Days Underground: Volume II- "Pre-Prelims"- by Vikram Grewal

Days Underground #11

August 2017

I've chalked out a concrete plan to cover my upsc syllabus. A daily routine has been made after consultation with my parents. According to them, my day was supposed to start at 5 with yoga and fresh juice. But I vetoed the proposal and hence, for the next one year it starts at 6 with a cup of Black Coffee, the Hindu Newspaper and Lucky Ali songs. 

Creating the right incentives to wake up helps. 

Days Underground #12

August 2017

I have started from scratch. It's like I am back at school. And the best thing is I don't have to attend classes. I have given myself 7 weeks to finish NCERTs 6th to 12th. I have always loved them.

Their genius lies in the small nuggets that are embedded in them through cartoons, boxes, fact files etc. Such insights went unappreciated by us students who just read these books for marks in school.

That being said, Boojho and Paheli are sometimes damn irritating. 

Sigh. It's ok. I forgive them.

Days Underground #13

September 2017

I have made some new friends at home. That's 'Lynyrd' and her newborn 'Skynyrd'. I never come face to face with them but I know they know we're neighbours. Thats not the case with my friend Franz the grasshopper who stays in my room- only to disappear one fine morning.

I haven't stepped out of my colony since I went to watch Dunkirk in July. 

There's a squirrel who's occasionally spotted in the house sometimes. 

And a Rhesus Macaque who schemes every morning to steal our dussehri mangoes. 

I do have a lot of company it seems. But I'm more interested in their IUCN status apparently.

Days Underground #14

22nd September 2017

Equinox. My prep targets have been reached (for the time being) and I'm back to the place where my 'qi' lies- to get some fresh air.

Day and night seem to be in agreement with each other. My plans will be tweaked a little according to the season hereafter.

The Forrest Gump soundtrack is playing as señora takes this photo and in my mind I get ready for the marathon that this exam is turning out to be.

Days Underground #15

October 2017

All set for my exam optional: History. Paper 1 and 2. I will be studying only this for the next 3 months. New year's the deadline.

I have to somehow make up for the 3 years of history lectures spent in college either sleeping or reading the newspaper at the last bench. (I'm a front bencher now...perhaps coz there's only one table in my room. That also means that I'm still a back bencher. Damn!)

The day I begin studying Medieval India, Dr. Satish Chandra passes away. I dedicate my notes to his memory. 

I give them the title 'Kitab al-Jhand'. Al Biruni must be turning in his grave. 

Days Underground #16

19th November 2017

I've turned 21 and hence, finally eligible for the civil services exam. My cousin Vivaan has come all the way from Delaware to chill with me. 

We didn't talk much. I didn't say things, being 'underground' and he didn't either, being just 5 months old. 

I made him listen to different artists: from Mozart to John Coltrane. He, being a Punjabi hip hop fan, got irritated. 

We settled for Portugal the Man's "Feel it still" and played it on loop for the entire day. A day well spent.

Days Underground #17

30th December 2017

It's been almost a week and no one's home. Everyone's gone to my grandparents' place. I clicked this on Christmas with a timer on. I have gone bonkers. My film buff buddy Chinoo and I have been discussing the scramble for Africa. We are about to reach Decolonisation during Cold war and end our history syllabus well within time. 

We talk about how things fall apart and how 'the Act of Killing' is the best documentary we have seen this year. He watched the entire doordarshan's 'Godan' series with me and then we talked about how Indian TV was great during 90s and early 2000s.

Then I went on and on about how Shyam Benegal films and Better Call Saul were the most underrated things- only to realise that I had been talking to myself all this while.

Days Underground #18

1st January 2018

Targets have been met. I think I have learnt a lot. I also know that I am as confused as I was at the beginning.

Honestly, that's the beauty- to realise the extent of my ignorance everyday and to work towards filling gaps that I create for myself. 

But we are in the year of the exam now and it's going to be filled with boundless possibilities (read Football Fever). I sign this off with a strange quote I devised- which sometimes makes perfect sense and other times none at all. 

Days Underground #19

January 2018

"Crocs are the universal symbol of a man who has given up hope"- Sacha Baron Cohen.

Well, not me. 

It's time to begin my first round of revision. I have exhausted several strategies of fighting boredom. 

Here's another one: dressing up for the occasion!

Later in the day I'll go to my sister's room to broker a peace deal as it is getting unbearably cold in my room. 

I will be allowed to camp there till Spring on the condition that I do not oppose the BTS, Exo, Big Bang playlist of hers and try to appreciate K-Pop.

Days Underground #20

21-22 January 2018

Nishu Didi's wedding is here. A rare occasion for all us cousins to get together after a really long time.

I haven't really attended a wedding since Musa and I were kicked out of a wedding happening in college lawns to which we were uninvited and under-dressed apparently. 

I am fortunate enough to be excused from the preparations for the big event on the pretext of my exam prep. 

I only have to attend the Sangeet and the Wedding. 

It's a good 2-day break (too short for a FIFA tournament on PS) and I relish the Jalebis and the company of legends in Kurukshetra.

Days Underground #21

February 2018

Everytime my mother reminded me that I was unemployed, I did this and said 'Ya ya. I'm looking for Jobs!'

That book isn't that good a biography but a great prop for the gag. 

Meanwhile, new strategies for fighting monotony continue. Haircuts have become indispensable in that case.

Days Underground #22

March 2018

The view from a room- of one's own. 

Spring is playing hide and seek. And so is the Pink Line metro- which has its highest stretch in the entire network exactly infront of my room. Its inauguration is getting delayed since December. 

