Sunday, September 16, 2007

Vajiram GS: Is it worth

Long Queues for admission in October for GS PCM batch….
A huge crowd gathering around Vajiram and Ravi…..
Astronomical fees, but still people willing to join as it's considered the best institute for GS…

As a student, I encountered the same things two years back when I came from Chennai to Delhi. Though the fees was too high compared to institutes at other places, I joined as everyone said it is the best. But the reality that I faced was totally different what I call as the height of economic, educational and social corruption.
I list down the facts for all the three and leave it to you to decide whether you should join or not.

Economic Corruption:
I wanted to pay by cheque from my salary account of Chennai. Throughout my education, I have paid my fees through cheque. But here, Mr Ravindran, Director refused to accept even a local cheque!!! They accepted only draft or cash. It's very obvious that no one would pay draft as for a figure of around Rs 55000 (GS + Optional), the commission is enormous. So everyone would prefer to pay by cash…. And here is where the corruption starts.

After paying cash, they give you a manual receipt (and not a computerized or printed..). And, they take back this receipt after the commencement of the class in lieu of the identity card that they issue. Thus, students have no proof of any cash payment and clearly, it is the fuelling of black money economy. There is every reason to believe that the money they receive is possibly unaccounted.

The infrastructural facilities there are so bad that it looks like a madhouse. The classes take place in the basement of a building that has been declared unsafe from MCD in view of the building by- laws. That means, it can crumble any time. If it happens, it could be the greatest mishap as there is only one small exit from the class room and no emergency exit there. Plus, being in the basement, there is no ventilation and the situation becomes horrible when the light goes (which normally happens in Delhi) and the AC is switched off. Just imagine… 300 students sitting in a hotch- potch conditions with no ventilation and immense humidity and heat….. Yes,. this is the condition that we faced during almost whole six months. But we tolerated all just with a belief that whatever we were taught was going to be useful. But this too was utter false

Educational Corruption
Now coming to what they teach.. just a minute. Do they really teach? If you think dictating or making you write the material is teaching then yes, they teach. They only make you write and write like a donkey and nothing else, just piling up and making your life difficult. Secondly, in polity, Mr Ravindran dictates at such a fast speed that you end up with a bad hand- writing and not able to read what u wrote finally. And what a stupid reason Ravindran gives… Listen. "Instead of me walking along with you, you start running with me. By the end of the class you will develop speed for mains.". Disgusting. Mains Exam requires a speed of just 16- 18 words per minute. But here, they make you write at a speed of 40 wpm. My goodness…, a good portion of his lectures are often missed by the students.

In almost all the subjects, the material is out of focus. Ravindran teaches polity like Political Science. You just can't figure out what you should write out of his material when a question appears. Finally, he flatly blames the students for not having been able to do so.

Geography starts with Physical Geography. With due respect to Mr Manocha, you can easily figure out after a few class what kind of character he has. He teaches so much of irrelevant physical geography from either mains or prelims point of view that students start getting frustrated after seeing the actual UPSC paper. I bet if you can answer any of the UPSC questions after attending his lectures. The last portions are taken very hurriedly mainly by giving photocopied material.

In history, situation is equally worse. They teach you the entire history without telling you how to tackle the questions. The Modern history teacher reads out the questions in the class but never explains how to answer. He also only makes you write the entire history. But the most dismal issue is- there is no time management in history. The modern History teacher started with Ancient History. When he reached Medieval, another Ancient History Professor started coming. After a few days, a Medieval History teacher started coming and believe me, those were focusless boring lecture. As a result, Modern History teacher took the medieval portions hurriedly and started Modern History. But by that time, it was too late, and he could not cover even upto 1942 properly before the Prelims. He took the rest of the classes after prelims, but what was the use???
In Economy, Kathuria Sir was good in teaching, Historybut I could not find any of his material or questions coming in the Prelims. So what was the use? There was a young teacher called Gangadhar, a highly egoist person who claimed to be an IFS and was taking the agriculture and external sector in Indian economy. It was hopeless beyond even expectations.

There was not even a single current affairs class before prelims . How pathetic!! when the area covers 50% of the GS prelim paper.

It is my objective assessment that in no subject of GS, there is any outstanding teaching . I simply wasted my money but the more precious things that I wasted were my time and energy which I can never recover back.

Social Corruption
Now a question arises, why at all the students take admission in Vajiram inspite of poor infrastructural facilities and astronomical fees? The place is situated in a crowded market and there is no reading room either.

Plus, the local population there is the migrants from North East frontier who came here during partition. Needless to say, in the absence of the institute providing any accommodation facilities, we have to stay as renters in the local people's premises at their mercy Needless to say, they charge exorbitant rents and their behaviour towards outsiders especially south Indians is very exploiting and discriminatory.
Inspite of that, I chose to stay there for six terrible months with a hope that I am doing a good job for my career.

I mugged up each and every word that I wrote in the class notes and the questions they had given. But to my utter discontent , not even a single direct question came from their notes. I am not exaggerating. It's a fact. The result was, I, along with many, could not clear PT- 2006. There was hopelessness and despair all around.
Now let me bluntly raise a point. Most of the students go there with a hope that the questions they give are 'important' from prelims point of view and the questions asked in UPSC are based on what they teach. THIS IS TOTALLY FALSE BEYOND ANY DOUBT.

And finally, the behaviour of their staff is too indifferent, insensitive and pathetic. there is no direct number where you can call and get Mr Ravindran and the staff is normally reluctant to transfer line to him In these two years, I could never get Mr Ravindran on telephone. Just the way you have to meet a bureaucrat, you have to wait in a long queue of students to meet him and yes, his attitude is also truly bureaucratic in nature
So friends, you all must be thinking who I am and why I am doing this negative publicity of an institute. Well folks, I am an unsuccessful 2006 candidate who cleared prelims this year and writing mains this October- November. I do not intend to create any negative publicity of Vajiram. I just want to warn the students of the consequences I faced.

I am also not an agent of any other coaching institute. Otherwise, I'd have made some positive publicity of that institute as well. I am just a simple individual, who treats IAS aspirants a community. And if you can spend some time and energy in writing this blog without any monetary cost, what's the harm? I have anyways wasted thousands of hrs in hopeless classes and millions of Joules of energy already.

So folks, if you have a lot of money, time and energy to waste and you are not serious in clearing prelims in one attempt, then
Please Join Vajiram
N Karthiga
karthiga07@gmail.com

187 comments:

Unknown said...

you are very correct ............i had similar experience with geography..........the teacher mr shabbir is a third class failure who throws tantrums then and now and even does not provide basic notes...he covers only 11-12 topics out of 20...........though i have been selected for civil services ..........i consider him the main factor behind my failure in my first attempt

Unknown said...

Well Mr. Karthiga !
Your blog is an eye-opener for me.
Most of my seniors and classfellows always advised me that if I am going to take any coaching class in Delhi, that should be Vajiram & Ravi only.
But since I belong to lower middle-class, I couldn't manage to arrange the fees anytime.
With your blog, What I understand that it is only one's hard work and vision to answer questions meticulously and withing time and word-limit frame which can lead to the success and there may not be any need of any coaching classes to pass UPSC's Civil Services Examination.
Even, I read some blogs before in which those who have faced interview of CS examination had mentioned that UPSC interviewers can guess by your answering that from where you did the coaching and preparation for the interview. It lead me to think that one should be original and that could be happen only when one reads from all the available sources but explain it from his own genuine thoughts.
My Best wishes to you for the Civil Services (Mains)!!

pkv said...

Mr Karthiga,
Best of luck for your mains!
I can feel your feelings. But Please tell me where to take the coaching then as it has become a necessary evil. I am a govt.officer going to delhi on leave for 5 months. I have only one chance to do the coaching. Do suggest the best modus operandi to clear the most prestigious exams. I am In second level of preparation i.e.have read all basic books. Thanks in anticipation.

Cé$âr said...

Quite castigating. Good luck.

Unknown said...
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Unknown said...

Yes Karthiga most of the coaching institutes in delhi are charging exorbitantly and they are worthy of nothing, totally bullshit . they fool u

No doubt our money is making them rich.
Vajiram ,, intereactions, als , etc etc are fooling people around .

Please make more and more people aware with ur blog

and good luck for mains man ...

sarvjeet said...

You might be right to an extent,but,you can't deny the fact that teachers like Kathuria,Shukla,Sanjeev Verma and others are a treat to study from.They've helped me build an insight into the subjects.Who cares about getting direct questions,u can always mug up so many prelims specific books available in the market. Anyway,good luck for mains n whether u accept it or not VAJIRAM coaching is going to be of great help in mains n hopefully in Interview also.

saraswati said...

dumb cattle . thats how i find these vajiram students. may be a few `good apples' are there!!!!!!!

Karthiga said...

Hi all,

I respect all ur concerns.Thank you all for appreciating my efforts. However, I'd like to say one thing. Studying from Manocha, Kathuria etc can be a treat for Civil services aspirant only if the coaching is useful for the exam. However, if someone wants to join only for intellectual enlightenment, I have no issues pl go ahead.

