MAHARASHTRA: In the arid belts of Solapur district, where most villages face acute scarcity of water and employment and migration is routine, one little villages stands as an exception. The quaint village of ‘Uprai Budruk’ has earned the moniker of ‘Officers’ Village’.
The reason – just name any government post, from bureaucrats like IAS, IPS, and Income Tax officers, to a range of personnel, Uprai Budruk boasts them all, consistently sending its children to government services.
The talent pool in the village, however, has not been achieved in one day, but honed over years of systematic and strategic hard work. And, much credit for this goes to Sandeep Bhajibhakare, presently posted as deputy police commissioner in Pune.
Bhajibhakare father was a farmer, but he always wanted his children to study and become government officers and bring positive change.
“I was a bright child, but I had no specific plans. My father never instructed me to persue this, but he inspired me with his stories of the ‘upright and honest officer’. My father was a 10th pass, but he imbibed important moral values in us,” Bhajibhakre shares.
Securing over 95% in 12th standard, Bhajibhakare decided to pursue his childhood dream of joining administrative service. Finally, having completed his medical studies, in his very first attempt in 2005, he cracked the Maharashtra public service commission exam, becoming an Assistant Commissioner of Police. “Then, in 2008, my sister Rohini cleared IAS. We decided to inspire students who want to join civil services in our village. But how it should be done was the big question,” he says.
“In the beginning, when I was posted in Mumbai, I used to buy interactive study materials and educational toys and take them to our small hamlet. Seeing them, many children would gather at my house. Each one wanted the toy. I was ready to offer them, but the conditions were to recite the math table, write an essay, etc. That generated a lot of interest in education,” he shares.
Seeing their interest, Bhajibhakare brought them books on competitive exams and provided them valuable guidance. There were many who could not afford to pay school fees; so with the help of few friends, he paid their tuition charges and even offered free accommodations to bright students.
This inspired others from the village to pursue the competitive exam and become government officers. “The hunger to learn was very much there, and it motivated us to work for their future,” Bhajibhakare says, beaming with pride.
He shares that while preparing for competitive exams, mental fortitude is most essential as it takes courage not only to face failure, but come out of it. “Administrative services is an attractive field where the successful get a lot of respect, but if a person fails despite every effort, they face much challenge to cope with the harsh reality. So, in my lectures, I give only practical advice,” he shares.