 I had gone through the demo videos and audios which are being there in the website and hearing all those I felt like, yeah, this can be, this is actually the perfect site for me to go on my preparation, to go on with my preparation. And I don't know ma'am actually, I felt the connect maybe, like I can do it with your guidance to be honest and yeah, I chose it. If one needs to understand the life, it is very much needed to go through literature, not specifically English literature, but literature. It's a reflection of society, reflection of life. So embrace it, love it and don't get afraid of the syllabus. And if still if you are finding it difficult, go through the website of Arpita Karwa. She has provided you the exact strategy to collect the exam. Good morning. Hello ma'am. Good morning to you. How are you feeling after clearing that? Firstly, I would want to start with this. Initially it was unbelievable because the time I got the result was not at all expected by any of the experienced of us, like you for the exam. It felt good, very good to be very honest with you and yeah, it's a dream come true for me. Wow, wonderful. Heartiest congratulations from the entire team of ArpitaKarwa.com for on your achievement and pass on my best regards to your parents as well. I'm sure that they must be very, very proud to see you achieving this time. Thank you so much ma'am. Thank you so much. So I have a bunch of questions lined up for you Akash. I want to know more about your preparation journey, the challenges you faced, how did you overcome that? So firstly, thank you for signing up for this interview. I'm sure that people are going to watch it, are going to get benefited, will know the right methodology to follow in order to achieve success and if in case they are making some mistakes, which they can rectify after listening to this video, I think that will be a great thing. Amen. It will be a pleasure. Thank you, thank you. So before we go ahead and talk about those questions, I would first want to know about you, where are you from, how has been your educational journey so far? I'm from Tripura, one of the sister states of the North Eastern part of India and my graduation has been done in Ramthakur College, which is in our state only and I have done my masters in Tripura University. Okay, great. And when did you complete your masters? This is itself, like 2023. 23 and when did you plan and started your preparation for UTC? When I was in the second semester, I had decided that actually, students of a master's degree, they plan for their career from then only, like they prepare for whatever exam they're going to face after the master's exam. So I was a bit confused what to do initially. And then one of my seniors suggested me that I should appear for the UTC net exam, which may help me to get admitted in a PhD program. So I kept on searching and going through the sources where from I can get my study materials and all, which are very much required for the exam. And then I got to know about you and this platform, which helped me get through it. Wonderful, wonderful. So like to begin with, I would first want to ask from you that the moment you decided that you want to appear for UTC net, you must have gone through the syllabus and then kind of made a timetable for yourself that this is how I'm going to sketch out my preparation. So how was that initial journey? Like when you went through the syllabus and how did you decide that, okay, this is how it is going to be? At the very beginning, I was terrified. I was just, what should I do? What should I do? After seeing the syllabus, I was like, I was overwhelmed by the syllabus. I needed some kind of a guidance and actually the students of northeastern part of India doesn't then don't have the opportunity to explore themselves, buy some guide because we lack of it, to be very honest, we lack of it. And YouTube is the only source for us. And to be honest, the YouTube doesn't provide the sufficient guidance, actually. I feel like the educators in the YouTube, they're holding something back. They're not providing everything which I needed. So I had to offer something which will provide me everything. And initially, when I saw the syllabus in the website, I was like, this is it. This is the one-stop solution where a student like me can get everything out of it. So yeah, this website helped me a lot. To be very honest, it helped me a lot. Thank you so much. And why did you choose online classes? Weren't there any offline classes available in your area? No, ma'am. Not at all. Okay. So I would also want to ask that what made you choose arpitaakarwa.com? There must be a lot of other options available. How did you select that this is the platform which is going to suit your needs? I had gone through the demo videos and audios which are being there in the website. And hearing all those, I felt like, yeah, this can be, this is actually the perfect site for me to go on my preparation, to go on with my preparation. And I don't know, ma'am, actually, I felt the connect, maybe. I can do it with your guidance, to be honest. And yeah, I chose it. Great. And did you use any other resources apart from what we've been providing in the online classes? No, ma'am. I didn't go for any. Okay. So solely, you relied on the lectures that we gave. Great. And what about paper one? Like, how did you plan your preparation for paper one? I solely dependent on YouTube and a few other sources which are scattered here and there. Okay. Totally. I was solely dependent on the YouTube, I would say. Okay. So YouTube say, and were there any units of paper one which you found very challenging? Yes, ma'am. Since I'm a student of pure arts, math part is very difficult for me. And what strategies did you drop to work on DI mathematical and logical reasoning? Actually, if