What I can really guide u is. Never go for any 6 months pre cum mains course. Its a waste.... big waste.

I wish u all good luck.

user said...
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Unknown said...

Ramz... or whatever u're....
U are definitely an agent of Vaji...
How much money did they pay you to write ur comments?
I am also a student of Vaji and what Karthiga has written is true beyond doubts.
Shame on you... you are misguiding the students

Unknown said...

I have been seeing this blog for quite some time. I have cleared Civil Services Exam 2003 and presently in an allied service.

I must say that Karthiga is very harsh in writing such a blog. But I must admit that the facts she/ he has written are also true.

Would like to add here that GS is truly a game of whether you know the facts or not (except for mental ability qs). If you know, you are in, otherwise u're out. Mains, I agree, is a test more of expression than knowledge. If you have mediocre knowledge and good expression, still you can score well. But prelims is different.
Thus, it is expected from a coaching institute to provide those facts which would help in answering questions.

And Ramz, please don't criticize ppl if they mug up facts for GS prelims. That is the only way to prepare. UPSC doesn't at all test a candidate's callibre in GS pre. That's unfortunate, but painfully true.

Unknown said...

Hi Folks,
Would like to share an interesting piece of information..

I found that Vaji Class notes are available in the markets of Jia Sarai and Ber Sarai and that too, not hand written, but neatly typed. Available in just Rs 1000/-. And the price may even get halved if it is photocopied.
So why to spend Rs 35000 when the material is available at fractions... Anyways, Vaji doesn't provide anything apart from dictated class notes.

The notes reach market by mid may every year.

user said...
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user said...
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sharan said...

Hey can anyone tell hw is raus,delhi???..is it same as "mirajge of V&R"....and also hw is brilliant tutorials material....

Anonymous said...

hi karthiga...........

i am really thankfull to you......as you shared experiance at delhi institutes with all of us.
but........i feel the WAY YOU MADE THAT BLOG WAS REALLY GREAT.......& also i feel...if you WRITE THE MAINS EXAM....SURELY YOU CAN BE THE TOP......

Its my confidence on YOU....eventhough i dont know who are you earliar, iam very much of confident abt you & your attitude.

here my personal kind suggestion to you is JUST DO YOUR BEST KARTHIGA.........ONLY YOUR BEST.

Try to be carefull on this kind of Bladies in future...........

pls keep in touch with me karthiga,

Unknown said...

Just a small rejoinder:
I am a PCM student of Vaji GS 2008- 2009. Two things have changed now:
1. Now they take only draft for fees. So friends, b prepared to shed extra money as draft charges
2. ACs are working fine now..

Rest all what blog mentions stil exist today

rahul said...

i have full sympathy with u .........but using such harsh words for vajiram institute are not appreciating......we all know the success rate of this exam is very low so its true that many don't qualify but i feel that its not possible for an ordinary human being to complete the entire course in 4-4.5 months.......the exam definitely requires ur OWN efforts....i have the personal experience of clearing it in first attempt...........so take it as a guidance and apply ur own brain to crack this exam........all the best

Unknown said...

dear rahul,

if you want to differ factually, plz go ahead. don't give your subjective opinions. inspite of so much injustice still you are with the bourgeoise shareholders? how would you understand the concerns of poor ppl in bureaucracy? do you still justify the harm cause to poor people who come from villages and pay fees to such institutes by selling their land? how insensitive......

Unknown said...

god it is shocking...so much for all the big name that vajiram has...this article is a real eyeopener....CAN SOMEBODY PLZ TELL ME HOW IS SRIRAM INSTITUTE FOR GS...has anybody attended their classes... is that also the same way...WHICH INSTITUTE WOULD BE THE BEST FOR GS ...HOW IS Ramaswamy for Socio and for History are there any good teachers in Rajinder Nagar

Unknown said...

HEy thanx for all dis,plz can u suggest me any Institute for GS as il be gng 2 delhi very soon plzz..

Kumar Prashant said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Kumar Prashant said...

hi all,
i agree with some points raised by mr. karthiga but somewhere he was very harse towards the coaching.
let me tell my experience there.some teacher were very good in teaching. i should mention the name of mr. kathuria,sanjeev verma for there good instruction in economy. mr. ravinderan was very good in polity and current affairs. although mr. shukla was not able to cover the whole syllabus of modern history but whatever he taught that was really good and his classes were very interesting. dr. abhilaas was very good in science & technology portion.....for rest of the teachers of geography,medival history,ancient history,stats .........i agree with mr.re karthiga for them........

REMYA ROSHNI said...

friends, those who r in delhi can try career point, i heard very good things about it from 2 friends(one is in service)....for g s u should concentrate on standard books and be ready with points..maximum points within the word and time limit will do the trick...
i myself never went to delhi.i prepared with friends in trivandrum.butmy g s score were consistent and i cleared in 2006(Ips m&t cadre).now i resigned and runs an institute in chennai..for any queries regarding civil service do contact me(roshni.remya@gmail.com)..good luk

Ranjeet pawar said...

Hi to all.....
uptill now i had heard only of Vaji... as the BEST one 4 GS....but after all this im completely confused & find myself nowhere.....right now im working in Infosys....& in my initial phase of prep...going thru the basic books......but if not the BEST than where i can get better than the best....

rhythm said...

Mr.Kathuria has lost his vitality. he is ok for a lecture or two. the venerable lecturer is physically not in a condition to lecture. they are bringing all kinds of novices. which mukherjee nagar institutes usually do.

it does not cover current events at all for prelims. for the mains, since this year, it is pathetic.
please see the class notes and prinyted notes which confirm me totally.
chronicle is far far better than vajiram's notes.

for economics, the faculty( misnomer)compiled some 2 mark questions which every student knows. when i asked for answers, he said look up in the notes. i bet he does not know the answers.

regarding the s and t faculty, the teacher went off to the usa. vajii has the worst faculty now.

his result is because of the ritual of mock interview. he has half a dozen optionals. some contribute to the result.

from GS, the cumulative result is less than 50.

this institute is going the Rau's way- live off the brand. Let students go to hell. If they are smart, they would not have joined in the first place!!!!!!!!strange logic from an ed. institution.

Satish Kumar Vemula said...

As some have already mentioned Civils has to be seen as something totally personal.

I agree with most of what Karthiga has said, at the same time reasonably can claim that Vajiram is one of the better ones.

It is the people that you come across, and the energy that is there in the atmosphere in Rajendra nagar that gives a kick. After that it is your effort.

But, as Karthiga rightly pointed out, the discriminatory attitude of people there hurts, especially when you are on a tight budget and end up dealing with people with shabby houses..

Finally, this is Civil services, where you expect to become IAS and IPS and IFS and what not. Not some engineering or MBBS test, you take after 12th.

Dont try to look up to any body any more. No body is sacro sanct. Even you. If you dont agree with my immediate last statement, you are either ignorant or not mature enough yet or plain bluffin.

It is you and you alone, who can get every piece of information to clear the test.

And finally, a well structured article by Karthiga. For those coming to Delhi for UPSC coaching, this will help in what to expect.

If only, Karthiga had taken coaching in Rau's or some other, he would have even lost the spirit to write a good blog like this.

Unknown said...

please can you provide me previous years question papers of GS and psychology..i am preparing for CSE2010

Shubho Broto Das said...

Great blog sir.....It is certainly an eye opener.....by nw m sure u hv cleared ur UPSC!!!! all the best.....n do suggest me some better (if not best) institutes for GS and geography

Aery Prabhakar said...

Thank you for sharing your experience . Really, thanks!

Unknown said...

science students should not join for gs coz the speed is too fast.

PT is current centric(trend chasers available in market)

Chronicle publishes vajiram's mains notes(tacitly), also neat hand written notes(mains) are available thanks to innovative petty shopkeepers- wonder why waste money(esp. true for vajiram its modus operandi is notes)

certainly not for freshers.

Unknown said...

Try Rau's instead ;-) (saying this with a tremendous amount of sarcasm)

jatin said...

i read your eye opner artical
and one thing more i want to add to this that in newspaper THE HINDU front page dated 21-04-2010 vajiram's advertisement is there ! he stated that in 2008 the person having RANK 6 was his student, thats horrible, scandalous, as he is my child hood frnd and a MBBS, was doctor in MOULANA he is brilliant he never took any coaching and cleared in single attempt while juggling his job and studies. a big word for vajiram and raji, i cant point out middel finger here so....... **** *** u liers

Abhishek kumar said...

