Tuning in to AnshUdhami

It is not often these days that a college romance fructifies into wedlock. Corporate Citizen unlocks the story of love that has culminated into marriage, for we believe in the stability of a relationship and family unit. We bring to you real-life romances that got sealed in marriage

Engineers turned musicians and entrepreneurs, Anup Murarka and his better half Jigisha Pandey, are an inspiration for those who believe in the power of dreams. Married for just over a year, this young couple combines idealism with more than a touch of practicality, while they pursue their passion with a firm eye on paying the bills. And you thought only opposites attract?

Anup Murarka

The thing about serendipity is that it has a way of finding you when you are least looking for it.

One evening, as young Jigisha Pandey was sitting down to an uneasy dinner with her parents at a plush restaurant in Pune's NIBM area explaining why exactly she had turned down her campus placement on completion of her E&TC course in engineering-she found help from unexpected quarters. “As my parents wondered over the feasibility of an engineer who now wished to have nothing to do with the corporate world but wished to be a musician instead, the owner of the restaurant, who also happened to be a friend, came up to me and said: I have someone interesting for you to meet,” she says.

That someone happened to be Anup, the guitarist and singer who was performing that night, who he said, was also an engineer who had chosen to become an engineer. “I was so happy to know this. And what a fine musician he was indeed,” she says.

Turns out that Anup had been an equally successful corporate professional for over four years but post a six month sabbatical for family reasons from work, his perspective had changed. “My boss had wanted me back; I had been a good performer at work but I wanted to give my real calling a true shot. While that was great, I wanted to eke out a living as a musician. Sure, I had been playing professionally alongside my work but part-time gigs are way different from making something a way of life. I gave myself two months to be able to sustain professionally or else I would go back to my job. I sent up a silent prayer to God: whatever be the case let me interpret the signs correctly. Either I do well enough as a musician or let me starve so I am in no doubt as to what to do next.”

It is precisely this ability to take calculated risks that impressed the spontaneous and impulsive Jigisha. She knew she had to be a musician but she also had to work hard at it. “An artiste in today’s day and age must constantly upgrade and adapt; there is no ultimate goal in this vast ocean of music, just a persistent will to immerse oneself in it,” she says.

The building blocks of a partnership

Post the meeting in the restaurant, the duo quickly became Instagram and Facebook friends though the personal equation took its time developing. Impressed with a recording of her voice that she had uploaded on social media, Anup asked her if she would care to perform with him at a musical show organised on the occasion of Ganesh Chaturthi. Jigisha happily accepted and that was the beginning of a wonderful new inning. “The show was a hit, and I believe, since our relationship took a new turn on Ganesh Chaturthi, it was an auspicious thing indeed.”

As they began performing more frequently together, the conversation began to flow. What was amazing was just how similar they were. “Talking to her did not feel at all like I was talking to another person. She just felt like an extension of my own self,” expresses Anup. “We both love similar things in life and share the same passions.”

Whatever few differences the duo had only served to propel the relationship ahead. “She is talkative whereas I am a good listener,” he grins.

On her part, Jigisha appreciates his dedication to all that he does. “Being with Anup taught me the meaning of commitment,” she says. “Like every new couple, we’d have our share of fights. And like a typical product of my generation, I’d say: ok, fine, lets’ call it quits.”

After a few such episodes, however, Anup sat her down and explained that he was in a relationship with her for the long haul. “When I proposed to her, I told myself that I would hold on to this relationship till my last breath,” he says.

Deeply moved, Jigisha understood-not just the value of relationships but also the fact that she was with the right person.

The families, however, had their misgivings. Jigisha is a North Indian from Mumbai, while Anup is a Marwari from Maharashtra’s Yavatmal district. “My parents were worried that she’s a big city girl: how would she adjust? Her parents were concerned about pretty much the same thing: a small town boy and a big city girl who had just happened to meet in Pune. Was it mere attraction?”

Turns out their fears were unfounded. Both sets of parents got on famously at the outset with their child’s intended spouse. “My parents loved how she was such a winsome blend of tradition and modernity, while her dad, a scientific officer at BARC was reassured by the fact that I was educated, well qualified and had managed to crack IIT JEE not once, but twice,” he smiles. “If ever I sought an answer as to why I even sat for the exam in the first place, the answer lay in my father in law’s gratified smile.”

Jigisha, meanwhile, is grateful for in laws who have accepted her not only as a daughter in law but also as “someone with dreams and goals of her own.”

THE MANTRAS OF MARRIAGE

• Shared dreams and passions
• Commitment and understanding
• Appreciating each other’s strengths
• Respecting and encouraging each other’s dreams

“We also have an artist management company called AnshUdhami Entertainments. My husband handles the company. We provide artists for live music places and events. We also teach music”

- Jigisha Pandey

Jigisha Pandey

Entrepreneurially yours...

As things stand, both Jigisha and Anup perform at various places throughout the country under the stage name of Udhami and Ansh respectively. “We also have an artist management company called AnshUdhami Entertainments. My husband handles the company. We provide artists for live music places and events. We also teach music. We have a small music school called School of Music & Performing Arts (SMPA). Besides, I am a music facilitator at Sunderji’s Global Academia, dealing with all kinds of kids, including those with special needs. I also provide training to teachers on how to use music as a teaching tool for primary and pre-school kids,” she says.

“The thing to remember about self employment is that you must undertake several projects simultaneously; make the most of whatever platform you get and at the same time start your own enterprises. It’s great to be passionate, but better to be passionate and practical,” says Anup.

Given that they’ve been married for a year and courted for three, what according to them are the pillars of a marriage? While Anup would root for never re thinking commitment, Jigisha says it is understanding and compassion that wins the day for her. “A close appreciation of the person you are with is necessary for the relationship.”

Bringing up baby-sometime soon

So yes, they’ve talked about starting a family. “We’d both love children, and we’d like them soon so that we are young enough to give them our best,” says Anup.

What the duo are united on is not just giving their little ones the freedom to find their wings but also making sure they are constantly in touch with what they really want from life. “It’s all too easy to live someone else’s dream or parrot the usual take on success and glory. However, to teach the child, the art of recognising who he/she really is, parenting done right,” he rounds off.

Knowing the two of them, they will get it right.