MSK Manohar made it from a village in AP to IIT Bombay and bagged a slew of scholarships along the way 

MSK Manohar is pure genius. What else would you call a guy who bags 100% scholarship in FIITJEE, gets into IIT Bombay and bags two scholarships, namely, Merit-cum-Mean Scholarship from the institute itself and Aditya Birla Scholarship from the Aditya Birla Group? But he is a humble genius, who likes to watch cricket and movies and most recently is hooked to PUBG, like most of us. But what sets this genius apart is his hard work and the belief that he would get into IIT one day. Originally from Rajendrapalem, a village in Visakhapatnam district of Andhra Pradesh, he studied in a government school and after the Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalaya exam results were declared, he moved to Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalaya, Kommadi, Visakhapatnam. “My friends told me about FIITJEE and its special entrance exam called Fortune 40,” says Manohar, who will turn 18 this March. Fortune 40 is a programme that supports students with 100% scholarship. And the rest, as they say, is history.

The Fortune 40 programme offers 100% scholarships for FIITJEE programmes and 100% waivers on  hostel charges

Currently pursuing his first year of BTech in Computer Science Engineering at IIT Bombay, he still believes in hard work, “actually, smart work with sufficient amount of hard work,” he says. He ensures that he concentrates in class and apart from that, studies four to seven hours a day. The rest of the time, he plays tourist in Mumbai and has ticked off beaches like Aksa, Juhu and Marine Drive off his list already. But the food hasn’t been able to match his expectations. “They don’t use many spices,” he quips and adds that he misses his mother’s cooking dearly. His parents, needless to say, are proud of him and insist that apart from focusing on academics, he eats well and sleeps on time, the lad shares.  

Smile, please: Manohar wants to pursue research in Computer Science in the future or become an entrepreneur | (Pic: MSK Manohar)

Former President Dr APJ Abdul Kalam is Manohar’s role model and he believes that it is not just self-motivation and an urge to excel that keeps him going, his parents, teachers and friends also contribute immensely to his growth. When we ask him what mantra he lives by, he shares, “Believe in yourself, give your best and success will be yours.”