Excellent post by Karthiga

Shahid iqbal Choudhary said...

dear frends coaching today has become an industry,so to wholly blame the institute will be wrong. we need to analyse our options well before landing in delhi. i too had a similar experience with Career Plus wich i joined just after finishing my college. had to leave withing a week after paying huge amounts and suffering mental agony. then i prepared at my own and joined Vajiram for GS crash course for mains,and i found it the best i could get. may be because i had only 50days in hand, under pressure and utilizing every single minute but the guidance was quite helpful. for UPSC we cant depend on classes or just mugging up notes as the times have changed and one needs to be innovative in writing as well, u need to have information regarding anything under the sky!! so prepare urself and join coaching only for ur weakest areas, m sure u will not be disappointed.
the fee structure is realy quite high for any middle class background student to pay,but we have to live with that reality unless government comes with some regulation. i found many colleagues not utilising their potential just in a trauma of having spent so much and not geting desired outcome. but one has to put his max frends, there shudnt be any second thoughts.
i understand the feelings of writer but under the RBI regulations any fee/transaction above 5000 has to be through a demand draft and the tax is duly reflected in that receipt.
so frends plz dont go by others directions,just keep these things in mind and be a best judge of urself.
i found a concern for aspirants as a frend forwarded me this link,so was tempted to write.
serious aspirants may contact at shahidiqbalc@gmail.com

Dr Shahid Iqbal, IAS
Government of Jammu & Kashmir

Shahid iqbal Choudhary said...

Shahid Iqbal

amit said...

they are bunch of thugs ...!!
bastards are looting innocent students ... but this is the way this cruel world function :)

life is a celebration! said...

Mr.Karthiga has openly shared the truth.Thankful to him.
I am in a dilemma as some like Mr.Shaid Iqbal have shared pros about vajiram and ravi.
I need ur help as I have done my BA in economics but havent gone through any basic books.2011 wil be my first attempt.I m joining the Vaji and ravi GS and public admnstrtion this june.How shd I cover basic books.I belong to lower middle class.What shd be the strategy?

ashu said...

then wat to do....we cant clear these xams without coaching.....tell me the alternative Mr.

Unknown said...

Please tell me which is the best place for Political Science...
I heard about Kumd ranjan sir from Khan's Study group..

L said...

HI DEAR,i am out of this exam. last year i.e 2009.i wrote three mains (cs exam.)consecutly.i performed very well in exam.,hoping to get good rank,but to my surprise and others,i got very poor marks in main.exam.i had put up mind,heart and soul into this entire examination system.the end result was not well.
i am giving pcs exam.i just want to give some good suggestions:
nobody can make u civil servant,it is u who can make out or fall down.life is not end ,it goes on without V&R.just put best and UPSC WILL DECIDE UR FAITH ,NOT UR PAST BACKGROUND ,MONEY,FOOD, AND SO ON. THIS IS INJUSTICE I AND U AND OTHERS FACE YEAR AFTER YEAR.SO GOOD LUCK TO U GUYS OF V&R ALUMINI. LALIT KUMAR SINGH

Unknown said...

It is only that when we have options then there is too much confusion.
There are so many institutes in Delhi.
Still if any one can help me regarding the institute for Political Science it would be great.

Solo said...

This year's (2010) prelim further proves how dangerous it is to depend on coaching centre material & class notes. Many people spend too much time cramming GS coaching notes and current affairs books, and too little on their optionals. This year's GS pre would've been a rude awakening for them. Without a strong grasp of fundamentals, GS can be a very risky bet, no matter how famous the coaching institute.

GFC said...

Thanks a lot for information. It surely helped a great deal.

anamika said...

I am not an IAS aspirant but I am glad you took the initiative...

bonjoe said...

i agreed totally with all my frns.....Coaching has all turned to bussiness...what matters is self study rather than completely believing on them

Unknown said...

Hi,
Iv already made reservations to come over to Delhi this Oct. Can anyone plz tell me which is the better institute (and i say the better one cuz i read the whole blog and i want to kno which is better among all as not one is the best)for coaching for Gs and can i get mains coaching in Oct itself?
O and one more thing. We dont have an Optional for 2011 Prelims right? so i only need to get coaching for GS & CSAT. Right?

Neeraj said...

I had this conversation with V&S via mail and they told me that fee is not decided for oct session still. No wonder they are increasing it.

can anyone tell me what was the fee for june session.

moreso i agree to what mr iqbal said.
Its more about getting regularity and meeting fellow aspirants and competitive environment that u need for the kick start rest is up to you.

sonali said...

Hi neeraj,

you can checkout the fee structure for june at

http://www.vajiramandravi.com/Forms/June2010-New.pdf.

I think they are making amendments in this due to the introduction of CSAT.

Can anyone please please please recommend me a good institute for gs, pub ad and sociology. I am late in reading the blog, and have already resigned from my job to join V&R :( please suggest...

ashu said...

any suggestions abt the institute for csat n gs....do reply

shrishti said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
jan said...

Very interesting blog.
I've been looking for web content and forums for information on CSE 2011. Was disappointed at not finding an active online community of aspirants. This is the first real discussion I have seen relating to the UPSC coaching.

sonam11 said...

hello Mr. Karthiga,

thanks for telling mischeivious details about the institute.. you did a really good job by conveying us the details by this blog,,, thanks for helping me and a lot many other aspirants,,,
Now vajiram and ravi institute is charging net 52000rs for GS only,,, for other optionals,a person has to spend another 33,000 or so Rs....
I mean,after paying such hefty sum,one will not even get good notes,classes etc,,, then why to waste ours or our parent's hard earned money..
thanks for telling the harsh realty

ashu said...

then where to go huh....we dont have any choice....everyone here is criticizing ...why not a single one tell us the way huh...if u gota a problem then tell us the solution n u r not making it easy ...u r complicating it for us....

Solo said...

It's not written in the Constitution that one must take coaching to become a civil servant. A natural interest in gaining knowledge and capacity for hard work are the main ingredients required here. One can make a good preparation strategy after cool-headed analysis of past years' question papers and reading one or two basic books (Whose names are easily available online in the blogs and interviews of successful candidates). Shah Faesal (2010 topper) didn't take coaching, nor did Anay Dwivedi (5th), or Ghanshyam Thori (25th) (Though they may have joined a test series later). These are just a few people I know of, there would be many more. All notes and test papers are available in the market for those who are serious about study.
For a good list of links to various blogs, see the July 10 post (by Tanvi Sundariyal, rank 6) at http://thecivilservicesdream.blogspot.com/

If one does a lot of research to select the coaching centre most suited to oneself, coaching might be useful, but even then it's not essential. It has a very high cost (in terms of fees, exorbitant rent while staying outside, living expenses etc.) The main benefit is interaction with other aspirants and sharing of knowledge about the exam.

Solo said...

W.r.t. previous comment, I did not mean that one can prepare with one or two basic books. They are necessary to get familiar with the subject, so you can make sense of things when you sit down to analyse papers. After such analysis, you'll be able to form a decent strategy for your real study, which will of course require referring to more sources, making good notes, and burning the midnight oil. All this while regularly going back to the papers & syllabus to ensure you are studying what is actually required.

Unknown said...

Many Rooms available for rent near the institute for very affordable prices.
Starting at Rs.2000 to Rs 10,000 per month.
No Commission requd.(Skip property dealers)

Contact Owner-
Uday 9811578948

Nambiar Ashwin Rajan said...

Everyones criticized and pin pointed the effort made by Mr karthik. You experience the facts only after you realize the truth.
Can anyone give a solution? How to go about it?
JAI HIND.

Jai said...

Vajiram is an useless caoching institute.. Now they are charging 71000 ..I can see a lot of students joining the institute.. i was very disappointed when i saw the prelims question paper and comparing it to what vajiram has taught ..My 2nd options was Geo from Neetu singh .. so I made sure i just dont listen to Manocha.. cause his concepts some times are good and Sometimes he is actually wrong .. i found that out when i had some doubts and i asked him .. the only good thing abt the institute is Economy classes .. and Rest its just a Money making Institute .. Vajiram has to improve there standards

NA said...

I am a current student of the pre-cum-mains batch at Vajiram & Ravi. I think this blog is nothing else but an unsuccessful student who could never really understand what IAS and UPSC exam are all about and wants to blame someone else for his/her failure. Just observe how his/her main disappointment is that there were no direct questions that s/he could answer. It is just an attempt at mud slinging.

As far as the "economic corruption" is concerned, any right thinking person knows that fee is accepted only in the form of Demand Draft and not by cash or cheque. DD is a way to prevent corruption and not abet it.The author claims that he has paid his educational fee throughout by cash/cheque and not by DD. I don't know what kind of institutions s/he has studied in because frankly, I've studied in the best in the country, and the fee is always paid by DD.Moreover, if the author had ever cared to enter a bank and get a DD made, he would have known that a very nominal commission of about Rs. 200/- is charged for DD of amount around Rs. 50,000/-. I don't know about the earlier years but this year they have issued us a printed receipt which we have been allowed to retain even after the issuing the identity cards. The infrastructural facilities now are definitely better than every other institute.

The author even goes to the extent of questioning Manocha sir's "character". I wonder how s/he comes to know "after a few class (sic) what kind of character he is". As for me, I think he is the best teacher in Vajiram. Mr. Ravindran teaches polity very well and he does not dictate fast. All lies have been posted by the author, unless, of course, s/he writes at the speed of a snail!

