“Saada jeevan, Uccha vichar” “Simple Living High Thinking” – This is the interview of Advocate Vinay Kushwaha, who is presently a legal officer in Paschim Banga Regional Rural Bank and also founder of his venture CLAT EASY and a CLAT mentor too. Here in this interview we have discussed with him his hardships till now he faced in his career, how he overcome his failure. Sir, Tell us about yourself Hi, my name is Vinay Kushwaha and I’m from Prayagraj, Uttar Pradesh. I did my 12th from Government College (U.P. Board- Hindi medium) and graduation in law (B.A.LL.B. Hons.) from prestigious Allahabad University. After my graduation I immediately enrolled myself in Allahabad High Court and started practicing there. One thing was very clear in my mind that I don’t want to be a Civil Judge. Strange no!??…. Hmm I know. I wanted to practice law and believe me I did excellent. The thing was that even though I was very good in everything, I was still a trainee and wasn’t earning. At that time my family’s financial condition was not good so I gave my first competitive exam and that was IBPS SO for the post of Law Officer in commercial banks. That was the time when I changed my mind and started preparing for banking exams. How did you decided to pursue your career in law? What was your key driving force to become an Advocate? It wasn’t a very well thought decision but I am glad it turned out to be a good decision. My father is also a lawyer, practicing in Allahabad High Court. Seeing his work and reputation (and money of course…LOL) I decided that I want to follow his lead and here I am…. A lawyer. Can you tell us about your venture CLAT EASY? It so happened that during my graduation (2011-2016), I developed some teaching skills. Thanks to “Arre exam ko abhi bohot time hai, kl se padhenge”. This bad habit led me to study just a day before exam and same was the situation with my friends. We gathered around 3-4 hours before our exam and learn everything (it was fun). My friends always told me “tum samjhaate bohot accha ho, sab yaad ho jata hai”. I was capable of explaining complex laws/concepts in the easiest language. Later, after my graduation, some of my seniors started a coaching for CLAT and I was the legal faculty there. This laid the foundation of my own venture CLAT EASY. Sole idea behind CLAT EASY is to mentor law aspirants as well as provide them some mental and moral support in their journey of legal career. What are the challenges you faced till date in your law career and starting your venture CLAT EASY? Starting two and a half years of my graduation were full of challenges. The first and the biggest challenge was “language”. Being a Hindi medium student, it was difficult for me to cope up with this new fast paced English medium syllabus. It took me 2.5 years to be able to speak and understand English. The second challenge was…. “I WAS AN INTROVERT”. But still I managed to overcome these challenges. Thanks to my awesome friends. The 2nd half of my graduation was just fun. Talking about CLAT EASY, I did not face any sort of challenge here. I knew my content is different and easy to understand. I don’t get enough time to prepare content for my channel but still, I don’t take it as a challenge. Can you tell about your job and what efforts you made to get into your present job? Currently I am selected for the post of law officer/manager(law) in Paschim Banga Regional Rural Bank. It was an all India level exam with only 4 seats in my category (OBC). I started preparing for banking exams in 2016 and it took me 3 years to get selection (in 2019). Why it took me so long? Because I did not have anyone to guide me. There wasn’t anything on internet as well. Those who belong to legal field and prepare for banking exams know it well. But I can proudly say that I DID IT ON MY OWN. What was the major turning point in your life? It was my 4th day in High Court. I was with my senior. He had his case coming up next and I was there standing beside him observing the court and lawyers arguing their cases. Our case was called up and my senior argued and then rest of the hearing was postponed for tomorrow. As soon as we started heading out from the room one of the judges Mr. Justice B.K. Narayan called my senior back and asked him “who is this boy with you?”. My junior, he replied. “Isse arguments q nhi karwaya aapne?”, the judge asked. My senior replied “abhi 4 din pehle hi join kiya hai”. And then the next statement of Mr. Justice B.K. Narayan hit me hard. He said to me, “buddha hone aaye ho kya?” I replied NO. He ordered me to argue the case tomorrow. Next day I argued the case and got complements from judges. He even called me by my name in the court that day just before the hearing. He asked “Mr. Vinay taiyaar hokr aaye hain?” A judge giving you this much attention!!!…. This is not a normal thing. That day was probably my best day. It boosted my confidence a lot. How do you generate new ideas? What are your ideals? Who has been your greatest inspiration? I would say that I’ve a very artistic nature. I mean, I see art everywhere be it painting, sketching, gardening, music production and even hair cutting. Anything which involves art, I can do it easily. That is the reason I keep generating ideas. One more thing I would like to add here that having an idea is not enough. You need to make that idea your own and execute it as early as possible. World is full of people carrying same idea as yours. My father has been my ultimate role-model throughout. But I must say that there are many individuals who inspired me, especially my friends and classmates. I believe in “saada jeevan, uccha vichar” and I abide by it. I also believe in karma. How do you define success? Well, success is a dynamic term. It depends on various factors. Thinking, time period, age, culture etc. are the governing factors of success. Always try to remember your duties. What are you supposed to do in this period of your life? What are you capable of doing? If you did it then you’re a successful person. And it keeps changing during your life. A particular success cannot make you a successful person for whole of your life. You need to question yourself in each and every period of your life and then you’ll get your answers whether you are a successful person or not. Am I a successful person? HELL YES!!! (for now) What is your favorite aspect of being an advocate? Being an advocate gives you a sense of freedom and I love it. What has been your most satisfying moment in your job? I haven’t started working yet. I’m still awaiting my joining. But so far, the day I saw my result was the most satisfying moment related to my job. Any message AND strategy tips for law aspirants who are going to take CLAT 2020 & 2021? For 2020 CLAT students I suggest to revise everything. In this time of uncertainty don’t let your mind relax. Be consistent with your studies. Slow and steady wins the race. For 2021 students I’ll strongly recommend to read newspapers and practice other subjects regularly. Once the CLAT 2020 is done then only start making your strategy. Till then just do the basic studies. Any opinion for Us (Team LL.B Mania)? LL.B. Mania you guys are doing wonderful. Keep doing whatever you do. Your work speaks about your hard work. Be consistent and ask yourself are you successful yet?