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.
When asked why she didn't choose IFS, Manasi says, "Wildlife & forest is the subset of the same administration and hence I preferred civil services." As an IAS officer, Manasi wants to bridge the gap between the people and the administration. "I want to work with the people. I want them to educate, as it's the solution to all their problems," she adds.
On her experience at the UPSC board, Manasi says, "The members try to first unsettle you by asking some farcical questions not related to your subjects. But later they make you comfortable and the session becomes a sort of interaction. I was asked about 33% reservation for women in politics, negative voting and terrorist bodies among other topics."
Besides studies, Manasi is a good singer and guitarist. She also likes to read and paint. She is interested in ham activity and is a licensed amateur radio operator. Manasi says getting into the civil services is not that difficult and anybody can do it. "One only needs to be positive and should have a clear mind coupled with smart studies," she tells aspirants.