The local population may not be the friendliest but it is not the refugee population from the North East. I have lived there from my childhood and rarely, if ever, have I come across any people from North East (this is not to say anything against the people from North East. I have been to some NE states, I love the people and their culture deeply). The area is dominated by the Punjabi community. This statement by the author indicates that other assertions might be equally false.

Ravindran sir is very helpful. Two years back, when I was not even a student there, he agreed to meet me and guided me for 15 mins regarding whether I should opt for civil services or not. There are many such examples.

I think it is either a cheap way for the author to get some cheap publicity or his way to feel better by blaming someone else for his failure. If it is the latter, I have nothing against the author since it is a very normal human tendency to do so.

But I do agree with you on one thing. That you have "wasted thousands of hrs in hopeless classes and millions of Joules of energy". Thats because you thought that UPSC exam was some kind of a University exam and Vajiram notes a guide book and a key to all the answers to the questions in the exam. And your hope was never to learn and making it a rich experience rather only mugging up the notes and vomiting them out in the exam.

I know my post will be deleted by you because you are obviously not a person who will allow free speech. I can see how the posts by 'RamZ'
have been deleted but I nevertheless wasted my half hour in reading your bullshit and writing a comment on it though it did not deserve it. I will also be accused ambassador of acting as an a of the institute. I intend to do so but not here but rather by clearing the exam with flying colours.

PS: I dare you to put this up and not delete and at least have the guts to allow free speech.

NA

NA said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Peeyoosh Gupta said...

I believe that this coaching institute is VARDAN for engineers. Those who give bad comment has not understood mr. ravi.

S P Singh said...

Nice effort but not sufficient. This is not only the case with Vajiram. I think all the coaching institutes are cheating students as they can. So its our duty to alert while joining any coaching institute....I advice all students before joining any coaching take consultation from your seniors or old students. Students should take Mr. Karthiga view''s as his personal. First verify them then go ahead......All the Best.

Rashi Khetarpal said...

please everyone whose so ever reading dont waste ur money attending classes ...at vaji ram ...well i took csat classes from dere ....they particularly have nothing substantial to taech ...and it suffocates to be in room filled 300+ students ...!!

Unknown said...

Rooms for rent
Rs.2000-5000 per month per room
Walking distance from Vajiram and Ravi Institute
Students only, Boys Only
No Commission
Contact Owner-9811578948 Uday

Unknown said...

good one..........can anyonne clear upsc by reading books and preparing their own notes....why the hell you run after coaching centres...burn ur money and then blame them if u r not successful.........

Unknown said...

fuck u uday .....its not a add sitr

BloodBrothers said...

All the issues have been discussed so far but no one has stepped forward to shed some light on the solution. Solution is what we need at the moment. Just for the sake of our common interests, i wish to convey that coaching "isn't" required to crack the exam. Personally i believe that its only for people who are extremely short on time or need some ass-kicking to start studying properly. Excluding some gifted candidates who clear it in their first attempt, rest of us need at least 2 years of solid & focussed preparation to even appear for the exam with winning chances(probable analysis). Its not a demotivational statement but the words of a friend who is a 2010 IPS(63RR) & currently at NPA. He juggled b/w a job as well as studies.

Conclusion:- If you have abilities then no need for coaching. Also please kindly assess your talent and patience before appearing for the CS as its not a child's play, be real and grounded. Have faith in god.

BloodBrothers said...

All coaching centres in Delhi:
You son's of a B***H!!!!

tyagi said...

Most of the students go there with a hope that the questions they give are 'important' from prelims point of view and the questions asked in UPSC are based on what they teach. THIS IS TOTALLY FALSE BEYOND ANY DOUBT.

AS if you are writing a second grade university exam in which all the questions would come from guide

Dhanraj Gaur said...

Hi Karthiga,

Thanks for your feedback!.

My friend is willing to join a good IAS coaching institute in NCR region. Earlier I was suggesting him to go for Vajiram, but it seems I was wrong!

I would really appreciate if you can suggest us any other good coaching in NCR. We are totally lost now!

My frnd is opting for Geography and Public Ad. Could you please suggest a good institute for these subject?

Thanks,
Dhanraj Gaur

Solo said...

The main problem with Vajiram is their GS. Not because they are worse than others at teaching it (they are perhaps better than most), but because of the vastness of the syllabus, the sheer size of classes, and the way UPSC makes sure material from Vaji is not asked in exams. UPSC designs the papers in such a way that the benefits of coaching are minimized. In PubAd, Vaji is quite good. Minocha's material had gotten outdated, but the new teachers (Rajesh Gupta/Nagasena) are pretty decent. Geography is at many places. Neetu Singh (Direction Institute) is one option.

kiran said...

Can anybody tell for purchasing good correspondence study material for IAS mains GS,Sociology,Public adm. which institute is best and wht are the discounts avilable? Is coaching material sufficient for preparation?

dinesh gurjar said...

im so confused...........i thought that i will join vaji october batch..........but after rading these blogs im confused if i should join these vaji ram institute or not?
.....karthiga will u tell us how much effort u gave to ur study .......ya aapne apna dimag sirf institute ko dosh dene m hi lagaya?
...........vajiram or uske jesai dusre institutes jo itnaa paisa letai hh coaching k liye .........kisi b ek subject k liye 50000/-rs tak ...........akhir ye log asa kya padha detai hh bacho ko jo ye itna charge kerte hh n bloody govt..who dont restrict them for charging so much fees...kya ye faculty itnee hoshiaar hotii h kya jo per subject itnaa charge kerte hh .......aaj institutes ne "shiksha " ko mehanga dhandaa bana dia hh bhalai hi unhe kuch aata jata ho ya n nahii
in institute k high fees charging per ankush lagana chahiye....institute k jo teacher hote h ve sirf cremy layer (intelligent) bacho se hi jada matlab rakhte hh ..........aaj k teacher chor hh jo apna sammaan apni respect ko bachate hue assani se bacho ko luttey hh....karthiga wat u told may b true but if we see d acheivments of dis institute ...to tumhari baat per yakin nhi kia ja sakta bcos issi institute ne rankers nb banaye hh ....sach kya hh ram jane but institute or teacher ko bacho ko thagna nahi chahiye

dinesh gurjar said...

i dont wana trust any instite....now im thinking for self preperation for my IAS....jatin thx for telling true abt vajiram ...........lier vajiram....jatin did ur frd took any action against these instit ute for fake advertisement regarding 21-4-2010 advrtisment?

Rajesh said...

z

Aastha said...

Hi karthiga,Ravindran did worst than what he did with you guys..I joined vajiram in oct 2008 batch.unfortunately within a month,i had to leave the classes b coz i developed a swelling in my leg...so i had to rush to CMC VELLORE for having dose of radiation and chemotherepy..I requested a lot to him for allowing me to join the batch after 6 months in may 2009.that man is merciless also,that even after seeing the medical report of cancer,he didnt allowed.i donated 72k free of cost.most imp,now i am perfectly healthy..as it was diagonised in its earliest stage.
u r doing a noble job by warning students.
Aastha

Anonymous said...

For current affairs visit, http://currentaffairsmanual.blogspot.com/

The Scientific Temper said...

Oh God !!! You are great!!!
I just have been at Vaji Ram and Ravi, Old Rajendra Nagar, New Delhi on this Saturday for inquiry regarding IAS coaching for my daughter who is getting above 85% in psycho in her MA from a Central Univ.
After being informed the fee structure from the office I calculated for the total cost that would be needed if she goes to Delhi to join this coaching for whole year+PG charges+etc, this comes nearly Rs 4,00.000/- from pre to main to interview.
I have been since then thinking that from where I can arrange the above sum, and finally I decided to sell my Maruti wagon R VXI to arrange the initial expenses plus books after submitting the fees.
Now, after going through your blogs I am just baffled what to do what not to do???
If God is keeping me away from this extravaganza. He definitely will help my child also to get her dreams come true...I have firm belief in this BECAUSE IT IS A SHEER CHANCE THAT I READ THIS BLOG OTHERWISE I AM NOT A REGULAR USER OF ALL THESE MODERN MEANS.
I am a teacher by choice and do not have black money. Therefore it seems me that GOD HAS HIS OWN WAYS OF HELPING HIS CHILDREN.
Thanks Karthik
Yours
Dr P N Tripathi

Pratik Rajendra Butte Patil said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Hardik said...

