Bhubaneswar: A pleasant surprise and that too directly from Indian cricketing legend Sachin Tendulkar was in store for Aboli Naravane, a young and dynamic IAS officer, currently serving as the Collector-cum-District Magistrate of Odisha’s Sonepur district this week when the former Indian star cricketer wished her best in life, asking her to take the country forward by doing what she does at present – public service.
Naravane, a native of Pune and a die-hard Sachin fan, was literally on cloud nine and couldn’t believe it when she got a reply from the Master Blaster on her tweet thanking him for being the inspiration for her success in the Civil Services examinations.
“To be able to serve the public and take our country forward must be very satisfying. Best wishes to you, hope you are able to inspire others through your actions,” Sachin had replied when the IAS officer tweeted “Seven years to this.. Thank you for inspiration”.
Sparing no time to thank the legend, an elated Naravane reverted: “Thank you so much… Means the world to me. I have no words to express how grateful I am for the encouragement.”
Naravane, who was the Maharashtra topper in the UPSC Civil Services Examination in 2015, publicly shared that she drew constant inspiration and motivation from Tendulkar’s life and career while she was preparing for one of the toughest exams in her life.
The Sonepur Collector, who hadn’t even managed to clear the UPSC preliminary exams in 2013, secured the 78th position at the all-India level in 2015.
Asked which quality of Sachin Tendulkar inspires or motivates her the most, the Collector was quick to recall: “One thing I learnt from Sachin is to get going even when failures strike now and then. I continued to make efforts after failing in the civil service exams on my first attempt.”
Sharing further with Odisha Bytes about Sachin’s inspiring words during a post-match presentation after India won the World Cup which instantly struck her, the Pune-born IAS said: “World Cup was his (Sachin’s) dream and it took him some time to get there. This was my dream..and he said chase your dreams they do come true.”
Apart from studies, the IAS officer has excelled in her passion and co-curricular activities. She is a trained Kathak dancer under the tutelage of her guru, Shama Bhate. She once posted some of her well-choreographed moves to the all-time popular song “Piya Tose Naina Laage Re” from the movie ‘Guide’ on her Twitter account!
The 2015-batch IAS officer had started her administrative career with postings at Baripada in the tribal-dominated Mayurbhanj district followed by Balasore during her probation period.
Prior to her transfer to Sonepur, Naravane was at the forefront of COVID management at Rourkela as ADM. She drew a lot of appreciation for her personal monitoring testing, tracing and vaccination of patients at the ground level.
Recently, she launched a campaign called ‘Zero Dropout for Girl Child’ to end the school dropout rate among girls between the ages of 15 and 18 years to zero in Sonepur district.
The Collector also leaves no stone unturned in encouraging and promoting the local weavers’ community of Sonepur by calling all district officials to wear clothes made by local weavers under the ‘Monday Handloom’ campaign.
Despite a hectic schedule, the young IAS officer never misses a chance or disappoints her followers on social media regarding what’s happening or trending now at the world level.
If anyone from Sonepur excels in any field such as academics, sports or business and deserves appreciation, the Collector loses no time in encouraging and promoting the talent publicly on Twitter.
