Maa, I’ve Become a Collector: My Journey from Crushing Rural Poverty to the Corridors of Power

Rajesh Patil was born to poor farm workers in the backward Khandesh region of Maharashtra. He worked as a child labourer picking cotton, selling bread, and doing small jobs. But what set him apart was that, unlike most of his peers, he was driven by an intense desire to improve his lot through education. Against great odds, he moved to Nashik for a B.Sc. and then to Pune for an M.Sc. in statistics - all this with the help of freeships, scholarships and the support of his teachers, friends and well-wishers. By dint of his hard work, he managed to get into the Indian Statistical Service, but the Indian Administrative Service was his goal. Unsuccessful at first, he persisted until eventually he cracked the competitive exams and qualified for the IAS. Maa, I've Become a Collector is the inspiring account of Rajesh's struggles that has been a bestseller in Marathi, Hindi, Gujarati and Odia and motivated thousands of students in India's hinterlands in their quest for a better life. At the same time, it is much more than one man's story - it is a riveting and revelatory account of rural India

Rajesh Patil is a 2005 batch IAS officer who has served as the Collector and District Magistrate of the Koraput, Kandhamal and Mayurbhanj districts of Odisha. He is now CEO and Director of Employment, Odisha Skill Development Authority.