Unconventional Minds Untapped Stories

These are the inspirational stories from people who have gone against all odds and proved themselves to do what they think is right for them. They had to cross many hurdles and faced many challenges, but they were undeterred and kept going until they achieved what they wanted. Corporate Citizen takes a look at a handful of people who have proved, ‘Where there is a will, there is a way’

Sindhutai Sapkal

known as the “Mother of orphans”, is an Indian social worker and social activist awarded with more than 750 awards

Mothering over 1,000 orphans

A woman, who in her 20s was physically assaulted when she was nine months pregnant and left to die in a cowshed, gave birth to a girl in that semi-conscious state, walked out of the misery and steered a unique social reform, mothering orphaned children to give them the dignity of life. She is Sindhutai Sapkal, who, in her five-decade mission, her orphans have grown into men and women of honour. A pulsating story of ‘impossible is in a fool’s dictionary’

From a role model of social reforms for orphaned children, Sindhutai Sapkal has lately turned into a model! Yes, her gritty story has been captured with amazing precision in the Colgate ‘smile’ advertisement. The seventy-odd-year old Sindhutai is a picture of enthusiasm and cheer as she narrates her story with her flashing smile and courage of conviction.

At a programme, ‘Cynics take centre stage’ in Sri Balaji University, organised by TCM Pune, Sapkal displayed her unconventional mind that led to her philanthropic success. With a gift of the gab, she narrated her pulsating story, interspersed with shayaris of deep life meaning. Effusing the tenacity of motherhood, she stated that, “a woman can never be defeated. Although I was beaten up and left to die in the cowshed, when I was due for delivery, I delivered my child by cutting the umbilical cord with a stone that was fallen nearby. Thereafter, I left the cowshed and was begging on the streets where I met many orphans and destitute ladies needing help. I was very disturbed and wanted to end my life. However, each time I contemplated suicide, something inside told me that I need to live for others. It is this inner voice that propelled me to escort my little daughter to an orphanage so that I can steer a campaign of looking after many orphans and give a fresh lease of life to many others who direly needed it. I did not want to get attached to my daughter and then not see beyond her. So, while I ensured that she was well taken care of by the Shrimant Dagdusheth Halwai Trust, I began my mission to give food, clothes, shelter and education to destitute children without parents.’’

She proudly stated how today she has an entire bandwagon of over 200 sons-in-law and around 1,500 grandchildren. She also gives shelter to innumerable women who have been abandoned. All of them call her ‘Mai’ (mother) and are eternally grateful and loyal to her. A mother is invincible and all-powerful, she says, if she keeps her heart strong and learns to forgive.

Born with a sharp intellect and adroit marketing strategy, she brings out the need for donations for her institutes through her public talks, which are peppered with humour and cheeky wit. Like for example, she says ‘giving bhashan is to get my ration’ (meaning she gets donations when she goes for public lectures and that’s the idea behind doing so). She has a string of funds coming through private donations which keeps her movement going but she rues that “the government does not think it fit to support my cause.’’ She mentions of instances when public personalities have given her cheques with much aplomb only to have bounced or simply publicly announced a grand donation which was never given. Despite all the awards (750 and more) and travelling across regions and even to the US, I am still a beggar she says as none of her orphanages receives any grant from the government.

“My small work makes me feel like someone is helping me heal my own wounds. So all wounds heal with time, but you must live, stay alive for others’’

It is the miserable circumstances in which she grew up that makes her identify with the orphans. Says she, “I have experienced what it feels like to have no one with you, no place to go, no shelter and no food to eat for days. My small work makes me feel like someone is helping me heal my own wounds. So all wounds heal with time, but you must live, stay alive for others” she says.

Talking about healed wounds, Sindhutai said, “A few years back, at the age of around 80, my husband came back to me apologetically. I told him I could accept him only as my child and not as a wife. Because, a woman is a wife for some time, but is a mother at all the time. Now, I tell my other children that they should thank this oldest child for having me as their Mai.”

The children who Mai or Sindhutai has nurtured are proud to carry her name as their middle and last name. So, all boys use Sapkal while girls use Sathe (Sindhutai’s maiden surname) as their surnames. She told the story of Vinay Sindhutai Sapkal, who she rescued from the arms of a dead mother when he was a few days old. He is now a qualified advocate but prefers to assist her and help run the orphanages and accompany her on her talks.

How does she get orphans admitted into her orphanages? Sindhutai said, “After my speeches at various places, local people bring to me children without parents or an immediate family. After taking a signed letter from the local district administration, we usually admit such child into our orphanage.”