hey...you are very valid at many points,i must say,the history teacher teaching history goes far too deep in mideival history & Manocha sir too have the same problem of getting into depth of smthing not really required for gs,mst probably he himself gets driven with the flow,othrwise a great teacher he is...but i would still say things are not that bad.Now the infrastructure has changed a lot,the rooms are well equipped for holding lectures & every single activity takes place quite systematically...bt thts nt really my point,the gist of my comment is actually you do need a coaching institute if you don't have some person to guide you all the pros & cons in your family, vajiram having loopholes at various areas also scores at many things...& of course its quite obvious that within 5-6 months nobody can finish off every single thing in the syllabus & if we talk about prelims,it has & always will be unpredictable ,so thinking that you will simply follow watevr is taught at institute,you are only having cmpleted a job not even half done...the sole purpose of an institute is to lay a foundation for you to build up on that. You need to go an extra mile depending not on smbody else,but only & only your own consciousness & that's something you strt building by going through many previous year papers,giving heed to each & every single detail of the syllabus the upsc has penned dwn for civil services exams. So count on an institute just to lay a good foundation & for the rest of the journey you are your own cynosure...
& i would also like to add one of the major loophole of vajiram, GS is still fyn but never ever opt for its CSAT...except the english teacher,thers no 1 worth spending your money upon

Al the very Best to all

Hardik said...

hey...you are very valid at many points,i must say,the history teacher teaching history goes far too deep in mideival history & Manocha sir too have the same problem of getting into depth of smthing not really required for gs,mst probably he himself gets driven with the flow,othrwise a great teacher he is...but i would still say things are not that bad.Now the infrastructure has changed a lot,the rooms are well equipped for holding lectures & every single activity takes place quite systematically...bt thts nt really my point,the gist of my comment is actually you do need a coaching institute if you don't have some person to guide you all the pros & cons in your family, vajiram having loopholes at various areas also scores at many things...& of course its quite obvious that within 5-6 months nobody can finish off every single thing in the syllabus & if we talk about prelims,it has & always will be unpredictable ,so thinking that you will simply follow watevr is taught at institute,you are only having cmpleted a job not even half done...the sole purpose of an institute is to lay a foundation for you to build up on that. You need to go an extra mile depending not on smbody else,but only & only your own consciousness & that's something you strt building by going through many previous year papers,giving heed to each & every single detail of the syllabus the upsc has penned dwn for civil services exams. So count on an institute just to lay a good foundation & for the rest of the journey you are your own cynosure...
& i would also like to add one of the major loophole of vajiram, GS is still fyn but never ever opt for its CSAT...except the english teacher,thers no 1 worth spending your money upon

Al the very Best to all

Anonymous said...

H

myconoclast said...

Of course he's right fellows. I studied at VnR too and it was mostly pointless. For those claiming that we're missing the big picture, let this be clear: we enrolled in the coaching institute with the specific purpose of cracking the exam. No one wants to be spoon fed, of course, but we do want to be put steadily on the right course. If you want to increase your knowledge, then you could just do a double masters, an m phil or even a phd, not join VnR! In fact, anyone seriously contemplating civils has enough brains to read the countless books available for the exam and grasp most of what is stated. We join a coaching institute to save us the time, strain the knowledge. And Vajiram fails at that quite miserably. I have nothing against knowing as much as I can and constantly striving to increase the corpus of my general awareness. But I'd do that when a do not have a deadly exam knocking at my door; one that inherently requires me to judge useful knowledge from useless (with respect to the exam). And I pay the institute almost 10 times the amount of money I paid for my graduation degree to help me with this cumbersome task. Not to fill my head with all that I could have filled it up with anyway. But to streamline it.
And that is where VnR (and most other coaching institutes) fail, especially with regard to prelim preparations.

Unknown said...

@myconoclast what's ur opinion now?? whether to join vajiram and ravi or no?? because i've completed my graduation want to go der so tell me the fact..no coaching institute are 100%..they only guide..efforts should be our's..so tell me.

Mohan Pandey said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Solo said...

There are good individual teachers, but we don't know about them coz they aren't famous yet, and once they get famous, they don't have time to give individual attention. That has happened with Mukul Pathak (Psychology), Mohanty (Pub Admin) and many others.
There are short term courses (crash courses, answer-writing sessions, test series) in Delhi, but that depends on the subject and the timing. I don't know about places outside Delhi.
Regarding places to get notes from, in Delhi you have Jawahar Book Depot, Prem Photostat, and many places in Rajinder Nagar and Mukherjee Nagar. You can search on Indianofficer.com for details.

Mohan Pandey said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Mohan Pandey said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Mohan Pandey said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Mohan Pandey said...

Please discuss the correct approach of classes to be joined or notes to be studied for a fresher student.

nutesh said...

u r biggest dumb man... get a life... teachers at vajiram n ravi r good, not the best but still they put all their efforts in making u understand the basics coz this coaching is for ppl who knows zero or have zero knowledge of upsc while those who know what is upsc doesnt even take coachings n crack exams in their first attempt... dont know anything about u but m studying in vajiram n ravi n appearing for upsc'13 for the first time n i had learned a lot and i get good ranks in the test series...

nutesh said...

a BIG thumbs up man... u r very much right...

myconoclast said...


Unknown said...

@myconoclast what's ur opinion now?? whether to join vajiram and ravi or no?? because i've completed my graduation want to go der so tell me the fact..no coaching institute are 100%..they only guide..efforts should be our's..so tell me.

Sorry for the late reply. I would suggest getting your hands on the recommended books (a no of booklists are available online and you can ask upsc veterans), making your own notes (cannot be substituted by someone else's notes, those can only be complementary), and finally practice.
For pre, join test series, or just get the photocopies and take mock tests at home. And for mains, get into the habit of writing 3-5 answers everyday - from 5 markers to 20-30 markers. Again, test series will help. They are the only thing worth your money. Coaching institutes, unless you really do much better sitting in a class with 300 people being rushed through the syllabus, waste time and money. Things no serious upsc candidate has much of anyway :)
Hope that helped. All the best!

Unknown said...

Dear Author,
going by ur dates i guess u nd i were in batch at vaji,first of all let me request u to remove all those comments who r against u nd pro-vajirams. Such fans nd followers of vajirams can open up their own blogs,what r they doing here?? I don't understand why r some ppl interested in beating the bush nd r failing to see the larger picture.I can most certainly put up a winning argument against those who r trying not to understand ur view-point nd r thus glorifying Vajiram but what the point!! As i once read- blinds can't see, those who've deliberately closed eyes can't see, nd those who know what they r seeing yet state something else r also devoid of vision. Ur opinion matters to u the most, believe in urself.
BTW did u forget the stink from the washrooms that sometimes filled the basement hall, or the sheer insult of students at the hands of Vajiram teachers? In my gs pcm batch i still remember ravindran gave only 18 lectures in the whole 6 months, what a waste nd after the prelims did u get a copy of the SOLVED prelims paper from them - they took a whole week to give answers to question paper saying our team is preparing solutions and even after that only 2/3rd paper was answered out of which 17 answers were wrong. I could say this because those questions were common facts as if someone asks who's the pm of india. I didn't believe it at first so i took solved booklet to the elangovan, he went ahead nd stamped it!! WOW!!!! I'm in touch with a present student of theirs nd unfortunately the situation is same.
Good luck to u nd i hope u find peace and success
Dev

Sadhana said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Sadhana said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Sadhana said...

I do agree..They are professionals not teachers...They suck up ur hard earned money.. nd the rest will be sucked by these greedy Rajendra Nagar landlords....
I also got cheated..People who have good financial backing can pay even more to these bloody coaching institutes..but Wat about people like me who left their job.. came to Delhi in the hope of getting something good from this so called Vajiram and Ravi...Whatever they had taught 5 yrs back..they are still dictating the same notes with no new updation.The only good thing which Vajiram is having is the Gem "Mukul Pathak"..Actually he is not known by Vaji..this vaji is known becz of him for psycho..rest are totally waste..they had already taken 60 k for GS but now becz of new mains syllabus they are charging 3ok more..Jus imagine 90k total for GS.. a poor man can do marriages of his 2 daughters wid the same.
Mr Ravindram was saying that he is so poor..need some extra money for new faculties ;-)
Nyways..everyone feels the same...Only one month is left for prelims nd i know nothing... So If u hv made five yrs plan for cracking this exam, lots of energy and a rich father then join Vaji even any other coaching institute..becz story is same everywhere.

Sadhana said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Sadhana said...

I have no personal problem with Vajiram and Ravi...as i have already mentioned that all coaching institutes are same.The problem which I've faced in Vajiram is their traditional way of teaching esp in GS classes which is the first and foremost requirement for cracking prelims..becz undoubtedly Pyschology is awesome which is only because of Mukul Pathak but it will go in vain if you don't clear prelims..Rest teachers are waste becz in spite of having good knowledge, they don't know how to transfer it. UPSC is demanding something new from their candidates..It is not a university exam..where u vomit it out which u've mugged up last night from your class notes.I am hoping may be this year they serve something good to their students as UPSC syllabus got changed..It is entirely my personal opinion.When I had come to Delhi,I had no prior guidance so I had no choice before me except joining an institute.. So don't blindly follow my opinion.Take feedback from people who got selected and make an informed choice.

Unknown said...

I am an Engineering Graduate.Want to go for IAS 2014. So i researched abt best coaching institutes and VAJIRAM and RAVI and RAU's IAS circle popped up.... After reading this blog i'm damn confused.And by the way now fee for GS(prelim+mains)+optional subject+CSAT=1,50,000. I will appreciate it if some one will guide me.HELP fellow IAS aspirants.

