It's a work of heart

Ever wanted to turn back the hands of time to pursue your passion instead of a stable yet mundane nine to five job?  Well, city youngsters believe otherwise — or better yet, in having the cake and eating it too! Thanks to social media, a lot of professionals in the city are moonlighting their full-time careers with interesting hobbies; which in turn are not just serving as outlets to unleash their creativity, but are also helping them rake in some moolah. We find out more…

Fifty shades of the self: “The biggest takeaway is the fact that it breaks the stagnancy of a regular job and the feeling of being stuck in a rut,” cites Gokul Rao Kadam, a fashion photographer by day and music man by night, implying how all work combined with play is the way to be. “It’s always exciting to be somebody at the desk, and don a new avatar after dusk,” He adds.

On the other hand, Robby Banner, a graphic designer who works as a DJ on the side, opines how it’s mostly got to do with exploring different sides to your personality. “I started out with playing at private bashes, pool parties, because, you know, it’s inevitably fun.  I see it as a self discovery of sorts.”

Treading on a similar path is Shraddha Shivraj, a decision scientist at an analytics firm, who’s well on her way into trading her kooky scribbles on Facebook “I doodle a lot in my free time. And I began posting them on my profile and found it drew a lot of likes and  inquiries,” she adds. Playing with passion that pays: While a day job can be exhausting enough, doesn’t another seem a tad too overwhelming? Or maybe, it’s about mastering the art of balancing the scale. Nitin Hajela, an analyst at an audit organisation, who also runs a popular food blog Foodie Tales, elucidates, “I love rustling up exotic delights. I realised my interest in culinary, and decided to start with a blog – and started being flooded with invites for food tastings and paid reviews and consultations for food start-ups. But from what I learnt, the key to get going depends on how excited you are, about the idea. And then it’ll feel like a breeze to pursue it even it means sitting up overnight to finish a report you’ve got to present the next day!”  

Adding to the same, Robby Banner states, “It’s about compartmentalising. I made a conscious effort to squeeze time for it, as it helps me pursue my love for music and indulge in a lot of things I otherwise wouldn’t have with just my full-time job. It’s passion at play, so ideally it about doing something that keeps your spirits high even after a long day, and makes your pocket heavier — that’s the whole point!”