A gifted orator, Sindhutai, with her singing, using quotes from poet-saints Tukaram, Namdeo, Bahinabai, Gadgebaba and Tukdoji Maharaj as well as poet Suresh Bhat and switching easily between Hindi and Marathi with ease hold the audience to rapt attention, laughing and clapping one moment and wiping tears of anguish at another.

She still continues to fight for the next meal for her children. Many of the children whom she adopted are well-educated lawyers, lecturer and some including her biological daughter, are running their own independent orphanages. One of her children is doing a Ph.D. on her life. She has been honoured with more than 750 awards for her dedication and work. She used the award money to buy land to make a home for her orphan children. Because of her dedication and sacrifices, today the children have their own building at Manjari, Dist. Pune with all modern facilities like. computer room, a big hall for cultural activities, solar system, water filter, Library, Study room, and all required facilities. Mai is always trying to give a good standard of living to her children along with food, clothing, shelter, education and rehabilitation.

“My life has been a road with many thorns but I made friends with those thorns and my life became beautiful and I could give beauty to so many other people’s lives”

A Marathi film, ‘Mee Sindhutai Sapkal’ released in 2010, is a biopic inspired by the true story of Sindhutai Sapkal. The film was selected for the world premiere at the 54th London Film Festival.

Says she philosophically, “My life has been a road with many thorns but I made friends with those thorns and my life became beautiful and I could give beauty to so many other people’s lives.’’

Indeed, when the going gets tough, the tough get going. And Sindhutai, the most adorable social worker that Maharashtra has known, is a sterling example of triumph over tribulations!

Shonali Ranade (RJ Shonali)

The most influential RJ, Radio City 91.1 FM, Pune

“Interpret less, Introspect more”

-By Rajesh Rao

Shonali Ranade, who is widely known as RJ Shonali, says that it has been an amazing journey till now. Starting from school days to college days, the girl who because of stage fear would always remain in back stage, today has a huge fan following for her mesmerising and captivating talking, and her connection with listeners—isn’t it great, she says. She adds that her connection with radio has been always very strong. She has been working with Radio City 91.1 FM, Pune, for last nine years and is completely in love with her job. Let’s know how her cynical journey with radio started

At every phase of our childhood days, our dreams change, as to what I want to achieve or become in life. There are some very lucky, who dream of becoming something and they become—they are just amazing.

At every phase of my life, my dreams changed. When I was in school, studying in the seventh standard, I dreamed of becoming a police officer. Why? It was the uniform that police officer wear, which attracted me a lot and I decided, yes I will become a police officers. Then I went to college—you are a teenager and start thinking about yourself to be very beautiful. I also started thinking that I can become a model, so I decided I should do modelling in life. This was the time when I was completing my graduation, Bachelor of Business Administration (BBA) degree programme. I then thought that becoming a model is too far-fetched, let me realise my dream of becoming a successful manager. I thought I had very good managerial skills of managing people, talking to them, convincing them, so why not make a successful career in the management field.

I completed my BBA degree and among the 50 students in my batch, 45 of them decided that they want to do an MBA. I was surprised that almost all of my batch mates were going for a post-graduation MBA course. If I would also do an MBA, what would happen? Either I would become the boss to any of them or else I would have to work as an employee of one of them. I asked myself, if this is acceptable to me and my answer was no, I would not enjoy doing that. We had studied together and studying to me was like understanding human beings. I want to do something different, out-of-the-box, something innovative—I wanted to bring in change. As I was going through this process, my elder sister was closely observing me. She suggested to me that looking at the qualities that I had, I should go for Mass Communication and Journalism, which would be the right career path for me. I said alright and took admission for Mass Communication and Journalism programme, in Aurangabad.

During the same time, one of my friend introduced me to All India Radio (Akashvani), Aurangabad. She advised me to go there as they had a vacancy for an announcer job and why not give a try. One does not get a permanent job in Akashvani, it is temporary. So, I went there and surprisingly I was selected. I was told that I will go through a training programme, which I went through and started working as an announcer. This is where my career journey with radio actually started. While working at Akashvani, simultaneously I was also completing my masters in Mass Communication and Journalism.