Unknown said...

Unbelievable!!!
This was written in 2007 and people are still following it.

Prashant said...

@ Karthiga and all..
Hi friends,
I read all the comments...from those posted in 2007 till date. I really appreciate the efforts of the author to share the experiences.
I am also a civil service aspirant. Two of my friends are already at VR now.They said its a good class and worth the money we pay for the class. so I am also getting inclined to join the october batch 2013. I appeared for the Pre this time and I think I'll be through.Mains this year is from 1st Dec. I have 6 months. I am in dilemma now.I have some options.

1)I should focus for 2014 exam straightaway and join the V&R classes for 2014 exam in October.(But now after reading this, I am really confused)

2)I should not join any class and study on my own.(But doubt here is , is it possible to clear mains without any coaching in 6 months? what should be done? Please advise.)

Just wanted your opinions as I am planning to focus on MAINS 2013. is VR really worth for MAINS classes atleast? Is it practically possible to clear MAINS in 6 months with no coaching available..? If not, Is there any other class you wanna suggest for MAINS?

Before taking any decision,I think its always better to take advice from experienced people.Kindly reply when you read this post and address the queries.All suggestions will be appreciated.

Mohan Pandey said...

I am in same boat as you Prashant.. Hopeful of clearing prelims... unable to decide if vajiram is good enough... for mains... (as mains has changed..!)
we can meet and talk or call me on my phone.. my phone...9971707455

Solo said...

(part 1 of 2)
If you have no general knowledge, then Vajiram might help a bit. If you have decent GK and have a good reading habit since childhood (including a newspaper), GS coaching isn't very necessary, especially since you can get notes and specialized books (e.g. Current Affairs compilations) in the market.
The current Mains situation is similar to the change in pattern that happened in Prelims two years ago. Coaching centres (including Vajiram) were teaching very high level stuff then, even tougher than CAT, and then CSAT actually ended up being much, much easier. Those who had paid 50,000+ rupees to join Vajiram, not to mention the rent and living costs, did not get good return on their money. It is always a gamble with UPSC. It has been said that they ensure things from Vajiram coaching material are not set in the paper, and I suspect that to be true. You get only few questions in Prelims GS that can be found in Vajiram material. One does not need to pay 70 thousand for that. If you read a competition magazine regularly, you'll get those anyway.
If you have no knowledge of GS, then Vajiram is good to build a base, but only a base. You have to apply your mind after that, read the Hindu everyday, make and revise notes. The main benefit of staying in a coaching cluster like Rajinder Nagar or Mukherjee Nagar is that you meet like-minded people and build a network that helps a lot in future preparation and motivation. You get practical tips on how to approach preparation. The coaching itself is just a small part of the picture. Most of the time in coaching is anyway spent taking down dictated notes blindly.

Solo said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Solo said...

(Part 2 of 2)
This is my fourth attempt and I have cleared prelims every time, in both the old and new patterns (should do this time as well, unless some clerical mistake or shit happens). I have not taken any GS coaching till now. I did study Psychology from Mr. Mukul Pathak at Vajiram, and am grateful for the experience. What you need to clear civil services is an understanding of the exam, making a good plan, and working very, very hard at executing it. Coaching actually gives you none of these. They are still teaching stuff they did ten years ago even though the exam has completely changed. Some of it is relevant, most of it is not. They ask you to memorize countries and capitals from yearbooks, or ask you to read all of ancient History just because some temple's location was asked in Prelims. This is just an attempt at transferring their responsibility on the student instead of reducing the load. So they can say if you don't succeed, "Look, we told you to read and memorize these 58 books. If you couldn't, it's your fault." A good coach selects the right stuff and asks you to focus on that, and shares the blame if you fail. If a temple's location is asked, it's almost certainly because it has been made a World Heritage Site or has been in the news for some reason. Country/capital kind of questions are never asked, and even if they are, it would only be because some summit or other important event happened there. Most teachers don't tell you this because then their responsibility increases, to stay updated, to give only relevant information, to be a fellow traveler in your quest. Small teachers are usually better at this than corporatized coaching centres.

I have not succeeded till now simply because I haven't made intelligent plans and haven't worked at implementing them hard enough. This is true of most aspirants who have a basic level of intellectual capacity and knowledge. Coaching centres can only help you with the initial 10-15% of the way. You have to walk the rest on your own, and it's a long road. Friends help, but only upto a point. You cannot actually get a real idea of Mains till you write it. It requires a humongous level of information pre-organized in your head, ready to be written on paper at breakneck speed. Only intelligent preparation and lots of practice can get you there, or at least close to it. If you do take coaching, treat is as an aid to your 'real' preparation, not as the primary thing. Reject material/notes that seem nonsensical or irrelevant, and prepare that part on your own if you have time. Apply your mind, don't blindly follow the crowd. Most of the crowd won't get selected. But don’t be lazy or afraid to come and live in a coaching cluster for a few months. Taking coaching itself is not mandatory. Just hang out at the book and photocopy shops, tea shops, join a test series just to get to know people, with whom you can have fruitful discussions. I know people who have done that and continue to maintain links over phone after returning to their native place. It helps. If you cannot do that, try online forums like IndianOfficer.com or ForumIAS.com . And again, be aware of how much time you have and you much material you can handle. Every guy would tell you five new books. Reading two books three times each is much better than reading six books once for mains-oriented preparation.
Most of you are not going to succeed, that’s the statistical truth. So give your best, enjoy the journey and come out wiser from it.

payal said...

hi
can anyone plz suggest gud teacher for geography optional in delhi...i m confused between shabbir and alok ranjan

Ranjan said...

@payal...geography is best at ALS with Shashank Atom and Jojo Mathews as it's renowned teachers. You can surely join them, or u may join K.siddhartha ensemble.

Unknown said...

i'm planning to join this vajiram and ravi center can i get any one contact number who is studying there now to know and esquire about the center info either to take coaching there r not...........sandeep

Mohan Pandey said...

How about ALS?
i am planning to join als now after reading all this.. please comment.. giving its strength and weaknessness... honest feedback please.......

Abhinand said...

Hi All,

please let me know the importance of the Vajiram notes. is it worth to buy for beginners.

Unknown said...

Hi, I wish to take up coaching for prelims cum mains for 2014.
Earlier i had zeroed in on vajiram, but after hearing lot of mixed reviews, i want to reconsider my decision, now i am inclined towards SriRam's IAS and ALS....

Could some1 plz help me in choosing the best institute among the three?

Thanks in advance :)

Unknown said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Unknown said...

I have completed my 12th this year and i am doing b.a just because i only want to become an IPS officer. Its my only dream or lifetime aim.
But the problem arises with G.S Material and my optional (Geography)
Coz i dont know from where to get it started
I am thinking to have vajiram's full pre & mains G.S and Geography notes
Or should i start fresh from other books (not any institute material) , if yes then how ??
Pls suggest me if vajiram's notes are good for perp. Cz i dont want to get in any coaching trouble , i want to give my best in upcoming 3 yrs
so pls show me the right way for my prep.
It will be of great help.
Thank you.

Unknown said...

Hi payal
I wondor u r in delhi and found ur teacher too
and hope u r doing gud with ur prep
But i also need ur help
Pls go through my comment below and help me if u can
Cz m also planning to come delhi for studies

Unknown said...

Can u tell me some books on G.S & geography which covers the whole upsc syllabus and can ensure my mains selection
I know the rest depends on my study

P.A said...

vajiram or rau plz suggest

Unknown said...

hello... i had joined vajiram and ravi for public administration..and c.sat...big fee was paid and i got nothing..i couldnt clear basics and was not able to write answers.. atlast oneday some one suggested the name of k.shandilya who was here to deliver lectures in a management institute..for personal guidance..i dont know that he is from which coaching at delhi...he gave me ten days classes for a fee higher than bajiram because i needed it..however his guidance proved boon for me...i hv no complain about vajiram and ravi..but the work is not so big as name is... i feel the coaching is professional and have little to do with candidates actul concerns.. rahul chandigarh

BhadraMahila said...

Could someone be kind enough to suggest a good institute for ECONOMICS (Mains) in Delhi?

BhadraMahila said...

Could someone be kind enough to suggest a good institute for ECONOMICS (Mains) in Delhi?

Unknown said...

