized by ruling elite.

Women

allowed to choose their partners

Love marriage common practice.
Widow life miserable.
Sati practice was also prevalent upper caste. (hard to
believe but yes, it is given in TN state text book.)

social
Interaction

Society divided on clan based groups called Kuti

Inter-dining and social interaction among Kuti groups was
permitted.
Meaning a stringent 4-fold stratification and Jati system of
North Indian type, was not prevalent during that stage of
Tamil Society, but appeared at later period.
Society essentially in tribal-pastoral in character: Tribal
customs, totem worship prevalent. people wore amulets to
ward off evil, bring rain and luck.

DEATH

Varied from burial in urns to cremation rituals.

Part#3: Economic conditions in Sangam Age

From Sangam literature, we get following information about South Indian
Economy:

OVERALL

1. There were five economic zones (tinai), each supporting a

different economic activity. (hills, drylands, jungle, plains
and coast)
2. While the kings received income from trade, tributes and
plunder, but a regular system of taxation was not seen.
3. All three kingdoms (Chola, Chera, Pandya) wanted to

Economy

subjugate lesser chieftains, hence war, raid and plunder

were normal feature of the society- leading to destruction
of resources and manpower. We can infer this from
Sangam poems describing the sorrow of villagers, whose
cattle and farm produced were plundered by enemy
chieftains.

Occupation

1. Agri, hunting, gathering, fishing and pastoralism = main

activities
2. cattle raids are frequently mentioned in the poems=
pastoral economy.
3. Tools were mainly used for hunting and raids. But Crafting
specialization was rudimentary, only served as secondary
source of income.
4. Traders were prosperous- dealt with salt, corn, textile and
gold.

FOREIGN
TRADE

5. Both inland and external trade was practiced.

6. Major export: silk, cotton, ivory, pepper and pearls- All
highly valued by the foreigner. Sangam Poems narrate
about how Yavans came in their own vessels, purchased
pepper with gold, and supplied wine and women to Indian
rulers to get trading permissions.
7. (Despite having no formal taxation system) Chola, Chera
and Pandiyan kingdoms became wealthy mainly by
exporting these commodities to Roman Empire and South
East Asian kingdoms. (and they didnt have high current
account deficit because Sangam poems donot mention
crude oil import.)

WOMEN in
Economy

8. agriculture: Women actively involved in planting, weeding,

husking and winnowing of paddy
9. Spinning, weaving, basket making, garland making and
flower selling were among other occupations pursed by
women.

but this is more than 500 words. Have to compress:

Keypoints- Sangam
Q. Though not very useful from the point of view of a connected political history of
South India, the Sangam literature portrays the social and economic conditions of
its time with remarkable vividness. Comment. (10m | 200words)
Key points:
1. Sagam Litt. fails to give political history because:
1. While three Sangams were held, only the last gathering provides

material relevant to political history.

2. With Hero worship as prime focus, Poets often exaggerated
victories and territories of the kings.
3. Some of the names, places, dynasties, territories are imaginary and
not corroborated by archeological evidences.
4. Part of the literature is erotic and romantic in nature.
2. Sagam Litt. Gives social picture:
1. Society cherished love, wars and heroes.
2. Bards, priests and poets received royal patronage.
3. Poets mention four varnas: Nobility, priests, traders and farmers.
4. Society divided into clans (Kuti), however dining and social
interactions permitted among them.
5. Unlike North India, the South Indian society did not have stringent 4fold varna stratification and Jati system.
6. Women were allowed to choose partners, but life of widows was
miserable.
3. Sagam Litt. Gives economy picture:
1. Five economic zones (tinai) viz. hills, drylands, jungle, plains and
coast, each supporting a different economic activity.
2. Agriculture, hunting, gathering, fishing and pastoralism were
primary occupations. Crafting, weaving served as secondary source
of income.
3. Women formed a significant part of labour force, particularly in
paddy cultivation, craft and weaving.
4. Kings received income from trade, tributes and plunder. Regular
system of taxation was absent. However, export of pepper, ivory,
silk, cotton and booty from raids made the kings wealthy.
This is ~200 words.

Q2. Chola Temples

Q. Chola architecture represents a high watermark in the evolution of temple
architecture. Discuss. (5 marks | 100 words)
100 words can be easily gathered from any of the following books, but the real
problem= can you recall decent points worth 100 words in the actual exam
hall?
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.

NIOS Culture, Ch. 13 (~50 words.)

Class 9 ICSE History textbook, page 74
Tamilnadu Class 11 History textbook, chapter 13.