I talk about the exam of my last attempt, the DI part was very difficult. So it was very tough for me to complete the entire paper in a given time. So one thing helped me a lot, which is one of my seniors told me that I should only focus on seven or eight topics on which I'm going to rely on mostly since I'm weak in my maths and DI part. So I relied on his words, since he got to JRF in preparing by his own. So he was sort of a sort of an inspiration for me that if he can do it, then I can also do it. So I relied on his words that yeah, okay. If I keep aside the maths part, I can also complete the required marks. Right. And that is very well said Akash because even I feel that paper one is a very, very diverse kind of paper. We have 10 units coming from different different areas of life. There is research methodology, then there is DI, then there is people and environment, which is totally from a different domain as such. So it is very important to know our strengths and then to play with those strengths because weak areas where you have to put in so much effort and the cost-benefit ratio isn't that great because you have to put in like 50 hours, 100 hours to get those two, three questions right rather than if you invest those 50, 100 hours in studying paper two or maybe studying topics of paper one, which you're more confident about. I think that is really a nice approach. Great. So I really loved how you you know, stuck by the philosophy that was shared to you by our senior. And you kind of relied on it and did not like go haywire while you were preparing. Great. Coming back to paper two, what according to you are the most important units in paper two because unlike paper one, we don't have like similar weightage to all the units. So what was the audience view? In the paper two section, obviously the British literature part because most of the questions come from this part only and after British literature, literary theories and criticisms and there are other sections like American literature than the cultural studies part. Actually what I've seen after going through the previous equation papers that the static portions are British literature, theories, criticisms and the other parts, they kind of shuffle. Right. The importance keeps on varying from paper to paper. Two things I would say that theory and British literature, if any student would like to appear for the exam for the very first time and they have very less amount of time, they should only rely on these two parts. And if they are preparing for the second or third time, which I guess would be their best attempt, they should go on with the other parts also. But literature and theories are the most important things. Most important thing. And were there any specific subjects or topics that you found challenging and how did you overcome them? Ma'am, like most of the students of English literature, I have found theory as the most difficult part because the language of it is very tough for me. I found it very tough. But as I said earlier, in your curriculum, the way you explained the theories, the difficult parts of it was awesome, I would say. Thank you so much. I'm glad that I could make that contribution in your life because theory is something that a lot of people are afraid of. And I really believe that it isn't challenging, it's just that we don't have a crisp understanding of it. Once we understand it, it's really simple because it isn't rocket science where you have to do numericals and to get to that answer. It isn't as difficult as those mathematical questions that we used to solve in our 11th and 12th grade derivatives and all of that. So it is just a little difficult in terms of it comes from a very different background. We are not very exposed to the concepts of Marxism. So something from Marxism when it comes into literature, then you have to first understand the entire economics in order to understand what the writer or the author is trying to say. So I'm glad that my lectures kind of gave you that clarity. And thank you so much for listening to them so as so patiently that you kind of survived that thing because a lot of students, they have this mindset that theory is difficult and they don't even try to give it a shot. And let's just see whether we are able to grasp the concept or not. Were you also watching the video lecture that we have recently uploaded? I enrolled in your course in the later half of the 2023. So the video lectures are recently uploaded. I couldn't go through them. So you were thoroughly preparing from the audio lectures? Yes, there were a few videos which I had gone through. And I would say they are very beneficial for students because the way you have done the mind maps, it's very good. Thank you so much. Also, I wanted to understand what role did Moctez play in your preparation? Did you go through Moctez and Pasteur papers as well? I had solely gone through the Pasteur papers. I didn't go through the portions which you uploaded in your website because there is a scarcity of internet in my area. So I don't know if any time the internet goes down and Moctez just fell apart in the middle part. And what approach did you follow in solving these Pasteur papers? Did you simply attempt the paper or did you take time to analyse it as well to see what were the areas where you weren't doing good? Not specifically. I was preparing as a whole. I liked the paper. Paper 2 was my interest area. So I didn't have to huddle a lot with this. So yeah, it was good. It was good, right. And how crucial do you think note making is in your UGC net preparation? Like did you make notes and how was it? Yes, ma'am. I had made each and every point clear in my notebook because it is very much needed since we don't know what is going to be the cutoff of this year or the exam pattern or the exam difficulty. So 