Gautam Padibhar has travelled a long way from the Mumbai slum where he grew up.
His academic journey took him to Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalaya (JNV) in Jalna, Maharashtra, and then to IIT Madras. He cleared the Joint Entrance Examination (JEE) without formal coaching and went on to complete his BTech from one of India’s leading engineering institutes.
But his education was shaped by circumstances very different from those usually associated with an IIT journey.
After completing his engineering degree, Gautam moved towards the civil services. He appeared for the UPSC Indian Forest Service Examination 2022 and secured All India Rank 139. He joined the Indian Forest Service as part of the 2023 batch of the Chhattisgarh cadre and is now serving as Director of Kanger Valley National Park in Chhattisgarh.
Recently, however, it was not an examination rank or a new posting that Gautam chose to share. It was a photograph of his mother sitting in his official chair.
THE EDUCATION SHE NEVER HAD
Gautam’s mother, Sakhubai Padibhar, never went to school herself.
After her husband’s death, she had to support the family. She worked as a daily-wage labourer in her village and later spent years working as a ragpicker in a Mumbai slum.
“She never went to school, but she knew the power of education,” Gautam wrote on an Instagram post.
According to him, the family faced hunger and difficult living conditions. Sakhubai also survived a serious accident and dealt with health problems, but continued working.
Her priority was that her children should be able to study instead of taking on the family’s financial responsibilities while they were young. “She endured every hardship, every sleepless night, every hunger pang, just so her children could dream beyond survival,” he wrote.
That decision became an important part of Gautam’s journey.
FROM A MUMBAI SLUM TO IIT MADRAS
For Gautam, the route to IIT Madras did not come with the resources or coaching that many students associate with competitive entrance examinations.
He studied at JNV in Jalna and later cleared the JEE without formal coaching. He then secured admission to IIT Madras, where he completed his BTech.
“I made it to IIT Madras from Mumbai slums with no resources or coaching — because she gave me the spirit to fight, the drive to work harder, and the freedom to dream big,” he wrote, crediting his mother for giving him the determination to keep pursuing his education.
For Sakhubai, the opportunity to study had never been hers. But she made sure her children never missed out on it.
THEN CAME THE INDIAN FOREST SERVICE
Gautam’s journey continued beyond IIT Madras. He appeared for the UPSC Indian Forest Service Examination 2022 and secured AIR 139. He subsequently joined the IFS as part of the 2023 batch of the Chhattisgarh cadre.
His professional journey eventually took him to Kanger Valley National Park in Jagdalpur, Chhattisgarh, where he serves as director.
By then, the son whose education his mother had worked to protect had reached a position she could hardly have imagined when she was working to make ends meet.
But Gautam’s recent Instagram post was not about the rank he secured or the position he holds. It was about the person who had stood behind his education.
THE CHAIR THAT BROUGHT IT ALL BACK
When Sakhubai recently visited Gautam’s office, she sat in his official chair.
For Gautam, the moment carried the memory of the years his mother had spent working as a labourer and ragpicker, so her children could continue studying.
He described the moment as one of “immense pride” and “an ocean of emotions.”
“Everything I am, I owe to her. This success is not mine alone — it is hers, first and foremost,” Gautam wrote.
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