When I completed my Mass Communication programme, I had a job offer, for sub-editor post, from a well-known print media company and they were offering me a good package. I went for it and accepted the job offer. Simultaneously I was working at Akashvani also. At Akashvani I would get hardly 3-4 slots in a month, the show was for 30 minutes and I would hardly get to talk for 1 or 1:30 seconds, as an announcer. But, the process there was amazing and engaging and at the same time also challenging. I found it very interesting. During that time, I was in two minds, whether I should join print media or leave it. At that time, I had received very good advise from the Director at Akashvani that a person should never go through a ginger kind of development, so focus and decide what you really want to do. I had worked for a maximum ten days at the print media company and realised that I was not enjoying the work. I was getting well paid, but if I am not enjoying the work, I cannot work there. My focus was not on how much I was earning, I looked for enjoying my work. I quit my job at a print media company and I continued with Akashvani. That decision I took, was my life’s best decision.

“I am an average girl and I have three qualities in me, to work hard, have consistency and work passionately. I am passionately curious, to extent that those who work with me get irritated with it”

At the same time, private radio station started coming up, in Aurangabad. When the first radio station was launched, my engagement was happening in Hyderabad, so I missed the chance. I cried a lot because what I dreamt for, that opportunity had slipped away from me. My husband assured me to keep trying and something good will happen. In the next six-month a second radio station was launched and I was called for an interview. I went through three interviews and then out of 150 candidates, I was selected. The reason I was selected, was because of my Akashvani experience.

Life plans many things for you—at that time instead of getting pulled in different directions, I decided my destination to be with radio. You might be thinking that there was no struggle in my career journey, everything came so easy to me. While building my career as RJ in the radio industry, one thing I experienced is, success comes to an RJ only when he makes a connection with the listeners. No matter how many years you have worked, making that connection with the listeners, is the biggest challenge that an RJ faces. For three years I worked very hard in Aurangabad and after that, I got an opportunity from Radio City Pune. I remember, my then boss had advised me that I will not be able to work in a huge market like Pune. But I had confidence in myself that I can do it in Pune. Radio is such a field that many aspire to enter, but very few get a chance. So, I thought if the opportunity has come my way, why not accept it and go. I decided to come to Pune. So, what I am today—known as RJ Shonali—is because, at that time I took the right decision to go for what I felt was right for me.

The biggest challenge I faced coming to Pune was, I had to start again from zero. I had to again start creating my own fan followers, my listeners in Pune. I accepted the challenge, I said I will do it and I did it. I have completed nine years working with Radio City, Pune and overall I have been working in the radio industry for the last 15 years.

“To keep measuring success is difficult and each one’s way of measuring success is different. Understand that interpretation is outwards and introspection is inwards, so interpret less and introspect more”

Everyone feel that RJ’s job is simple and it is only about talking—we do not have a monthly target, but a new target every day. If you do it, you get a pat, but if you don’t it’s your failure. So, how does an RJ look at his/her success and failure? Today I am in Pune, I have become a known voice of Pune, I have achieved so much fame, but behind all this, I have worked very hard. I will not say that I am very talented, but yes, I am an average girl and I have three qualities in me, to work hard, have consistency and work passionately. I am passionately curious, to extent that those who work with me get irritated with it. If I do anything, I do it passionately and I swear it has given me good results.

Through my career as RJ, I have communicated so many messages and thoughts to people, with radio as a medium. I don’t measure my success counting how many awards I received, or the salary I earn now, or how known I am today in the celebrity circle. My success is, as a person, I am growing and as a person, I have been able to create a unique bond with listeners. Now when anyone asks me, if I want to become a programming head or anything else in the future, I say I want to keep working as a Radio Jockey. Why? Because working in radio makes me happy, gives me satisfaction, and gives me energy.

To keep measuring success is difficult and each one’s way of measuring success is different. Understand that interpretation is outwards and introspection is inwards, so interpret less and introspect more.

Shantilal Muttha

Activist and founder of Shantilal Muttha Foundation (SMF) and Bharatiya Jain Sanghatana (BJS)

Achieving the Impossible

-By Neeraj Varty

It is hard enough to come from abject poverty and attain success in life, but to do so and then give it all up to serve society takes a special kind of courage and selflessness. Shantilal Muttha, Founder - Shantilal Muttha Foundation (SMF) and Bharatiya Jain Sanghatana (BJS), speaks about what it takes to achieve success in life and how all you need to make a difference is having belief in oneself

You have heard great people like Sindhutai speak before me. She has elaborated astutely how there is a vast difference between the rich and poor in this country. She has shared her experiences with the world to give them hope in times of a crisis. That is exactly what I am going to do too.