Latha here ,
Im a an IAS aspirant and Im planning to join Vajiram and Ravi in May 2014. But after going through this article Im getting confused . Can anybody please suggest me a good coaching centre ? Or , can v crack the exam only with the help of postal coaching from Vajiram and Ravi ?
Regards,
Latha

ratna mishra said...

hi all,
I want to become n ips.....institutes or fee structure search krte hue yha aa gayi.well main middle clss family se hoon to itna fee dena possible nhi h.jitne v institutes h sare paisa khane wale h.maine phle v diploma kiya h 3 saal ka 2.5 lakh m.guys aap soch skte ho middle class family 2.5 lakh.....jb maine 2nd sem m classes chorne k baat k to unhone mba kr diya....tb tk mai 1 lakh pay kr chuki thi..unhone bola k jana chahte ho to jao pr na fee wapas hogi na 1sem ka certificate milega.kch na milega ye soch k maine jaise taise kr k course complete kiya.or job k naam pe main pichle 1.5 yr se sirf interviews diye h.ye institutes student k lyf barbaad krte h..let me tell u one thing sare institute phle missguide krenge juthe wade krenge politician k trah,us k baad agr aap owner ya director se baat krna chaho baat nhi krne denge.poor students kha jayenge.ek or baat is blog k Author pe kai logo ne sawal uthaye h k unhone self study nhi k hogi apni nakamyabi thopa h vajiram&ravi pe..jo aisa bolte h un k liye mera jwab h k guru wo hota h jo pathar ko hira bna de.heere ko heera sb bna lete h.or jo sch me padhana chahte h un k liye fees itna mayne nhi rakhta..koi mujhe btayega kitne institue h delhi m jinhone apne 1% students ko free padhaya yha paisa kamane k liye intitute kholte h.or aisa nhi h k paise na le pr limit m le.ye log hamara paisa or samay dono barbaad krte h.rhi baat ips k to sach ye h k self study bettr h jo paise hm inhe denge un paiso se achi books khrid skte h,bado k salah le skte h.mai v ips bnna chahti hu pr itna fee nhi h mere pass.so ek idea h jin logo ko v taiyari krni h or itne paise nhi h k fee pay kr sake wey log kyn nhi sath mil k padhte h.sb k ek speciality hoti h.sb ek dusre us subject me padhayenge.atleast try to kr skte h.or rivelry k baat hi nhi honi chaiye kyn k saal kam logo ko hi leti h.kyn bht un k criteria m aateii hi nhi h.so any one intrested in group study reply me

Unknown said...

Dear Ratna mishra,
mai bhi UPSC aspirant hoon, but mai koi coaching join nahi karna chahta. Not cos i dont have money isliye kyoki mai in murgo ko aur khilana nahi chahta.I am studying on my own searching material on internet, cos now-a-days UPSC asks for latest knoweledge which can be obtained from net alone. If u wan to join me , contact me on rahul22051993@gmail.com
We will share study materials, others are also welcome to join.

Unknown said...

And one more thing, Mai chennai se hu, yaha vajiram & ravi ka material book shop me milta hai. When i saw it , was like very bulky. It is easy to include a book on each topic and say it is full material, even I can do that. I can provide one lorry full of material on UPSC that doesnt mean I am good at preparing material.

Unknown said...

Dear Ratna mishra,
mai bhi UPSC aspirant hoon, but mai koi coaching join nahi karna chahta. Not cos i dont have money isliye kyoki mai in murgo ko aur khilana nahi chahta.I am studying on my own searching material on internet, cos now-a-days UPSC asks for latest knoweledge which can be obtained from net alone. If u wan to join me , contact me on rahul22051993@gmail.com
We will share study materials, others are also welcome to join.

Unknown said...

hello ratna mishra and rahul
even m doing self study at home for ias 2014 . i am planning to join vajiram this year but nw after reading the reviews m really confused... pls tell me abt urself which subjects are u specialised in and how can v study together

Unknown said...

me too want to join you all...i am also the IAS aspirant.MY EMAIL ID IS ayushchaturvedi28@gmail.com

Unknown said...

Holla Mates !!
I was plannin to join V&R in june dis year, for the year long course of pre-cum-mains, but after going thru all these perceptions and reviews of urs, am in a state of complete dillema :/
Can anybody tell me if not V&R, den wat are other options one can have when it comes to coaching institutes in Delhi ?
Please feel free to reply or shoot a mail ;)
anujbagraniya@gmail.com

Unknown said...

I was also planning to join Vajiram for the upcoming July 2014 batch but now I have a big question mark on my face whether to join this institute or not.
If any experienced Senior having any idea about which coaching to join as this will be my first attempt and I don't want to waste it just like that.

Vallal said...

I joined on October 23, 2013.

Current Status ( acc to my opinion)

History - Mr.Ojha - All hype and no substance

Geography - Not substantial

Geography Optional - Shabir is the Best

Polity - Good

Ethics - Good

Economics - The Best

Science and Tech - No Nonsense approach by the teacher. Good

Overall the teachers are good.

But be ready to face racial slur - North East or South Indian.

It starts with skin colour, flat nose and the list is endless.

Leave all your moral leanings as Mr.Ojha is always there to corrupt
your mind. Just-out-of college
children - Beware.

Unknown said...

Hiii rahul im madhav from Andhrapradesh. Cracking civils is my goal as all of us do....due to some family problems couldnt go for coaching..can we prepare together and can u kindly guide me in providing materials. It will be very helpful for me..I will be waiting for ur reply. Madhav

Unknown said...

Hiii ayus can u please provide me the materials of vajiram..is it worth?

Unknown said...

Hiii ratna im madhav from Andhrapradesh. Cracking civils is my goal as all of us do....due to some family problems couldnt go for coachin.can we prepare together and can u kindly guide me in providing materials. It will be very helpful for me..I will be waiting for ur reply. My mail id is madhav.mohanthy@yahoo.com

Unknown said...

Thanks a lot yar for ur suggestions

Unknown said...

Thanks to all for ur valuable feedback. It helped me to come to a conclusion whether to join vajiram r not...

Shivesh Gk said...

the plan was to join vajiram on 2nd of next month i read the blog today
i am preparing for this year prelims on my own and i am sure i will clear it .
but what after that how to clear mains is the real question???????
i just passed out of my BE had got placed but i have rejected it and commited to clear IAS
soooooooo after reading each and every comment made by u guys ,feeling like studiying on my own for mains as well
if someone has an answer for my dilemma please do contact me ph-9686469564
really someone suggest how to prepare for mains???

Solo said...

If you have already joined and paid the fees, just start classes with a positive mindset. Their teaching is not entirely useless. The infrastructure has also improved greatly since they got their own building. I have many friends who have gotten selected now and at some points studied in Vajiram. But the real reason is self-study, for a year or two after Vajiram classes got over. I myself studied from Mr Pathak, but left Psychology optional when one optional was removed. The main benefit of joining a good coaching class is the friends you make. This network would be your support group in the years of your preparation, long after classes are over. You'll learn from each other, laugh and cry on each other's shoulders. And many of these chaps would eventually become civil servants. I have no regrets for the time I spent at Vaji, though I did not do their GS course. Whatever you do, stay focused on regular study by yourself, and maintaining positive energy. Have fun.

raghav said...

Brother......

I also had the same experience.
But i was the one who took back his fees in 15 days.

within 15 days i realized that all this is going to be a useless exercise.

I appreciate your courage to come forward and tell this to all.

Unknown said...

sir ,
i have heard that every coin has two faces so i want to know about some of the positive point of this coaching institue , i am sure there you can add.

Unknown said...

Dear Karthiga

First of all accept my heartfelt thanks for enlightining several aspirants of civil servants . These Coaching institutes are a mess .I was planning to put my daughter in the same institute , but my daughter has the same impression which has been vindicated by your blog.
Thanks Again

Hope you have become a Civil Servant by now.

Dr.Manjeet

Bhaskar said...

Wht's the people opinion regarding Crack IAs notes for PT & Mains.

After going through NCERT & Regular newspaper etc. Will crack ias notes will fulfill the purpose.

Abhisek

mountainchild said...

almost accidentally read this blog and i am really confused now as to what to do since i had made up my mind to join vajiram's october batch.
could any1 please help me out in this. is vajiram really not worth it? if not, which institute should i rather join?
thanks in advance!

IM said...

I wanted to join oct batch
But now confused
Can anyone help genuinely???

Solo said...

No institute is perfect. Vajiram is better than most, but does charge a bomb. Do note that this blog is several years old. Almost all the teachers would have changed now, and they have a new building with good infra. Shriram is also good, and located nearby. There are many other small instis and individual teachers, but in all cases you'll eventually realize it is you who does the real preparation ultimately. Any institute can only introduce you to the field. Don't expect to just attend their classes, cram some notes, and get through. Doesn't work. You'll have to apply your mind and work hard, and stay positive over the years.

Unknown said...

http://vajiramandravi.blogspot.com/2007/09/vajiram-gs-is-it-worth.html

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Unknown said...

Can any one give the current updates regarding this ?? It will be very helpful for many lost internet creatures who stumble upon this blog.

mohapatara said...

my sincere request to all you guys is not to discontinue this amazing discussion page.. please..

Dimple said...

I wanted to join oct 2015 batch of VAJI
But now confused
Can anyone help me genuinely???

mohapatara said...

hey Dimple, no need to get confused.. if you are looking for Optional, then u can join VR.. for GS, coaching is not really needed.. i mean self-study is the key to GS..

Unknown said...