Indian History, Krishna Reddy

Under TMH General studies manual, section History of India=>art and
architecture=>Cholas. Sufficient content
6. Spectrums culture book (page 145 in 2004s edition)
7. AL Basham, Wonder that was India, Page 359-360
Anyway, lets check the less boring points.
Cholas followed the architecture style of Pallavas and constructed numerous

temples throughout their territory. Nagaesh-wvara, Brihadesh-wvara and

Airavatesh-wara temples in Tanjore-Thanjavur region represent the zenith of
Chola architectural style.
Notable features are following:

1. Material

Started using stones instead of bricks.

2. Walls &
Passages

have neatly detailed frescoes, sculptures and paintingsincluding birds, dancing figures, pictorial stories from
Puranas

3. Portraits

Some of the Chola temples contain beautiful life-sized

portraits of kings and queens. e.g. Rajaraja I and his
queen lok-mahadevi, Rajendra I and his queen Cholmahadevi.

4. Garbhagriha chief deity room

5. Vimana

the 5-7 storeys above chief deity room. In Brihadeshwahra

temple- 13 successive storeys.

6. Shikhara

above the Vimana (Storeys). Rajarajeshwara temple has

Shikhara stone weighing almost 90 tonnes. Since they
didnt have cranes to lift it, architects built a 4 km long
inclined path to drag the stone over the top.
Although Chola continued the art tradition of
Pallavas, but abandoned the lion motifs from temple

7. .Vs Pallavas

walls.
Chola temple pillars were constructed with greater
refinement than Pallavas.

8. Nataraja

During Chola period, metal art showed remarkable

development and was used for further decoration of
temples.
e.g Nataraja or dancing shiva at Chiadambaram
temple- described as the cultural epitome of the
Chola period.

9. Mandap

Audience hall, for various ceremonies. Elaborate carvings

and pillars.

10. Gopuram

11. TrendSetters

Temple gateways, which enclosed the entire temple

structure with high walls.
Brihadeshwara temple by Rajaraja I at Tanjore. It
was the tallest of all Indian temple at that period.
Other kingdoms in South India- and even in Sri Lanka,
adopted the architectural style of Chola temples.

~256 words. Have to compress

Keypoints- Chola Temples

Q. Chola architecture represents a high watermark in the evolution of temple
architecture. Discuss. (5 marks | 100 words)
Keypoints:
The Cholas followed and refined Pallava architecture, with following notable
features:
1. Use of stones instead of bricks.
2. Walls decorated with sculptures and paintings of deities, kings and queen
instead of lion motifs from Pallava.
3. Temples are enclosed by decorative walls and entrance (Gopuram);
4. have an audience hall (Mandap); a deity room (Garbhgriha); a pyramid
like storey above the deity room (Vimana)
5. Ultimately the beautiful Shikara stone at the top each with elaborate
and meticulous carvings- Weighing in tonnes yet placed without help of
cranes.
During their reign, Cholas studded the entire Tamil landscape with such
temples including Nagaeshwvara, Brihadeshwvara, Airavateshwara and
Chidambaram -their style even followed by other kingdoms in South India and
Sri Lanka.

~110 words.

Q3. Tandav Dance

Q. Discuss the Tandava dance as recorded in the early Indian inscriptions. (5
marks |100 words)
Spectrums culture book barely gives two lines.
NIOS culture course ch. 12 mentions that traditional Indian culture the
function of dance was to give symbolic expression to religious ideas. The
figure of Lord Shiva as Nataraja represents the creation and destruction of the
cosmic cycle.
From a small paragraph in AL Basham page 310, it becomes obvious that
^above NIOS sentence is talking about Tandava dance.
Anyways lets combine:
1. In South India, religious dancing was part of the earliest known tradition
and Shiva himself is considered to have invented no less than 108
different dances.
2. Some of his dances are calm and gentle, while others fierce, orgiastic,
heroic, bold, vigorous and terrible- such as the Tandava dance of
Nataraja.
3. Tandava and Lasya, are two basic aspects of Classical Indian Dance,
associated with Shiva and Parvati respectively.
4. In Tandava dance form, the angry Shiva is surrounded by his drunken
attendants (ganas), he beats out a wild rhythm which destroys the world
at the end of the cosmic cycle.
5. Thus Tandava dance is meant to give symbolic expression to religious
idea of Shiva being the Destroyer among the trinity of Bramha, Vishnu and
Mahesh.
~123 words.
Although original question is Discuss Tandava as recorded in the early Indian
inscriptions= so even above answer is incomplete. Because it doesnt talk
about any inscriptions. Finally Wikipedia (=the most unreliable source for
MCQs), gives the seemingly right points.
Ancient Hindu scriptures narrate various occasions when Shiva or other gods
have performed the Tandava viz.
1. When Sati jumped in sacrificial fire in Dakshas Yajna to give up her life,
Shiva performed the Rudra Tandava to express his grief and anger.
2. The Bhagavata Purana talks of Krishna dancing his Tandava on the head
of the serpent Kaliya.
3. According to Jain text: Indra performed Tandava in honour of Rishabhas
birth (Jain tirthankar).
4. Shivapradosha stotra mentions: when Shiva performs the Sandhya
Tandava, the other gods like Brahma, Vishnu, Sarasvati, Lakshmi and
Indra play musical instruments and sing Shivas praises.