The trials and test runs are becoming very disturbing. 

My room is basically a modified balcony with windows all around, so whenever the metro passes, the light bounces into the space inside and i am left giving an online mock exam inside a discotheque. 

The board (not visible in the picture) just below the bridge reads the direction to 'Azadpur'. And I look at it in vain from my glass cage, anticipating my azadi from the vicious cycle.

Days Underground #23

March 2018

10 weeks to Prelims. I'm going through mood swings due to the unpredictability of weather and my mock test scores. 

I have been spending a lot of time practicing papers and have gained considerable amount of confidence, however, it is also giving way to a 'full throttle approach'. I'm getting more and more intrigued by questions that are coming out of nowhere. They're interesting yet useless (as per the upsc perspective).

The mess needs to be done away with. Mum's home cooked food untangles me. Every single time. 

Namak Ghee Roti remains a favourite since time immemorial.

Days Underground #24

April 2018

Our childhood inspiration: Baskin Robbins. The prices keep our expectations low- Especially when we miss the 31st of the months and lose out on the discount. 

Anyways, Duststorms are trending, so is Mississippi Mud. Delhi is embracing summer.

And I am bracing for impact. I can see the admit card countdown ready to shout out 'Incoming'!'

My mind is still in perpetual dilemma: 'The Shape of Water' or 'Three Billboards outside Ebbing Missouri'? Who should've won really? 

And what are the odds of my favourite actress being married to my favourite Director for years now? .

Days Underground #25

April 2018

It's time for everyone to look back at the previous fiscal year and analyse their performances. I'm doing the same. 

The action plan I made long back is now ingrained in my body clock. I have barely looked at it since I made it.

Time flies. And so do time tables. .

Days Underground #26

2nd May 2018

DD vs RR at Feroz Shah Kotla.

It was more than 10 years ago, after watching 'Chain Kulii ki Main Kulii' that I had solemnly declared that I wanted to be a cricketer when I grew up. 

Little did I know that it would take me a decade to even enter a stadium and many more decades to grow up. 

I had been a Delhi Daredevils fan in IPL season 1 and after a few seasons I just stopped caring.

Free special passes to the game were a golden opportunity to chill and drive away exam blues- and eat my heart out, most importantly. 

Delhi won by 4 runs. But I didn't anticipate Daredevils' morphing into Capitals; all I looked forward to was the endless queue of Sprite cans waiting for me...

...Or perhaps someday- Karan ka magic bat.

Days Underground #27

May 2018

Some books are to be chewed and digested, they say. Well, here's one which I have been feeding on for months. 

Initially I puked a lot. But now intestines are used to it. 

It's a heavy meal. Cant risk overeating.

I have a love-hate relationship with this book. 

When I bought it, it was just black and white inside. Now it is green, blue, yellow, violet, red and a whole lot of grey. 

Pencils, pens, highlighters, sketch pens have danced on it. 

Should have used a toothpick too perhaps.

The sad part is- even after this main course ends, there's no dessert. 

But my stomach's fine with it now.

Days Underground #28

May 2018

Operation June-oon initiated. 

3rd June Prelims is the objective. 

Mock tests need to be intensified. 

Permutations and combinations for optimum results need to be reviewed. 

All Simon n Garfunkel, Dylan, Marley, Rafi, Nico, Coltrane tracks need to be replaced with Deep Purple, Zeppelin, Queen, RHCP, AC/DC and Wasseypur OST.

It's time to go out there and blacken some god damn OMR bubbles ya! 

Days Underground #29

3rd June 2018

THE PRELIMS CHECKLIST.

Admit card. Check.

ID proof. Check.

Black ball point pen. Check.

Batman Clipboard. Check.

Wrist-watch. Check.

Address of the centre. Check.

MP3 player in the car. Check.

Headphones. Check.

Parents' tensed faces. Check.

Relatives' good luck phone calls. Check.

Sister's good luck hug. Check.

Dry throat. Check. 

Random voice saying 'Darr ke aagey Jeet hai'. Check.

My conscience saying 'try to watch Bhavesh Joshi Superhero during the break between the 2 papers.' Check.

My brain humming Naezy's Insaaf rap and Amit Trivedi's 'Chyavanprash' at the same time. Check.

"Tere Chumme mein Chyavanprash hai." Double check.

That song is now stuck in my head for the next 6 hours. 

When people would ask me 'how was it?' after I exit the exam centre, I would respond by saying how hard it was and I tried my best. 

But the truth remains: that song was on loop. Right there. In my head. For the entire time. 

Well, it did give rhythm though. Cant complain now. :) .

Days Underground #30

June 2018

This is a recent photo- exactly a year after my father was posted to Nakchok in Sikkim right in the middle of my Mains prep. We had spent a week after prelims in matching answer keys and calculating my score roughly when the news of the posting came. 

We'll be allowed to retain our present residence on account of my sister's 10th boards.

My father has been the foremost friend, guide and philosopher in this journey (not to mention- the best selfie-clicker in the family.) But due to the abrupt posting, communication becomes a huge hurdle. Nakchok has no connectivity. I can only speak to him twice a week over the army line which is also facing issues during monsoon. 

His perspective on my mains answer writing has been helpful all along but now it has become too distant. 

I expect him to be back by September end for the Mains exam time. (But he won't be able to make it, as he'll be posted to a different place just after 4 weeks- Kashmir.)

Something similar happened during my class 12th boards. Transfer in the middle of exams. But well, C'est la vie.