This bubbly youngster had dreamt of following in his elder brother's footsteps. On Wednesday, his dreams came true when he became a chartered accountant (CA) by clearing the final exams with flying colours. While doing so, Pawan Sarda made the city proud by securing all-India second rank (AIR) among lakhs of candidates who appeared in the CA (Final) exams conducted by Institute of Chartered Accountants of India (ICAI), the apex body for the chartered accountancy courses. He scored 596/800 marks in the exam. His brother Atul Sarda, who he terms as his inspiration, is already practicing CA.

Apart from him, Pratik Baheti from Akola also brought laurels to Vidarbha by securing all-India fifth rank while Harikawan Jhamb and Radharaman Lahoti, both from Nagpur, secured 36th and 46th ranks respectively.

Pawan told TOI that he was yet to take a decision in regard about his future but would initially join his brother. "I am not the kind of a guy who believes in doing a 10-to-5 job," Pawan said. "I used to imitate my elder brother when I was a kid and even in my college days. I always aspired to follow his lifestyle," he added.

Younger son of transporter Dilip Sarda, Pawan likes to play cricket and is passionate about music. He had also represented the ICAI delegation in Sri Lanka where eight students from all over India were selected. He also secured all-India sixth rank in the final exam of Institute of Company Secretaries of India (ICSI). In CBSE exam of class XIIth in 2008, he secured first position in Vidarbha.

Treasurer of Western India Regional Council of ICAI Julfesh Shah hailed Pawan's and Pratik's efforts stating that besides them, many students from western region had cleared the exam with flying colours. "Western region result is 15-20% which is relatively good as compared to other regions. Students from Vidarbha region have done well in the exam," he said.