It is a matter of great satisfaction and pride for parents when their children excel in academics or in career. And for Mr. Manik Rao, this moment came when his son cracked the UPSC Civil Services Examination and brought name and fame to the family.
Today, Indian Masterminds presents the story of Anurag Dharu, the son of a Karnataka State Road Transport Corporation (KSRTC) driver, who fulfilled his family’s dream of seeing him become a civil servant.
FATHER’S HARD WORK
Born in the Bhalki district of Karnataka and raised in North Karnataka’s Bidar, Anurag is the son of a KSRTC driver at Bhalki depot in Bidar division.
His father Manik Rao toiled hard day and night to provide the best education to his five children. Even though the family was not financially well-off, Anurag’s father did his best to send all his children to the best schools and colleges.
Out of Anurag’s five siblings, three of his elder sisters are computer engineers and are married while his younger brother is pursuing MS in Orthopedics.
JOURNEY INTO CIVIL SERVICES
Before joining civil services, Anurag completed his B.Tech in Electrical and Electronics. After graduating, he worked for Tata Power for a year and a half, when he made up his mind to go for civil services and fulfil his family’s wish of seeing him become a civil servant.
He took history as an optional subject for UPSC as he believes it is one of his strongest subjects and he is well-equipped for it.
CLEARED IN THE FOURTH ATTEMPT
The road to civil services was not an easy one for Anurag. He had to face failures four times before finally clearing the examination in his fifth attempt. During all those failures, his father was the one who constantly stood by him and motivated him to try harder.
“My father inspired me a lot. He always encouraged me to try again and again even though I couldn’t make it in four attempts,” said Anurag, in an interaction with media.
He made his first attempt at UPSC CSE in the year 2017 and finally made it to the list in the year 2021. “My journey had both ups and downs. I have been trying since 2017 and I cleared the UPSC-2021 civil services exam in my fifth attempt,” he said.
His advice to CSE aspirants is to never give up and keep trying and trying until they succeed. He believes hard work that’s done smartly is the key to achieving everything in life.
FELICITATED BY KSRTC
Anurag bagged AIR-569 and will soon be donning the cap of a bureaucrat. His achievement brought laurels to not just his family but was also a moment of celebration for the Karnataka State Road Transport Corporation (KSRTC).
He and his parents were facilitated at KSRTC Central Office in Shanti Nagar by KSRTC chairman, M Chandrappa and Managing Director, V Anbukumar.
While felicitating him, they said, “Our drivers are working day and night making sure that people reach their destination safely. It is indeed commendable that Manik Rao and his wife made sure that their son got a good education and reached a top position in life. Many congratulations to his father Manik Rao and mother Kashibai.”
Anurag, truly, is a role model for economically weak students to achieve great success through hard work and determination.
