My friend Raghav lost a great job opportunity because he was late for the interview & someone else bagged his dream job. This happened due to his inability to read maps on his GPS. He missed a few important signs and interpreted clues the wrong way. Sometimes we also might have had similar befuddling experiences when our equipment failed and left us at the mercy of our confused brain.
Why does this happen? The Royal Institute of Navigation of UK stated that increasing dependence on technology is an indication of people losing the ability to find directions using traditional methods. We no longer invest our time in map reading to sharpen our orienteering skills. Maps help us improve our special awareness. These skills are a part of our visual literacy that helps us to read images, understand symbols & imagine the locations of places.
For a SSC-UPSC aspirant, the Atlas is his/her picture dictionary. The Atlas provides us in-depth information about the physical orientation of the Earth, the political boundaries of countries, among others. Here are some important parts of our UPSC GK syllabus that require adequate map reading skills.
Direct map questions like ‘Name the country/river’ or ‘Match the columns’
Studying physical as well as human geography.
For example,
a) In physical geography, maps help us to understand topics like: ocean currents, mountains, rivers, vegetation, monsoon routes etc.
b) In human geography, maps help us to understand topics like: the network of roads, rail routes, capital cities, ports, mineral deposits etc.
c) The atlas is handy while studying international relations & diplomacy. Many new developments in the topic can be well understood when studied in picture form.
For example, to get a proper idea of the Iran-China pipeline through CPEC region, having a map of the region handy is helpful. Similarly, to study the regional organisations, economic corridors, inter-continental sea-land trade routes, map are of great help.
d) Also, maps can be used to study India’s political history, locations of archaeological excavations, ancient places like Mahajanpadas and wonders known for their architectural style.
e) While studying national policies and programmes, maps provide a broader idea of these events. For example, the Amrut project & Golden Quadrilateral highway network.
Though there are many benefits of map reading skills, students prefer not to refer Atlas to grasp the geographical information provided in words. But in reality, building up these navigational skills certainly helps a lot. You will get a better understanding of places, patterns and events that will surely be of help even in the descriptive mains exam. As it is said, ‘a picture is worth a thousand words.’ Now, it’s up to you to choose. A picture? Or thousand words?