I come from a backward district in Maharashtra called Beed. I was educated in a boarding school. The education was free for a certain quota of poor students, but the institutes demanded huge donations from us. To pay those donations, I worked as a waiter in several weddings. I did this for four years. I served in several weddings. I interacted with cooks, maids, waiters, etc. They expressed how there was so much food at the wedding but they did not have a morsel to eat at home. This touched me deeply. I vowed that one day I would lift the marginalised from the daily suffering that they faced.

I had no money, no family background, and no status. But to change society, all you need is resolve. When I came to Pune for my higher education, initially I faced a lot of difficulties. I used to wear pyjamas to school when my fellow students wore trendy clothes. I couldn’t speak English. But with time I realised that it doesn’t matter if you wore fashionable clothes or spoke chaste English. If you had the determination to succeed, you will thrive despite all odds.

I became a firebrand in college. I observed that people spent a lot of unnecessary money on weddings so I and my friends decided to stage a protest at a wedding. The father of the groom came up to me and asked me point blank what right I have to protest if any person spent his hard-earned money on anything that they want? This made an impact on me. I realised he was right. I decided then instead of criticising others, one should find out how they themselves can make a difference in society.

All you need is confidence in yourself and a desire to help society. If you have a clear conscience, no one can stop you from achieving your dreams and changing the world for the better

Around that time, I started working as a broker to help people get flats on rent. I was fortunate to find some success. I realised that to truly make a difference in society, I must have the means to do so. I decided that until I build an empire of my own, I won’t do any social work. I worked for eight years and established business. I went from being a broker to working in real estate and then established a construction business. I had no professional training, but if a man has the drive to learn, he will be successful, no matter the education. One does not need a formal education to be a success.

Once I acquired sufficient money, I left my business and retired. Then I started conducting mass marriages. This way, people who could not afford the costs of a marriage too could get married for free. I started with two marriages on one dais, and with time, I scaled up to 650 marriages on one dais in one single day.

I have helped in rehabilitation work in the aftermath of 25 natural disasters, all over India and even in Nepal. In Maharashtra, we have a tragic problem of farmer suicides. I have seen the pain of farmers and it is heart-breaking. Since the last five years, the children of over 1,000 farmers who have committed suicide have been educated by me at my hostel in Wagholi.

If I can come from a small backward village with no wealth or means to a city like Pune, establish an empire, and then give back to society, then anyone can do it. All you need is confidence in yourself and a desire to help society. If you have a clear conscience, no one can stop you from achieving your dreams and changing the world for the better.

Anirban Bhattacharyya

Author, producer, actor and stand-up comedian

Never Stop believing

-By Neeraj Varty

Everyone has dreams when they are growing up. But somewhere down the line, the struggles of everyday life take precedence over our dreams. But it doesn’t have to be this way. At an event at a leading University in Pune, Anirban Bhattacharya, Co-creator and producer of Savdhaan India and ex-Content Head at Channel [V], shows us that life doesn’t have to be between choosing one thing or the other. With a little bit of planning, a fair amount of hard work and a lot of self-confidence, it is possible to have your cake and eat it too

I decided to do a lot of things I do stand-up comedy, I do writing, I do acting, I do whatever comes my way. How many people feel that they aren’t doing what they always wanted to do in life? Quite a few I presume. Some wanted to be dancers, some wanted to be entrepreneurs in life. Most of us, however, feel trapped. We feel trapped going down a path which either our parents have influenced us. I say influenced and not forced, because this generation cannot be forced to do anything they don’t want to (laughs). Parents always influence our paths. When I was younger, my parents use to tell me to be a doctor or an engineer. If you feel trapped and don’t enjoy what you do, there is always a fear. ‘What will people think?’ The thing is, you shouldn’t be afraid of what people will say. Other people won’t be living your life, it is you who will be living it. Yes, there are certain parameters outside your control, so you should always have a Plan B. So do your MBA, do your engineering, and earn so much of money that you can then pursue your passion.

When I started stand-up comedy, it came as a solution to a problem. I used to be in a boarding school. I used to get bullied a lot in the school. Then I realised that the only way I could be accepted by my seniors was to become the funny kid. So I became the funny kid in school. Suddenly, all the seniors stopped bullying me. That was it. Then, 25 years later, I got a call from the comedy store in Mumbai, to audition for India’s first open mic. I was scared thinking that if I fail, what would people think? But I fought through the fear and did it. It was a success and that’s how I started my stand-up comedy career.

I also wrote a book. It was launched by none other than filmmaker Anurag Kashyap. I had a dream of becoming a writer when I was in Class six. I used to scribble in a notebook, 25 years later, I found the manuscript and I realised that I still haven’t fulfilled the dream of that eight-year-boy. So I wrote a book called The Deadly Dozen.

