From unskilled worker to cracking OCS, balloon seller’s son scripts success story

Rourkela: Sheer grit and determination saw Manohar Pradhan (37), son of a balloon-seller from Sundargarh district, rise from the factory floor to clinching 131st rank in the Odisha Civil Services Examination-2024.

Manohar, son of Mangal and Gura Pradhan, grew up in poverty and even worked as a labourer in a steel plant for a year after completing his Plus II.

Despite financial hardships, he continued his studies. It is hard work and dedication that helped Manohar, who is currently posted as sub-inspector (communication) at the district police office in Rourkela, crack OAS in the third attempt.

Hailing from Bagbud village in Bargaon block, Manohar studied up to Class VII in his village school and then moved to a govt-run tribal residential school in a nearby panchayat, where he studied from VIII to X. He passed +2 science from Panchayat College, Barangakachhar. His father’s meagre and irregular income from selling balloons was inadequate for a six-member family — parents, grandmother and three siblings — so Manohar could not immediately pursue higher studies.

In 2006, he moved to Jharsuguda and worked under a contractor at a steel plant until 2007. Quitting after a year, Manohar enrolled into a 3-year certified teachers’ training course in a govt training school at Titilagarh, Balangir district. He gave tuitions to students to sustain and simultaneously prepare for competitive exams. In 2010, he appeared for the written and physical exams for a CISF constable’s job and got selected. Manohar joined as a constable at Ankleswar in Gujarat and worked there from 2010 to 2013.

While in service, he completed his graduation in political science through distance mode. He married in 2018 and four years later was transferred to the Rourkela communication office, helping him to focus more on preparing for UPSC and OPSC examinations.

His OPSC journey included early setbacks. He could not clear the prelims in his first attempt in 2022. In 2023, he cleared the prelims and mains and appeared for the interview, but missed the final list by four marks. He appeared again in 2024, securing 131st rank in the final result declared recently.

Reacting to his OCS success, Manohar said on Sunday, “I am very happy to have secured 131st rank in my third attempt. I attribute this to my consistent hard work and determination, which involved four to five hours of studies — from 4 am to 6 am and from 7 pm to 10 pm — alongside my work. My parents and my wife also deserve credit.”

Father Mangal Pradhan said, “He (Manohar) was always hardworking from childhood. His hard work and determination ensured his success. I am proud of my son’s feat.”

Manohar’s wife is a govt primary school teacher in Sundargarh and the couple has two children.