Pune: In a society where education remains a luxury, and a girl child is often considered a burden, Nakusha Kisan Shinde has emerged as a beacon of determination and perseverance.
Belonging to the Vaidu community in Dorlewadi (Baramati Taluka), Nakusha has successfully cleared the Maharashtra Public Service Commission (MPSC) exam and secured a job as a Tax Assistant and Revenue Assistant.
Her achievement is particularly remarkable as she comes from a financially struggling family, where her father sold sieves for lunch boxes to make ends meet. Despite these challenges, Nakusha’s relentless hard work and dedication have now made her a source of pride for her entire village.
Born into a family where education was a rare privilege, Nakusha completed her primary and secondary schooling in Dorlewadi. She later pursued her college education at Tuljaram Chaturchand College in Baramati, where she developed an interest in attempting the MPSC exam.
However, her family’s dire financial condition made it difficult to support her studies. Just when she was reconsidering her decision, her father, Kisan Shinde, and brother, Sunny Shinde, encouraged her to continue her education no matter the cost.
With their backing, Nakusha enrolled in Bhagirath Academy in Pune and dedicated 16 to 18 hours daily to studying. The journey, however, was far from easy. To cut down on expenses, she often shared a single meal with a friend and at times, survived on just one piece of bread a day to ensure she remained awake and focused on her studies.
Despite failing the MPSC exam twice, Nakusha refused to give up. However, after two years of unsuccessful attempts, her father arranged her marriage in July 2024 to Pravin Bhimrao Nimbalkar, a local resident. Instead of abandoning her dreams, Nakusha gained the support of her in-laws and returned to Pune to continue her studies. Her persistence paid off when she finally cleared the MPSC exam in her latest attempt, securing a government job.
"In our Vaidu community, education is extremely rare. I have three sisters and two brothers, and being the youngest among my sisters, I never received much attention. It was only later that I realized why I was named 'Nakusha' (which means 'unwanted').
That realization ignited a fire within me—to prove my worth and achieve something significant. Today, with the support of my parents and in-laws, I have finally achieved success. But my journey is far from over. My next goal is to become a Sales Tax Inspector, and I will continue to work hard towards that dream," she shared.