“If you believe passionately in what you do, you will make the time. If you don’t respect your own self, no one else will. First and foremost, you have to be true to yourself”

The other problem I keep hearing is that people don’t have time to pursue their dreams. That’s the standard answer people give. I was a Producer when I started writing, and you know how hectic the TV business is. But I decided that come what may, I had to finish the book. So for an entire year, I wrote from 11 in the night to four in the morning. I sacrificed my sleep because I had to fulfil the dream of my eight-year-old self. If you believe passionately in what you do, you will make the time. If you don’t respect your own self, no one else will. First and foremost, you have to be true to yourself.

How many of us feel like losers? If you feel like you have reached rock bottom, that’s actually a good thing, because now the only way to go is up. We are all special. Have respect for yourself and always follow your passion.

Harsh Pamnani

Marketer and Business author

“Life is a marathon and not a 100-metre dash”

-By Rajesh Rao

A marketer with over 14 years of experience with startups, corporates and think tanks, Harsh Pamnani, is also a renowned business author. He has worked with companies like Firstcry, HSBC, Cognizant, Deloitte, World Bank and TiE (The Indus Entrepreneurs). His books Booming Brands (Volume 1& 2) covers inspiring journeys of a new age “Made in India” brands. Here shares his career journey and why even after being socially known as marketer and business author, he is a cynic, living in a way natural for him and rejecting the conventional, which he believes has helped him to achieve success in his many endeavours

Though socially my title is a marketer and business author, in reality, I am a cynic. My parents always wanted me to do something significant and meaningful in life, but I was neither interested in studies nor good in sports. Unfortunately, I scored only 55 per cent marks in twelfth class and I was really not sure what I would do in my life.

At times when you don’t know what is going to happen in your life, the almighty will show you the way. Something similar happened with me also. One of my cousins had scored top twenty rank in the engineering entrance exam. I had nothing to do, so I joined him in his counselling session, where I listened to many toppers speaking about the kind of struggles they went through and the dreams they had for their future. I wanted to become like one of them and asked my cousin, If I can. He said that nothing happens by just dreaming, one has to work hard. I decided to go for computer engineering and after working hard for one year, I was able to score decent rank to get into computer engineering, at IET-DAVV in Indore, which is one of the top engineering colleges in Madhya Pradesh state.

At IET-DAVV, I was surrounded by students who were better than me, in English and computer programming. Somewhere inferiority complex started developing within me and my academic performance started degrading. The second year was more unfortunate. My father was suffering from a slip disk and was bedridden for almost four months. I was quite disturbed and couldn’t focus much on studies and thought of taking a shortcut. I was caught cheating and the examiner cancelled my whole examination and I lost a whole semester. I was shattered and thought about dropping out of the engineering programme.

The then director at IET-DAVV, Dr Manohar Chandwani, came like a God and gave me a patient listening. He said that I made a mistake and was rightly punished, which he said can’t be changed. “But, if you decide to change yourself and improve yourself, I will help you in your transformation,” he assured me. With the motivation and moral support of Mr Chandwani and my hard work, I was able to transform myself and become one of the toppers in the college.

Through campus, I got placed with HSBC bank, in Pune. But, then I faced another challenge. As I had completed my engineering six months late, the training programmes for the students were already over and the company was not giving me the joining date. Then the cynic inside me pushed me to persevere. I came to Pune and started waiting in front of the company’s gate, every day for almost a month, asking the HR manager, as to when I will get the joining date. My perseverance paid and eventually, I got the joining date and I started my career at HSBC. Within one year with HSBC in Pune, I was sent to New York City, where I noticed a totally new world and was surrounded by high achievers. Again the cynic inside me said why not listen to the journeys of the achievers who have come here and gained some wisdom from their journeys. During one such meeting with an achiever, I realised that life is a marathon and not a 100-metre dash.

I came back to India and started working with Deloitte in Mumbai. During this period, I was curious to understand why only a few people were able to create successful business. So, over the weekends and after office hours, I started attending sessions by entrepreneurs at IIT Bombay and the IndUS Entrepreneurs (TiE). Looking at my passion TiE offered me a two-year fellowship, to make an impact in the entrepreneur ecosystem in India. My parents and colleagues advised me that it would be a wrong move to leave a good job and career, to join a non-profit organisation. Then the cynic inside me told me that you can earn money whenever you want, but opportunities to earn perspectives don’t come every time. I listened to my heart, left my well-paid job and accepted the opportunity to work for a non-profit organisation. In the two years I worked there, I got opportunities to meet many successful, not so successful and struggling entrepreneurs and closely see their lives. By the time the fellowship got over, I realised that I don’t want to become a full-time entrepreneur and also going back to the previous job was not a possible option.