Hi friends.....
I was thinking to join civil services coaching institutes in Delhi , but after reading this blog totally I am confused ....is the coaching institutes are necessary to crack the prilims and main exams ??? Can we do this without coaching???? Plz suggest me brothers ,
By ....
Nagaraj t k

Unknown said...

Hi Friends,
I am Poorna Chandra from Mysore,
Since i was not able to get the seat in VR&R, i joined Rau's during 2009,
during that time we were receiving comments from most of the civil service aspirants that the Vajiram&ravi is the best in all kinds, but after reading the comments in this blog i am getting a feel that, all the coaching centers are alike... we need to join coaching classes just for following reasons,
-To have basic knowledge about the exam,
-To understand the competition level,
-To learn the fundamentals of the subjects,
-To make friends circle of like-minded persons,
-To find a mentor who can correct our mistakes,
Gaining above things doesn't mean that you will be in final list of UPSC results... actually here starts an aspirant's journey towards success.... so friends, join the coaching classes if you have any of the above requirement... just joining and making hard work during the duration of the coaching classes never gives you what UPSC expects from you... JOIN COACHING CLASSES BUT DON'T EXPECT MUCH FROM THEM...... I WISH YOU ALL THE BEST... (Please note: none of my batch-mates from Rau's cleared UPSC CSE during 2010)

Unknown said...

I have read the whole blog with all the comments from2007 to2015 and I came to a conclusion that vajiram is not giving marginal utility back to its student (or not giving back satisfaction for the price paid to them) after all it is now a hefty sum of more than 100000 now in 2016 batch and only for the GS , we have to pay 45000more for the optional subject....like a bandit..but vajiram is better than any other coaching in Delhi so I think it is upto us to make the decision for joining the coaching.....
I have taken history as my optional and planning to go to Delhi for preparation in may2016 but I have decided not to join any coaching for optional (history) Because I know I can prepare it myself
But I may join vajiram for GS mains cum pre....or may not but thanks for your blog

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Unknown said...

i have joined vajiram and ravi this year.Since my coaching has just started a week ago,I cannot comment much on the faculty and materials provided, but one think is for sure that the administration is very baddd. They are highly ill-mannered,rude and insensitive people. Everytime you go with a problem they bluntly ask you to leave the institute quoting that "we already have a thousands of people willing to grab your seat".Their utter shrewdness and pride because of the success of the center shows how arrogant they are.They do not treat you as a student rather a money vending machine. Also,since the staff is mainly south Indians, they are biased when dealing with the students.I asked the head administrative officer for a change in batch due to long travelling time and security reasons specifically for a female and to my surprise they replied with "I don't care".So do not expect even a hint of morally sound behaviour from them.

Unknown said...

Thank you so much for this blog !
I appreciate your effort.
I might join KSG for GS but for initial basis I'll join Bhavani Singh's PubAD for 3 months if the study environment suits me there , I'll join for GS and if not , I'll rather leave Delhi and start preparing on my own with the fallow aspirants of SPIPA.
I'm taking my chances for my main subject with Bhavani Singh's PubAd classes.
Wish you all good luck though.

Unknown said...

hey guys
it was just today morning that i decided il join Vajiram & Ravi, but after reading this blog with entries from 2007 to 2016 i am really confused now. I agree with the fact that their staff is really rude, based on my visit to their RAjender nagar institute, also i agree (based upon my chat with V&R students coming out of their class) to the fact that one needs to work on his own and an individual is on his own to decide which point he is and which path he needs to follow to reach this esteemed destination.

But one needs guidance for sure, so i request you all to please give me an informed suggestion as to which inst. shall i join for this PERFECT GUIDANCE..!!!!

Thanx a ton...

Unknown said...

I dont know why this blog was so negative... I have joined the july batch in Vajiram and Ravi and I do not have a single complaint.
You are going there to learn and they teach u well. I find the teachers making a lot of effort to teach u good content. U are not going there to read their notes and crack the exam... The notes are wonderful but as an aspirant of such a reputed exam one does not just follow things blindly. (Class notes+self study+limited standard material for each subject+positive attitude) are the sources to get through the exam... U dont need to follow anybody.. Just learn from everyone and apply it in your own way.. Do not take advice from thousand people(I did and it just confuses u).
This blog has highly exaggerated the negativity towards the institute. Being at the classes I do not think this is true.
I just enjoy learning without complaining.... That is all what matters!!
[I also read this blog before joining and was filled with all the negative thoughts but I preferred Vajiram and I find my decision a good one].
I am not at all telling you to join this institute, u can study wherever u want to... Just tried to provide real picture to the issue....

Gurbinder Kaur said...

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Gurbinder Kaur said...

Best notes on current affairs for civil services preparation..

Gurbinder Kaur said...

Best notes on current affairs for civil services preparation..

Gurbinder Kaur said...

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Gurbinder Kaur said...

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Gurbinder Kaur said...

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Unknown said...

By reading your bkog I can find twi things...either u are misleading peooles...or u never undestood the basic syllabus of sociology. ..how u balme such a great personality for your failure. ..teaching are not there for spoon feeding. .they guide u...put u on proper path...
Coming to point. ..in sociology u have to write examples. ..so to let student about ground reality of society he used to give examples. ..he might have given examples of his family to tell students about extended family...this us proper way to teach students. ..
By reading u blog 1 can easily point out that u joined coaching because you want spoon feeding. ..that never happens. .

Sweety said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Priyanka Choudhury said...

wonderful... I was thinking the same after reading the blog. Vaji coachin is just there to brush up your brains and give you a direction. Rest is upto you! It's true what they do is preposterous, but if you really feel like you need someone to coach you, that's one of the better ones.

There are some wonderful teachers like Vibhas Sir (Economics) and Pavneet Sir(IR) who completely give you a new perspective.
But the ratio of good to bad teachers is appalling.

In the end, it all comes down to the aspirant's effort.

Unknown said...

So according to your experience which coaching should one go for. Please let me know. It will be a great help.

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Unknown said...

Guys plz dont join vajiram & Ravi. I was candidate of vajiram of 2018 GS batch but within 15 days i have cancelled my admission. And in 15 day 14 new teacher came to teach because in vajiram sunday is not a off day. 2 or 3 faculties are only good. In which these 2 or 3 faculties teach u one-third part of history geography. Then u are observing no teacher is best for whole subject. I have paid 154,000 for GS. But they dont deserve this. Guys dont join it plzz. U will observe this coaching in only one week and feel very disappointing. Same thing teacher of vajiram say during new classes. "Abhi to baithe ki seat nahi hai 2 mahine k andar seat hi seat rahegi baithe ki 40 se 50 percent bacche to aaenge hi nahi". So u can judge from this also. They dont teach they will make u chutiya and u will waste ur time and u will be in depression during classes in vajiram and ravi. Guys i am doing self study because i have seen no coaching will teach u anything. Whatever u have prepared by its self by self study no body can beat u in that one. SO Guys this was my exprience. Finally i will say mat join karo.self study karo. Lock ur doors for 2 yrs with books. Definitely u will be rank holder.

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Unknown said...

im from bangalore
can anyone suggest a good coaching centre for PCM having PSIR as optional?
please

Unknown said...

im from bangalore
can anyone suggest a good coaching centre for PCM having PSIR as optional?
please

mohapatara said...

you can join Aspire IAS for GS
and fir PSIR you can join Shubra Ranjan Classes
(i dodn't get what PCM means 😛)

Unknown said...

This is utterly untrue now.

I have been studying in vajiram for last 2 months and am immensely impressed by their teaching.

They take fee in credit/debit card, SBI collect. No more cash.
They give u printer receipt which you can KEEP WITH YOURSELF.

Teachers - AWESOME !! The knowledge they have and how easily they make you understand is just great.

Only cons - Too costly and very cramped up classes.

But it's THE BEST! Without doubt

Unknown said...

Isabella, upsc preparation as far as I very understood requires both will and capability, teachers here at vajiram where I m currently getting trained show u the path to success, most of the work has to be done by you, upsc isn't like any graduation exams it's something like a living being that is syllabus changes year after year. No matter which coaching institution you join no one could guarantee you would clear the exams, on 2018 and 2019, things have changed, and fees at vajiram are on par with other coaching institutions,if you are serious in upsc preparation, only then you consider joining.

This blog was of 2007 so am not sure what was the situation then, but now it is not the same as mentioned in the vlog and teachers at vajiram are the best.

Anonymous said...

Has the blog writer qualofied the exam. Ask him. I am im vajiram. They clear concepts. Its best place to b. Atleast for gs. Dont losten to these losrs. Blame game. Top 20 students have majority from vajiram

Tanishq said...

The writer has an intellectual level greater than you.People like you and me get in this bloody "Daldal" of coachings.A intelligent person will always find Vajiram a waste of time. Vajiram and Ravi is for Non serious candidates who do not have an individual character and thinking. That's where marketing works, it targets the weak and Gullible. Time and positive energy is more important than this shit.

Unknown said...

which coaching should we join ? 0
is ALS better than vajiram ?

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