JOIN USA life devoted to a passion is never easy, but a life without a passion is no life at all, only mere living, affirms Rachna Chhabria
Life has a strange way of creeping up on you and springing surprises, especially when you’ve dropped your guard. A small innocuous cloud looms into a shower, and your rigorous routine life turns into something special... Ordinary words string together a poem, and suddenly you are reaching out for a rainbow that was hitherto a mere elusive stretch of light... The faint whispers of your heart strum the lyrics of a song, and you know your life was until then a mundane sheet of paper... A moment turns into a memory... A bend in the road turns a twist in your tale... A book becomes the ink that writes your life... A movie becomes the film that colours the picture of your life... An inspiration charts a destiny, and the destiny becomes a passion...
A blink of an eye, and in that mere second, destiny and free will collide. Free will takes over the reins of your life, gently steering the wheel away, to charter its own course, with a destination of your choice. And then you know you just cannot dismiss these strange happenings as random events! For you know these are all markers for making a switch. Perhaps for treading that path less travelled. Or for going into unchartered territory. Or for discovering the glistening pearl of your talent hidden in the oyster of life. These incidents creep up surreptitiously, guiding you to follow your inner voice and trek the path dug by your secret desire...
History has witnessed changes in the lives of people who have gone on to rewrite history, for they too were driven by such moments of inspiration.
For Lord Buddha, it was his encounter with three men: a diseased man, a corpse and, an ascetic. The encounter depressed him to the extent that he strove to overcome ageing, sickness, and death by living the life of an ascetic. These three strangers impacted the young Prince Siddhartha to leave the royal palace forever, and become the Lord Buddha we know today.
The Kalinga war was the turning point of King Asoka’s life. The large scale blood-shed and deaths brought a drastic change in Asoka. He dropped the thirst for conquest that drove rulers like him to wage wars to extend their empires.
Stray words, sometimes spoken at random and without any intention, end up motivating individuals to change the course of their lives and to reach out for the impossible. Take actress Sonam Kapoor for instance. The overweight and frumpy girl was motivated by director Sanjay Leela Bansali while assisting him during the making of his film Black. His casual remark that she should take up acting propelled her into losing weight at a speed that shocked everyone. And the result was a stunner that floored viewers!
For some, the passion and inspiration is ever present, pushed in the background by the relentless onslaught of life and its stream of mundane tasks.
All it needs is a chance to unfurl its presence as it did for Aravind Murali, a successful music composer, who has composed and produced music for films, commercials, TV and games with his music partner Jai Shankar Iyer from their Chennai based studio Music from the Place. “Whistle Podu” for the Chennai Super Kings is perhaps his most popular work, while he also has several hit songs from the Telugu movie Ishq to his credit.
Music was a big part of his childhood and college life. Growing up listening to Illaiyaraaja, Beatles and AR Rehman, he had no qualms about putting aside his
academic qualifications (he studied Physics and Management in BITS Pilani), to take up music full time. It was his all consuming passion for music that saw him leave his job with an image technology company.
“It took quite a while to get some form of regular work, so that was tough. But I had lots of fun doing what I do,” he says, referring to his initial years. “I had support from family and some great friends. They helped me tide over the difficult times.”
“Things won't happen in an instant, so you need to give yourself time and be prepared to grind out some tough times,” he says.
Sometimes it’s the desire to do something that will bring a change in other people’s lives that inspires some to change tracks mid-way.
“I was inspired to do something meaningful and change the world for the better, even if in small measures,” says Deepam Mishra, an engineer from IIT Kanpur.
He served as a scientist and entrepreneur-in-residence at Stanford Research International USA. Later, he set up his company i2india and Technovate India, a technology incubator that creates innovative concept technology startups. His company is creating unique concept games for children that will be both fun and educational.
“I think my engineering education has been very useful for this in two ways: giving me the confidence to manage the complexity of technology ventures, and the confidence of taking such risks.”
Deepam says his biggest regrets are not getting started earlier and not having the mental capacity to take on bigger risks earlier. “If the potential prize is big enough and meaningful enough at multiple levels of the Mazlow pyramid, risks have a way of reducing themselves and often presenting themselves as opportunities,” he asserts.
Social worker Nuria Vidal Llorens, a Spanish citizen who is working in an NGO in India was inspired by the words of the founder of an NGO in Spain. “The founder’s conviction, strong faith in his work and the result of his work helped me make the decision that after my retirement I would work with an NGO. Unfortunately for me, by the time I could put my plan into motion, the man behind my inspiration had passed away. But his words continued to motivate me.
I left Spain to work with Rural Development Trust in India, training children and young post- graduate men in hard and soft skills and teaching them English,” says Nuria.
It’s this strong conviction that sees her brave all conditions: the Indian heat, the spicy food, and a strange language. For pursuing her dream of helping others learn skills that would make their lives better is her passion and her passion outweighs those tough conditions.
These people have changed the course of their future in a single moment. With their new choices an entire life time of possibilities presents itself before them. No one knows what will come as a signboard for heading into a new direction. No one knows what will appear as a marker that will start an exciting new journey. No one knows what will be the starting point of turning over a new leaf. One thing though is constant: it’s persistent efforts that bring goals within reach.
The feeling of swimming in unknown waters isn’t easy on the mind. But a firm conviction in their beliefs is what keeps people moving ahead, surmounting the obstacles and using them as stepping stones to get closer to their goals.
When people follow the path lit by their passion, listen to the melodious hum of the song played by their souls, watch the scenes that their hearts bring to life, they transform destiny into free will. And free will comes fuelled by patience, perseverance, determination, and a belief in their ability. These are the people who weave the warp of hard work with the weft of sheer will.
A life devoted to passion’s calling is never easy, but a life without a passion is no life at all, only mere living...