“I felt, maybe I could fill this void by writing a book that could be referred by many who are interested in understanding how the brands are getting created in today’s crowded and competitive market place”

This time one of my mentors gave me a piece of valuable advice, which changed the trajectory of my career journey. He said that in the field of cricket there are two popular people, one is Sachin Tendulkar, who goes and plays in the cricket field and the second is Harsha Bhogle, who doesn’t play but understands the game so well that he is able to talk about the strategies of the players and everything about cricket. You may not be interested in becoming an entrepreneur, but definitely, you have curiosity, passion and hunger to become someone like Harsha Bhogle, in the field of business.

I decided to do an MBA and you can call it my destiny, I got an interview call from XLRI Jamshedpur and the cynic inside me said that this chance is not to be missed. I made it through the final interview and took admission. At XLRI, I got access to a wonderful library, where I could satisfy my curiosity in knowing how the brands are built and what all marketing strategies are emerging. Then I thought let me give myself a new goal—as Harsha Bhogle writes in many publications about his area of passion and interest, I will also write about my area of interest like marketing and branding, in business publications. It took me one year to get my first article published. Fortunately, that first article became the most popular article in an entrepreneur magazine and my journey of writing business articles started from there on.

Post my MBA programme, I got a decent job, got married and was living a comfortable life. But then the cynic inside me said, is it not too early to live a comfortable life, why not give yourself another challenge. I again looked at Harsha Bhogle, who had written a few wonderful books and I also decided to write a book. But, finding a topic for my book was not an easy task for me. I had met many professors, students, marketers and entrepreneurs, who expressed that there is a lot of literature available on American brands, but hardly anything on the journeys of Indian brands, especially the new age Indian brands that were created post-liberalisation and in the digital era. I felt, maybe I could fill this void by writing a book that could be referred by many who are interested in understanding how the brands are getting created in today’s crowded and competitive market place. Though I got this idea, it was not easy for me to figure out which entrepreneurs will be able to give their time, to cover their journeys. I was lucky again—founders of 11 admirable made-in-India brands like Shaadi.com, Bookmyshow, Byju’s, Zomato, Paperboat, Padman and many others agreed to give me their valuable time. One of the biggest names in business media, CNBC, agreed to publish my book. My book was released at my alma mater, XLRI, and over the period many business leaders and academicians appreciated my book.

I was happy with all the appreciations but the big surprise was when Harsha Bhogle, after knowing about my book, gave me an opportunity to meet him at his home. That one-hour conversation with Harsha Bhogle, my role model, gave me a glimpse of more dreams that I want to achieve in my life and I am working on them now. Kishor Biyani, CEO of Future Group, has rightly said that when one is young and strives to rewrite rules, he is called mad, but when that same person becomes successful, because he/she dared to risk it all, he/she is then called a maverick. It is my dream that one day I will also be called a maverick.

Rahul Singh

Actor and Writer

Do what you love to do

-By Vineet Kapshikar

An actor and writer, Rahul Singh, who has worked in Bollywood films, like Ghulam, Zubeidaa, The Ghazi Attack, among others, started his journey as an actor from his college days. During his college days, Rahul has wrote more than 50 street plays. Rahul shares his career journey as an actor and why he believes that we should do what we love

I was born in Udaipur, Rajasthan. I had no intention as such to become an actor back then. As no one from my family had worked in the film industry. I studied in a boarding school called Mayo College, Ajmer and graduated from St. Xavier’s College. I did a lot of theatre when I was graduating. When I performed on the stage for the first time, the audience appreciated my work. So I kept on working and I was being appreciated. It is said that if you do what you love, then it’s not work. I got admission in St. Xavier’s College. I was never fond of academics since I was interested in theatre.

I was doing intercollege plays for St. Xavier’s, I was also doing street theatre. I have acted in more than 50 street plays on various topics like AIDS awareness, drugs awareness, dowry awareness, pollution awareness, population awareness among others.

I believe that we should not call the pursuit of our goals or dreams as a struggle. Rather call it a quest. We choose our goals, nobody forced me to take up acting or become a doctor or something else. Why call it a struggle—call it a challenge.

