How I turned my passion into a career

Happiness matters more than societal statusBharat Parekh
I was born in Mumbai and brought up in Nagpur. I belonged to a lower middle class family and had to start working when I turned 18 years old to support my family of five sisters, three brothers and a mother. I was a commerce student, which allowed me enough free time after my studies. I joined Life Insurance Corporation (LIC) of India and I am associated with it for over 30 years now.
After joining LIC I realized that people are respected only if they are doctors or engineers but not if they are life insurance agents. There was a point when my friends and family questioned me for what I was doing. I then vowed to bring respect to my profession.
Being an insurance agent is such a noble profession. When I hand over people cheques for their claims or pensions, I feel like I am making a difference in somebody’s life. A certain lady once told me that she could lived in the house that her husband had built for her just because I helped her in claiming pension.
I have never compared my life with others as I have been always happy with the choices I have made. I started off by going to work on a cycle and now I move in a car, but that is not my source of happiness; delivering those cheques makes me happy. After all, one’s happiness matters more than societal status.
No profession is good or bad. You must chase your passion and not your profession. You shouldn’t switch your profession just because there is more money in some other field. You should do what you are good at and work hard for it; then it will automatically turn out to be the best profession for you.
(Bharat Parekh is an LIC agent)
No Monday morning blues if you love the job
Anirudh Pathak
I did my graduation in arts from Nagpur University, post-graduation in communication & journalism from Pune, MBA in HR and also have a degree in psychology. I am now pursuing MA in psychology and LLB.
I have job experience of over 10 years, having worked with companies like Vodafone, Reliance etc. I am now into training and counselling for the last three years as this job makes me feel satisfied and content.
Though I worked for many companies, I didn’t feel satisfied with my job. But while working as a training manager, I realized that I love interacting with people. In 2012, I quit my job to do what I love doing. This was when the first challenge came up — I had to face financial setbacks. A corporate job pays you well and all of a sudden it was gone. It was a difficult decision but my wife helped me get through it.
Another big challenge was identifying the potential market in a place like Nagpur. I had never wanted to shift to any metro city just because it was easier there. But the people here trust professionals from Mumbai, Delhi and other metro cities more than local professionals.
The first nine months after the career switch were rough as I went from one college to another college so that I could get at least one lecture. My first lecture was at SB Jain Institute of Technology, Management and Research and the response was very motivating. In fact, I got one more lecture at the same institute.
One should always know what s/he really wants to do and then go with it. If you love your job, there won’t be any Monday morning blues. Take risks but calculated ones, don’t blindly go in any direction if you’re not passionate about it.
(Anirudh Pathak is a career counsellor)
Consider challenges as opportunities
Prashant Phusate
After completing mechanical engineering from YCCE, I joined SBI as a deputy manager. I was always passionate about arts and painting, but thought it could be pursued only as a hobby.
In 2013, I went to Germany and France with my wife who is a paediatric ophthalmologist. My wife caught me staring at a painting and told me that I was looking at it for over 30 minutes. I expressed my regret to her that I can’t make anything like this ever. She said, ‘don’t ever give up without even trying!’ After returning to India I started working on a canvas series. I did that every night and this became the changing point of my life.
After a couple of months, Anil Godhawale, a dear friend and an entrepreneur from UK, referred my artwork to an art gallery. I received a lot of appreciation and my friends motivated me to take painting seriously. This was when I decided that I had to resign from my job so I could work towards my passion and give it more time. I was released from my job in December 2015 and my first exhibition was in London in the same month. My family was extremely happy and supportive. My second exhibition will be in Colombo in a few weeks.
If you take things negatively, they seem like a challenge but if taken positively, they seem like opportunities. I have chosen this path, it is not a challenge for me. My father once told me, “You are gifted because you can spread happiness among people with your creations. But know that it’s a great responsibility. Your art should always reflect society and you should always use it cautiously.” I’d just like to say that believe in yourself, spread happiness with whatever you do. Money cannot give you peace of mind; your passion can, so always pursue it.
(Prashant Phusate is an artist)
Have self-discipline, positivity and faith
Payal Sharma
I am basically from Haryana but was born and brought up in Muzaffarnagar, UP. I was good at academics from school days itself. I liked to work with machines, so did polytechnic in electronic and communication after Std X. I also enrolled for AMIE which is a bachelor's degree in engineering awarded by The Institution of Engineers.
Also, I taught computers for some time. While I was thinking of being an engineer, I happened to visit a news reading workshop. Also my sister insisted that I can be a good RJ and hence joint Radio Management in Delhi in January 2007. After doing well at various FM radio channels, I had to leave radio in October 2013.
I started doing freelance events for government companies, Zee TV etc. However, it was difficult period for me as the feeling of being jobless was hurting my self-confidence. But my siblings supported me a lot. But then I joined Radio City in March 2015 in Nagpur where I do an evening show and music management.
But this didn’t happen easily. At the beginning, some gender biased people around me said that girls are not supposed to do such jobs. My mummy and amma (grandmother) were my pillar of strength who didn’t a conservative society jeopardize my career. I am a pure vegetarian and even onion and garlic are not consumed at my home so it was difficult to survive outside. Another challenge was to maintain family values and simplicity. But to be successful we need to have self-discipline, positivity and faith in ourselves. This is my only advice to those who want to switch their career.
(Payal Sharma is a radio jockey)
Simply follow your heart, push for success
Omkar Gadgil
When I was in school I used to draw pictures and I always wanted to own a high end camera but my father never agreed to it. So I decided to work and earn so that I could buy a camera for myself.
After completing graduation, I started my working at an IT company. I was working real hard but I wasn’t happy with what I was doing. So, I bought a very simple point and shoot camera with the money I saved. I started photography and uploaded pictures on Orkut (a social media platform). A colleague appreciated these photographs and introduced me to his best friend who used a DSLR camera. He taught me photography and also let me use his camera. I later did a course in basic photography. My skills were improving. Noticing this, my parents gifted me a DSLR. My friends pushed me to do wedding photography.
Eventually I left my job. I did face difficulties, especially while communicating with clients. So, one of my best friends started contacting my clients over the phone for me. There were times when I would be busy in wedding photography but people would keep calling me because they didn’t knew I was deaf. The bride or the groom would then tell them about it. I felt bad in the beginning. It doesn’t affect me anymore because I am doing what I love.
If anybody wants to change their field and do something new, they should just follow their heart and thrive for success. I have been doing wedding photography for over three years now and I have recently started doing modelling, pregnancy photography etc
(Omkar Gadgil is a photographer)
(As told to Shrushti Wanare)