Turning their passion into profession

Anukampa Sharma

Amritsar, June 19

Several studies worldwide have thrown light on the benefits of nurturing a hobby, which includes stress reduction and better output when it comes to work. In such a scenario, if one finds profession in his hobby, there is nothing better than that.

The city, too, has a number of students who are leaving no stone unturned to turn their passion into profession. At such a tender age, when most of the students are still trying to find the right course, these young ones have made their career and are confidently treading on the path of success. They are valiantly and skilfully breaking the society’s stereotypes by using their talent and passion to fuel their lives. Many of them are pursuing the courses that will help them get closer to making their dreams into reality.

A student of DAV College, Shushant Sharma, 19, is a prominent name in the city dance circle. He has been running a dance academy, ABCD Mafia Swat, for the past three years. He has choreographed a few of the finest dancing acts in the city, including liquid popping, krump, locking and popping, robotics, urban, shadow act and wheelchair act among others.

He says, “I started my journey attending dance classes, but I was not satisfied. Therefore, I took help of video-sharing platform YouTube to hone my skills. Over the years, I participated in multiple competitions and established my own dance academy eventually in 2016.” Shushant was just 16 when he opened his dance academy.

“My family never believed that dance can be anything more than a hobby. Now, I earn enough to prove this thinking wrong,” he adds.

Sristi Anand, 21, a fashion designer and professional blogger, has also been fascinated by the world of glamour and style. She has collaborated with several fashion brands, such as Nykaa, Daniel Wellington, Cover It Up, etc., and brought forward DIY style through her blog. She has more than 7,000 followers on Instagram.

She wants to promote the idea of comfort over fashion. “I firmly believe that fashion and comfort go hand in hand. People should not just stick to defined trends but rather break the monotony of fashion pattern. The idea to pursue fashion was not encouraged by my parents and family members, but I was determined hence I switched to professional blogging.”

A budding theatre artiste, Akshit Arey, 20, finds solace in expressing himself through acting. “Every opportunity to act helped me improve and develop my skills. Acting allows me to say a lot more than I can say using only words,”he says. He has won several inter-college competitions and has been performing at Virsa Vihar for the last four years.

A young freelance writer, Aashish Kochhar, 19, has managed to grab bylines in prominent publications. “I enjoy writing and it has been a source of bringing out my creativity and knowledge. The feeling of accomplishment when my work gets published and read by the public is like no other,” he adds.