MAHARASHTRA: When he was an infant crying in a corner of a thatched hut where his mother distilled mahua (local drink), his grandma would put some drops of the brew into his mouth to make him sleep.
One day, as a school boy, a customer demanded him to go get some ‘chakhna’ (a snack). The boy told him he couldn’t as he was studying for his exams.
“You behave as if you would be a doctor or an engineer,” the customer scoffed and snapped. That boy is Rajendra Barud, District Collector in his home district Nandurbar in Maharashtra.
Barud, a resident of Samode in Sakri taluka, cracked the civic service exam with all-India rank of 427 two years back.
The success frequently takes him back to that hut, the hundreds of humiliations, a life of innumerable wants; and to an open sky of thousands of possibilities.
“My father died during my mother’s pregnancy. My ‘maai’ had no land or any education. She distilled local liquor from the mahua flower and sold bread and butter,” says Dr Barud.
My ‘Maai’ took care of me; and with the passage of time became my friend, and guide — strongest pillar of my life,” said Barud.
He remembers that customer whom he had refused to serve. “My refusal and his angry remark was a trigger for me. I decided along with my mother that I would complete my education and show what I am capable of,” said Barud. He had no family title to boast. “I drew solace from the fact that I could study and that only hard work would take me there” the boy in Barud told him.
The boy got outstanding marks in 10th and 12th exams which helped him to get admission in one of the reputed medical colleges of Mumbai. When he was in the final year of his medical degree course, he decided to simultaneously prepare himself for the civil services. “I had no money to join the classes for competitive exams. Self-study and determination kept me moving ahead. In the first attempt, I got 709 all-India rank, and in the second, I rose to the 427th rank”. His mother had no idea about his achievements; she didn’t know what a Collector is all about.
“When prominent local personalities started coming to our small house to congratulate me, then she realised the significance of the moment.”
In any competition, the chances of failure tend to outweigh the prospects of success, especially when you think you are fighting an unequal battle.
“Yet, a student should think big with an open and innovative mind and learn to challenge one’s circumstances,” says Barud. “I am indebted to the place I was born, the schools I studied. I am happy I got an opportunity to serve the people as a District Collector,” he says.