War of Lanka book launch in UK
Didn’t get to pop my questions about the latest book but, was an absolute pleasure and privilege to present one my florals artworks to Amish Tripathi.
For those who are not familiar with this Indian author – Amish’s Shiva trilogy, the fastest selling series in Indian publishing history, is a must read. Beautifully narrated with a convincing theory of the possibility that Gods were once humans, Hanuman did not fly and there was no magical bridge.
Amish is an alumnus of IIM, Calcutta. Upon graduation, he worked in the corporate world as a marketing and product manager for fourteen years. He wrote and published his first book whilst working in the banking and financial field. He has now left the corporate world behind and is a diplomat, documentary host with Warner Brothers Discovery channel and moving into the role of a producer. More about him here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amish_Tripathi
Amish is 48 – same age as me. I have also moved from the corporate world to art. I find his growth and success inspiring. Were he to remain in the corporate world, we would not have had the amazing series based on Indian mythology and history.
This also makes me wonder about our education system which largely does not help us discover our passion. It raises the question of purpose and personal fulfilment. Would it not be easy and productive to invest our time and effort in what truly brings out the best in us. Usually, people make a career change in their 40s, quite often initiated by companies down-sizing or hit by a midlife crisis. The advantage, perhaps, is the experience, connections and learnings through those years which strengthen the resolve in finding and following what we are passionate about.
In his talk Amish said he never wrote until a discussion with his family which lead him to writing his first book, mostly on his to commute to work. I never thought I could draw, or paint let alone pursue a career as a full-time artist. Moving from 9-5 to being self-employed comes with its own challenges. I would love to hear if you have changed your career path. What was your journey that led to you connecting with your true passion? If you are still exploring new paths, how are you doing this?
About the venue
Some pics from my Kathak days at The Bhavan
The book launch was held at The Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan, West Kensington. It is in it’s 50th year as ‘The Home of Indian Arts.’ The largest Centre for Indian classical arts in the UK with classes for adults and kids in languages, classical dance, and Music from the sub-continent. The beautiful venue is a converted church where Mahatma Gandhi went to meditate when he lived in a flat across the road on baron’s Court Road. There’s a blue plaque if you ever walk down that lane. Personally, The Bhavan is where I thought I had found my creative calling. I completed one year of open classes along with my daughter and two years of diploma between 2015 – 2018. I enrolled for Kathak, the north Indian classical dance form, under the tutelage of guruji Abhay Shankar Mishra. Sadly, guruji decided to move back to India. The teacher who replaced him had a totally different style, more contemporary. It was not the same for me, so I left. Currently, Abhinav Shankar Mishra, guruji’s son, is the teacher. He is a young artist holding his own with grace and technical ability keeping the traditional dance form going. The venue regularly hosts plays and performances. Here’s the link to Bhavan: https://bhavan.net