6% is nothing I would say because 94 of the students are going to be eliminated from the exam. So I have to prepare myself for the next exam also, the next attempt. So I cannot solely rely on the audio. I had to make a note of each and every word you made if you uttered. So this helped me a lot since it was my third attempt and I noted each and every thing on my first attempt. It helped me a lot. Noting is very much resistant. Absolutely. And what about revision? Did you adopt any specific technique to remember such vast amount of information that you've written down in your notes? Ma'am, in terms of revision, I followed one method that is if I read something last night, I would read it again today morning with some new topic so that the thing gets reminded in my mind and I don't have to go through it again and again because my revision is also going on and my reading is also going on simultaneously. So I don't have to do just a lot, another time for revision. And it is very, very crucial also that whatever you learned the last day, if you can revise it within 24 hours, it is scientifically proven that the data gets stored in your long-term memory or else you will forget. So I'm glad that you adopted that strategy as well. Great. And as you said that it was your third attempt. So after experiencing failure in the first two attempts, so how did you gain that motivation and prepared for the exam again? On my first attempt, I was not at all prepared because I was like, let's see how the exam goes. So I didn't have the time to be honest to prepare for the exam and on my second attempt, I only prepared the British literature theory and paper one part and the rest of it was just touched upon. Not that I was thoroughly aware of it on the way exam should be given, but yeah, I was familiar with the topics. So that was my preparation and on my second attempt, I missed on only by a margin of 2% time. So it was a bit disheartening to be honest and but my teachers helped me a lot to go through that phase. They encouraged me a lot. So yeah, this was my ultimate attempt, I would say because I wasn't doing anything, I was only preparing for the exam. So yeah, it was my best attempt. And though I missed the JRF by one question, that is two months, but yeah, I'm happy to be honest. And you've put in so much effort, Akash. So when the journey is something where you kind of gave your best, so whatever result you get, you're proud of yourself. And JRF is something that, see, I really tell students that even if you're very thoroughly prepared, how you manage to attempt the questions in those three hours plays a very crucial role. Sometimes you're heavily prepared, but then it is just that moment, that one momentary, I don't know, I'm not getting that word to describe how it feels when you have a question, you kind of know the answer, but suddenly there is some another voice coming from your heart which says that no, it's not B and C and you just mark it. And then later you realize that, oh my God, I should have marked B. Why did I go by what my mind was saying the second time when I saw the question. So it is just that game that kind of takes you in the league of JRF or in the league of net. But I'm very happy to see the level of your preparation. So what advice do you want to give to students who might be struggling with utility net preparation, like if you want to summarize and advise something to the students? What is the advice one thing that embrace the subject? It's very interesting, English literature is something that is equivalent to life. So if one needs to understand the life, it is very much needed to go through literature, not specifically English literature, but literature. It's a reflection of society, reflection of life. So embrace it, love it, and don't get afraid of the syllabus. And if still if you are finding it difficult, go through the website of Arpita Karwa. She has provided you the exact strategy to collect the exam. Thank you so much. Thank you so much. And I really loved what you just said, that embrace literature. The journey has to be very, very enjoyable because destination you will reach what this movie three idiots may or Amir Khan says that success So there is no way that you cannot crack net because that is what they are even checking. So the 94% people who do not clear most of them are those who have not kind of embraced literature thoroughly. As you also said that your second attempt was where you just touched upon a few topics. But then the thorough study of literature happened in the third attempt, and you nailed it. So I think your story is enough to showcase the importance embracing the subject has in any aspirants life. So wonderful. I really loved how you've spoken about your journey. And I really admire the kind of passion you have for literature. And I really hope that the same passion you can kind of spread across in the university where you are going to teach, you're going to become an assistant professor. And there will be many more Akash that are going to get born from that classroom where you're going to teach. Thank you. And I really wish you all the best for all the future endeavors that you're going to mark on. And if next time you're planning to sit for JRF, I would I am I'm sure I would not say that I hope I see you in that list. I'm sure that I'm going to see you in that list. So we'll be more than proud to celebrate that achievement. Thank you. Thank you so much. So keep it up and keep going like this. My best wishes are always with you. And pass on my love to your family members as well. Okay. Thank you. I wish you good health. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you Akash. Thank you so much for joining us for this interview. Means a lot to me. Thank you. Thank you so much. Thank you. Thank you. Bye bye. Bye.