5. In some temple sculptures, Ganesha is depicted in Eight armed form,

dancing the Tandava.
~115 words.
Anyways, lets combine and compress

Keypoints: Tandav Dance

Q. Discuss the Tandava dance as recorded in the early Indian inscriptions. (5
marks |100 words)
1. Tandava and Lasya, are two basic aspects of Classical Indian Dance.
Shiva himself is considered to have invented atleast 108 different
dances- including the fiercely aggressive Tandava- where he destroys the
world at the end of the cosmic cycle.
2. Thus Tandava is meant to give symbolic expression to religious idea of
Shiva being the Destroyer among the trinity of Gods.
3. Ancient Hindu scriptures narrate many incidents where Tandava was
performed including:
a. Shiva at the death of Sati, to express his grief and anger.
b. Krishna on the head of serpant Kaliya
c. Indra at the birth of Jain Tirthkar Rishabhdev
~100 words.

Analysis/Rambling/Commentary/Observations:
before reading further, make sure youve read above culture question-answers
first, and also tried solving them at home from whatever books/material youve
at home.

Marks per question

Over the last few years, UPSC was moving towards more questions for less
marks trend e.g.
No. Of Questions
1
2
4
5

x Marks Per question

60
30
15
12

=Total Marks
60
60
60
60

In 2012s General Studies Mains paper, some of the Questions were even
asked for 1 mark each! E.g PV Sindhu, Mario Miranda.
So, it was natural for the players to expect that lot of questions will be of
1m, 2m, 5m each.
Even in IFoS-2013 Mains exam, UPSC had asked all questions in 6-8
marks range. so the expectation even more bolstered.
Hence the study approach of most candidates= focused on gathering

maximum number of terms with 20-50 words for each. Especially for
culture, sci-tech, even for world-history to some extent.
UPSC did follow that expected line: questions were indeed small, only in
terms of marks (5 marks and 10 marks each) but not in terms of length
(100 words and 200 words each).

Difficulty level & BackbreakingTM

CULTURE QUESTIONS
IN 2013

PREVIOUSLY

1. on Sangam
literature giving
picture of South
Indias society and
Economy

1. Sangam literature has been asked under two

markers in GS papers (2000 and 2007)
2. How do recent archaeological findings and
Sangam literary texts enlighten us about the
early state and society in South India? (2008
under History optional)

2. Chola temples

1. GS paper in 1999 under two markers.

2. Bring out the regional variations in the early
south Indian temple architectural styles.
(2008 under History optional)

3. Tandav Dance

not seen in previous paper (or maybe I didnt look

carefully)

Two out three topics were not new, the only challenge was to bring 200
and 100 words worth content respectively- especially for students
without history optional.
For both questions- sufficient matter available in standard reference
books, as we saw while solving the answers.
But then a player wouldnt have prepared such topics in that detailbecause the previous trend of UPSC forced him to do Gadhaa majoori of
mugging up 50 dozen folk dances, painters, authors etc. for 20-30 words
each with hope that lot of 2 markers will be asked.
The GS1 paper started with culture question- hence most players would
have panicked and it indirectly affected their performance even in
remaining questions from history-post-independence India and
geography where they did have sufficient answer points inside their head.
Besides, even if the answer is verbatim given in a standard reference
book- hiding in the plain sight, doesnt mean the aspirant can recall all the
points during the actual exam. The stress, anxiety and fatigue doesnt let
the mind perform @100% efficiency.
Even if he can recall entire content, still it is humanly impossible to finish
25 questions in 5000 words with high quality points within three hours.
Thus, once again, the innocent bystanders are massacred while UPSC deploys
BackbreakingTM move against coaching classes, rot learners (and senior
players*).

Some more Conspiracy theories:

THEORY
#1

All three culture questions are related to south India. Because

Sangam=South India, Chola=South India and Tandav
Dance=Nataraja=associated with South India.
In other words, the paper was set by a South Indian
professor.
So for Mains-2014, candidate must prepare South Indian
culture topics thoroughly.

