(Article) The modest topper: Nagpur girl 49th in UPSC

Article : The modest topper: Nagpur girl 49th in UPSC

Getting into the civil services was a dream since childhood, but when that dream came true on Monday, a modest Manasi Sahay chose to celebrate her success quietly, among family and friends, away from the media hype.

Manasi, an engineering graduate from Pune and a topper throughout, has been ranked 49th in the merit list of the civil services exam 2008. The daughter of IFS officer R R Sahay, who is posted as CCF (research, planning & policy) at Nagpur, Manasi is the highest ranked among those who are known to have passed from the region.

There is no way to find the topper from the region, as only the names of the successful candidates are released by UPSC, and not their location or addresses. TOI learnt about Manasi's rank only when top forest officials, including PCCF B Majumdar, went to congratulate her on Thursday evening.

Manasi is born and brought up in Maharashtra, and prepared for the exams in Nagpur. After her graduation, she worked with a leading company as associate analyst but quit her job in 2006 to pursue civil services. "I was hoping to find my name in the list but the 49th rank has thrilled me. Getting through after opting for entirely new subjects like arts and humanities was a big challenge. I had to do a lot of groundwork, and my first attempt in 2007 went into building the foundation," Manasi told TOI.

"I opted for public administration because of its job relevance, and for geography as I was comfortable with it. I had been to Delhi for four months to join a coaching class, but most of my preparation and self-study was done in Nagpur. Although I am a lazy girl, I used to study for 8-10 hours every day. A focused and well-planned approach, with motivation from my family members helped me through," says Manasi.

Manasi's success may also have something to do with the studious environment in her family. Her elder sister Megha is a Pune University topper in MA (psychology) and an MBA, and used to guide her over phone from Mumbai. Her uncle had twice appeared for the civil services interview and is with the SBI. Her mother Sujata provided great mental support while her father cut important articles from newspapers for her, thus saving her time. "My success lies in the efforts my parents put in, including putting up with my mood swings," says Manasi.

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Courtesy:- Times of India