I started pursuing photography as a hobby in 2007 and within a few years, I figured out that it wasn’t my hobby anymore. It was my passion. I liked to travel and shoot. The sunrises and sunsets, the mountains and seas, the forests and the villages, every moment had a special place in my heart.
In the month of March in 2016, I received a letter from Tata Motors and Vh1 that I had been selected as one of the Top 25 photographers of India who are under the age of 25. It was maybe the biggest achievement of my life. But I had no idea the turbulence it was gonna create.
For a father who had never tasted the luxury of an aeroplane, it was not wrong of him to dream all those for his son. But in India, photography or rather in that case, following one’s passion is just a story that happens in movies likes 3 Idiots only. My parents wanted me to do an MBA and they asked me to forget my camera. As an obedient son, I heeded to their orders. People tell me that I should have rebelled. Maybe they were true.
I worked in Standard Chartered for 2 years as a Software Developer in Chennai, India. I took that job so that at least I would have something to do in my life. Not getting depressed kind of became my short term goal during that time. That was the time when I researched and talked to many photographers who were either freelancers or contractors. All those people had one thing in common. They told me that when you are trying to earn your bread and butter through photography, you don’t enjoy it any more.
I wanted to enjoy photography. And I wanted to stand up in front of my parents with my head held high with pride. I didn’t take the road less travelled. But I worked very hard on the road which I travelled. After 3 attempts, I finally got into a premier MBA college, where I am pursuing a specialisation in marketing.
I still go out to photograph sunsets and sunrises, whenever I want to. And I will continue to do so for the rest of my life. The only difference is that after MBA I can purchase my favourite camera without borrowing money from anyone.