THEORY
#2

In CSAT, CAPF and CDS 2013 exams, UPSC has shown its
prem for Buddism and Jainism MCQs. Prior to that, two
markers related to folk dances and festivals.
So Coaching walla (and senior players*) would have
assumed that similar Buddism-Jainism-cave-folk-festival
type stuff will come in Mains.
Therefore, asking about South Indian culture was the most
logical step according to UPSCs BackbreakingTM rulebook
for Mains-2013.
And hence, the most logical thing to do for Mains-2014=
ignore south Indian culture!

*it is a widely believed conspiracy theory that UPSC chairman prefers first
timers over senior players. All this so called exam
reform/gimmicks/tomfoolery is meant to prevent any senior player from
gaining advantage by his repeated experience.
And as usual, my sympathies and respect goes for these hard working senior
players for theyre the victims of circumstances- everyone wants to crack
exam in first trial, but Cinderella story doesnt happen with everyone- so what
can they do? Try again and again until age, attempt, money or willpower runs
out.
Back to the culture topic:

Causal revision = #Epicfail

Frequent and serious revision is more important than wide coverage. e.g
Chola temples question: Gopuram, vimana, Mandap etc.= youve already
come across these terms many times in the same routine books like GS
Manual and Spectrums culture.
But while reading, if you just superficially glance over the information
thik hai..thik hai (in the haste to finish reading many topics) then you
cannot recall points in the exam=> low quality filler answers.

Focus on Dramatic part = also #EPICFAIL

In December 2013, the state election result came. BJP won in Madhya

Pradesh, Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh; and emerged as the largest party in Delhi.

will BJP form government in Delhi? or will you give external
Newschannel
support to AAP? How will delhi result affect Modis chances
Anchor
in 2014 general election? blah blah blah
But why are you so obsessed with Delhi? Delhi is worth only
BJP
7 parliament seats. Why are you not talking about the other
spokesperson large states that weve won- Rajasthan and MP? Theyll give
us good number of Parliament seats in 2014!
Same is the problem with some UPSC candidates. Always worry about the
dramatic parts rather than paying attention to bigger picture.
In Prelims, just because one or two tough questions from
culture/classical dance come, so they panic, they start doing Ph.D study
on all classical dance forms, all temples, all painting, google n wiki day
and night while ignoring the high-scoring areas such as freedom
struggle, geography, polity, Economy, Environment-biodiversity and
Science.
In mains, at max, culture is just 8%, even out of that, the toughest
question the Tandav Dance is just 5 marks (2% of the whole paper) and
that too requires 100 words to be written.

Compare to that, there were plenty of questions in Indian History, world

history, post-independence India and geography (totaling >60% of the
GS1 paper), where cost: benefit was quite good. So, thats where your
focus should be.
In the game of chess, if you try to defend every pawn, you end up losing
the entire match. In short, a culture topic must be prepared but should not

be prepared beyond its aukaat.

Studyplan for Mains-2014 Culture section

Q. What / How to prepare the culture section for Mains-2014? What books to
refer?
GS preparation is like Kung-fu, every master develops his own style. you dont
have to read all of these following book, just mix-match-tweak as per your
requirement and comfort level.
book

(new) NCERT

NIOS

comment
Quite good for geography and
science theory based MCQs.
But their history textbooks have
dumbed down entire India history
to secular case studies to prevent
any new PILs and controversies.
As a result, New NCERT are not
helping much in this
history/culture related
MCQs/Descriptive. Even Buddism,
Jainism related basic GK-MCQs is
not covered properly.
Had UPSC asked same questions in
2m/20 words, then NIOS alone would
have sufficed. But unfortunately, it did
not.

hope for 2014

culture
MCQ/Descriptive

Almost useless
for history.

Cursory reading.

Tamil Nadu
Textbooks
(TNT)

The History coverage is both useful

in MCQ and descriptive coverage
for competitive exams.
Detailing is Similar to Old NCERT
Very useful.
but with eye candy fonts and
pictures.
available for free: Click ME

ICSE textbook

Two culture questions in Mains2013= more like luck by chance.

ICSE textbooks are not free. and
free alternative available (TNT)
Some of them available at
Mrunal.org/history
Remaining chapters will be

Useful

Old NCERT

GS Manual

Spectrums
Culture book

uploaded in near future.

If you dont have it, then there is
always Tamilnadu Textbooks
(TNT)/GS Manual.
The history (+culture) section GS
manuals is written based on old
NCERT + a few books from history
optional. so, if youve GS Manual,
no need for doing double majoori
with Old NCERT.
Survived this time, but left limping.
Overall future utility reduced

Useful

Useful but not

essential.