My parents didn’t like that I wanted to work in films. They were worried that working in cinema doesn’t assure a stable career, fixed salary and job security, which was valued then. One day I convinced them saying I am performing in a play and I would like both you to come and see my play. At that time, I was acting in two plays, one was for the American Embassy and the other one was a street play called AIDS Awareness. My parents came and saw both the plays and they were satisfied with my career choice. I told them I just need your blessings. By Gods’ grace, since my childhood I was provided with each and everything, I never had to ask for anything. But it was necessary for me to stand on my feet and do something.

“As an artist when you start working, you feel that you should try out things in other fields too. Your horizon opens up”

To study acting, I came to Pune, although I was still in Xavier’s at that time. There weren’t any courses at that time in acting so I started to apply abroad. I got admission in an institute from England and in a couple of institutes in America as well. My father was of the opinion that since India and England have a similar cultural history, I should go to England. People from every corner of the world come to England. I experienced many new things. For three years, I worked there, I learned how to cook, I did all the chores. I used to work part-time as an usher for the British Film Institute (BFI). They had a reputed theatre which used to screen world cinema, and every film was different. Working there was like a treat for me, as I was learning so much working at BFI. Then I got the opportunity to do modelling, my first work on a still camera. Modelling was providing me quick money, I had also worked on various assignments but it was stagnant, I enjoyed it but there was no artistic growth as such.

As an actor, my first film was Zubeidaa, directed by Shyam Benegal, who is considered as one of the most respected filmmakers in the world, not just in India. After Zubeidaa, my journey as an actor began. I have worked in television, films and currently, I am working in a web series. Apart from acting, I also write. I have some poetry in me because of my mother. I have written dialogues for Kaante and wrote the film Gulaal. I wrote the original dialogue for a TV show called 24, wherein I played as a protagonist and was nominated for Best Actor Award. I am now working on Adishankaracharya. I credit my mother, Dr Prabha Thakur for my writing talent, who is regarded as one of the top poets of the country.

As an artist when you start working, you feel that you should try out things in other fields too. Your horizon opens up. Acting is a continuous quest, there is no fixed salary, and as long as you enjoy what you are doing there is no need to worry.

Rupesh Tillu

Actor, director, independent film maker and a clown

Laughter Unites People

-By Vineet Kapshikar

Rupesh Tillu is an actor, director and independent filmmaker. He holds MFA in Physical Comedy from The National School of Dramatic Arts, Sweden. Having studied clowning and worked with Clowns without Borders, Sweden, he started the project Clowns without Borders in India where they work with kids and adults living in stressful conditions and make them laugh. Rupesh shares his career experience of clowning, why he believes that you must say yes to unknown things …

I grew up in Mumbai and I have moved 22 times in my first 18 years, I had to move because there were frequent strikes happening in Mumbai back then. My parents lost their jobs in the strikes and couldn’t pay the rent so we had to keep moving from place to place. When I was 22, I had moved to Sweden to study theatre for a month. I had Rs.25,000 with me. I came back after 10 years with my Swedish wife and our child. Since then I have been performing as a clown and spreading laughter. I have started an initiative called Laughter Per Kilometre. It is an initiative which spreads laughter every kilometre. Why laughter? Laughter is very special in our lives, and it is very technical. The funny thing about laughter is that you can laugh out loud only when you are with someone. You cannot laugh out loud alone. People like to laugh together. When we have heightened emotional state of being, i.e. stress, there are only three ways to bring tackle that stress, one is laughter, second is crying and the third is violence. If people cannot come together and laugh or cry, then there is violence in that country. Our country is a great example. People are so violent because they don’t have opportunities to handle their stress.

Last year we reached 20,000 underprivileged children around the country in five cities. This year we reached 20,000 underprivileged children around the country again. That’s the goal I have. You have to be a cynic to understand it. And my definition of being a cynic is different my definition is that a cynic is someone who says yes to unknown things.