Not much
useful.

AL Basham

Too bulky, technical, academic in

nature.

Cost: benefit is
bad.

Krishna Reddy

Before CSAT era, UPSC prelims

used to have two papers: GS +
optional.
At that time, Krishna Reddys
Indian History and Laxmikanths
Pub.Ad were the essential books
for their respective optional
subjects.

Useful for people

with History
optional.Useless
for others.

websites

coaching/postal
material

wiki/ google / internet full of resources

on Indian culture.
For culture section theyre
employing Spray and pray
technique. i.e. they give you 600700-1500 pages worth material, the
coverage is so large that it is
humanly impossible to mugup all
data.
And if luck by chance any question
is asked in official UPSC exam,
they can still make marketing claim
that it came from our material!

Random surfing,
Net Ph.D
=useless.

Even Xeroxing
them is a waste
money and
paper.

So ^these are some of the books / sources for Indian culture. Design your own
studyplan/ kung-fu style according to your requirements for Culture section in
Mains 2014.
The focus should be on memorizing points that can help you assemble a 100150 words content in the exam.

If you have come across any other awesome resource/book, do mention it in

the comments below.

Working professionals dont waste salary

In recent years, many working professionals have entered in the fray, but
because of the job workload they cant spare much time. So theyre always
looking for some way to reduce the studyload + they also have salary money to
spare (because most of them unmarried).
Nowadays, working professional= main target audience for coachingcorrespondence business. And the new GS syllabus uncertainty factor
boomed the business like never before.
But in this article, youve seen that all questions could be solved directly from
Standard reference books (except Tandav dance). So, avoid falling into the
readymade material / external dependency mindset- it doesnt help in UPSC
exam. If youve big money to spend, better spent it on some infrastructure
that helps in study- like more tubelights in the studyroom, bigger desk, more
comfortable studychair, faster internet, bigger monitor, tablet, laptop, rental
room near office to save travel time etc. Dont pour salary into drain for
garbage material.

No point in crying over the spilled milk

(Only meant for Players who wrote Mains-2013)
For the exam you should have done this, you should have done that Im
not going to preach any of that, because if you had known that UPSC was
going to ask these type of lengthy detailed questions, then you would
have definitely prepared in a different fashion accordingly.
Based on your understanding of the previous trend, You had prepared in
the best manner you could. So, If some random person on internet claims
he wrote 250 out 250 marks, then you dont have to become sleepless
and restless over it.
Remember the wisdom given in the Geeta

(-)

The one who is not disturbed by miseries,

Or elated in happiness.
The one who is free from fear, anger and
cutoffs,
Is called a sage of steady mind.

So, Now its the time to move on- prepare for the interviews, prepare your
location-graduation related questions, prepare opinion based current
affairs, prepare your hobbies and so on.
And simultaneously, do work on whatever career backup/Post
graduation/other competitive exams you have.

DO get a computer certificate. (CCC). http://www.nielit.in/student411ccc.htm

DO enroll to any decent PG course in IGNOUs distant education
program. http://www.ignou.ac.in/ignou/studentzone/programmelist
The next prelims is in late August 2014. Thats more than a half year away.
Youve already have the experience of clearing one CSAT, you dont need to
focus on CSAT for 24/7 basis anymore.
My point being, dont be fixated in prelim-mains-interview-prelim-main-interview
mindset, otherwise 3-5-7 years of youth life are gone in no time and one day
you realize you dont have PG, you dont have work-ex, your life and biodata file
basically sucks.
This time, youve a long gap between Mains-2013 to Prelims-2014. Use those
months wisely. If you dont want to execute any backplans, no problem. But at
least prepare the necessary groundwork. e.g
1. If MBA is your backup, then get the idea: when do
CAT/MAT/CMAT/XAT/GMAT/IRMA etc. application forms come every
year, when are the exams taken? What are the good colleges and courses
to apply for? What type of questions are asked? And so on.
2. If State service is your backup, then prepare all the static / theory stuff
related to state history/geography/schemes/economy. Thatll also help in
interviews.
It is one thing to have career backup in your head, but its an entirely different
thing to actually set it in motion when you really want to execute that backup.
Therefore, Groundwork must be prepared in advance. I say this, not to
demotivate you but to caution you-Lightening doesnt strike on everyone, but
nor does the Cinderella story happen with everyone- so dont put all eggs in
one basket.
Anyways, Next time, well solve the Indian History/Freedom Struggle related
portion from GS Paper I.

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