How many people try to visit a country without any visa? I have visited Israel and Egypt without a visa. I was sent to Israel by Clowns without Borders, it is a very renowned organisation, it provides psychosocial aid, in simple terms, and they make people laugh. I was sent to Palestine and Israel. We performed in Palestine and Israel and made thousands of children laugh. There we met an Israeli person who asked me, do you want to go to the Sinai desert? (Egypt.) I said, yes, as I was very excited. I had a couple of friends with me, then, I was living in Sweden. From Tel Aviv, we drove to the desert. We reached the Israeli border and then I went there and I realised that I don’t have a double-entry visa to enter Israel. If I leave Israel, I cannot come back. Since I live in the moment, I hadn’t thought of this. I decided to go and talk to the person who is in charge of visas. I went to the officer with an Israeli friend, he talked with the authority in Hebrew, he explained what we do. The officer denied the request of the visa, so I decided to try my luck and I talked to the visa officer, who was a lady, saying that I provide psychosocial aid. She asked me what is that, I said I make underprivileged children laugh. She seemed moved by it and said, I can allow you to visit Israel for 48 hours. I said to her we had to stay there for five days, I requested to figure out something. After some thinking, she said, you go ahead, if I am here when you come back, then only I will allow you to enter, otherwise I cannot. I got the double-entry visa and we crossed the border. We had to walk to the border, then I realised that I don’t have an Egyptian Visa. I stood there in a queue. My Israeli friend talked with the Egyptian authority and was trying to convince him. The officer refused to grant me the Visa. After some time, the officer told me to go and fill up a form, after I did that, I was granted the Visa.

“Laughter is very special in our lives, and it is very technical. The funny thing about laughter is that you can laugh out loud only when you are with someone”

We walk in the Sinai desert for four days and we lived in the desert, we slept under the sky every day. It was incredible. I come back after five days to Israel, I was praying that the lady officer who allowed me should be there, but there was a different lady officer at the visa counter, she asked me about my visa. I explained the entire story to her. The authorities tracked the lady, and she explained the entire situation to her, she was on a leave at her relatives. I was given the visa and I was back to India.

If you want to do things, you have to say yes to unknown situations.

Teemeer Chimulkar

Guitarist, singer, song writer, guitar instructor

On a high note

-By Vineet Kapshikar

Teemeer Chimulkar is a professional guitarist and a guitar tutor since the late nineties, inspired by popular rock music. Presently, he’s the singer-songwriter and the lead guitarist for his immensely adored rock band, ‘Teemeer and the CirKle’. Teemeer talks about his career journey with Corporate Citizen

Your journey as an artist

It was the year 1997, after quitting two marketing jobs with Bajaj and Aptech Education, I decided to pursue music as a career and decided to become a rock singer and a rock guitarist.

Your inspiration

My major inspiration was American rock bands of the 80s and 90s like Metallica, Megadeth, Nirvana, Iron Maiden, Slayer, etc. My friends from my college and music circle also had a major part in inspiring me. The Mumbai rock scene (formerly Bombay) was very happening in the 90s with various venues such as Razzberry Rhinoceros (Juhu), Rang Bhavan and various local colleges like IIT- Powai, RAIT, etc. hosting rock concerts and rock band competitions.

Favourite musician and band

Being a hard-core music lover I have lots of favourites but my all-time favourite band has to be Metallica, as it’s been a major influence on me, my music and also my lifestyle. The lead singer, James Hetfield is my most favourite musician. Apart from that, I’m also a huge fan of bands like Nirvana, Coldplay, Type O Negative, etc. and of course Indian musicians and singers like Arijit Singh, Shaan, KK, etc. and the eternal greats, Kishore Kumar and R D Burman.

Current scenario of music industry

The music scene always and eternally keeps changing and that is what’s tough for most musicians. Change is the only constant. From tapes to CDs to DVDs to MP3, most of us have seen it all and now currently all music has gone digital. Nowadays, the internet is a huge playground for the music industry.

There is a lot of new talent available currently, but things get stale very soon. Songs and music get outdated very soon and the shelf life is very short. Most hardworking musicians, who are also good at performing and entertaining, and have good online/digital skills will last longer. Also, the current lockdown situation has forced musicians to perform live online via platforms like Instagram, Facebook, etc. which can very much be a thing of the future.

“There is no substitute to hard work, patience, persistence and daily practice in whichever field you want to excel in”

You also teach guitar...

I started to tutor almost around the time when I was learning to play when some kids approached me and asked me to teach them to play a few songs that I knew to play. So from starting on a casual basis 20 years later I am full time into teaching guitar on a professional level and take great pride in it. Currently, I’m associated with the Trinity College of London and follow their Rock and Pop curriculum for my students and prepare them for these exams.

Music to you is…

As clichéd as it may sound but music for me is the air I breathe, the food I eat, the blood that runs in my body.

Advice to the newer generation

My advice would be the philosophy that I live by every day. There is no substitute to hard work, patience, persistence and daily practice in whichever field you want to excel in. We also need to learn new and innovative ways to turn the tide on a bad day and keep moving forward every day.