And the winner is ..... YOU!

The other day, I came across an article in the Hindustan Times, Sunday Brunch about how the engineers are turning creative people. Now I don't recollect who had written that and who were the people interviewed. But it did speak about getting in touch with ones true calling! 

It also got me thinking, how I landed up teaching!... A little walk down the memory lane. Yes I am a hotelier and was working with the top hotel in the country and doing so called 'good' for myself. While on the job I loved the training classes that I conducted for my staff. It was so satisfying that I felt like switching to teaching and it did come my way when my Alma mater was looking for a faculty to teach Rooms division Management They got in touch with me and told me that they needed someone to take that up on an urgent basis and I was  there making that my forte. Industrial experience was there but I felt the need to equip myself with knowledge, skill and attitude about  the new role that I was going to embark on. Thats how PG in training and Development  happened then and so did a Masters in Tourism Management as my teaching required me to know that aspect also. I have been teaching the under grad and post grad programmes. In the mean time I did earn my CHE (Certified Hospitality Educator) from American Hotel and Lodging Association.

But the most fulfilling experience for me has been the training programmes that I got to do for the porters of the Dadar station. The programme was sponsored by the government and it was called, The Capacity building programme. It was aimed at training the people who work in the hospitality and tourism sector, who did not have any formal training with regards to soft skills. The target group got me interested in taking the Saturday classes, which was otherwise an off day for me. It was a day long programme where they had to be given inputs on customer interaction and soft skills training. To use the polite words with everyone but tourists in particular who may not be conversant with the local language. They were given a certificate on completion of the program. The programme covered about 300 porters during the 6 sessions.

They just loved sitting in the classroom and I haven't seen so much of an adulation ever, it was the best experience so far. I got to learn a lot about their lives and their job. The camaraderie that they share. They had even set up a trust to take care of medical and other personal expenses for which the members  might have needed financial assistance. Yes did teach them a bit about the customer relation which they anyway were good at but shared some finer nuances of the trade that I learnt in college as well as in the industry.  Also, taught them to use a few polite words and phrases. We also discussed their life goals, financial planning ,read it as saving and handling expenses, their children's education and other life skills. At the end of the programme I came out as a winner. It was a great learning experience for me for which I have always been thankful to the people concerned for giving me that opportunity. I learnt why Emotion was energy in motion!

Everyone has a true calling and its somewhere down the line that they feel the need to touch base with that ... I guess its nice to listen to that little voice inside. One person who I know who is doing that is Swapnil Shinde, just happened to talk to him. He is an electronics engineer, into quality assurance certifications. But has taken up his love for origami to such a level that he is the only expert in the country in this craft. He is associated with many institutions of repute. He does it  simply for the love of the craft. Every time I meet him when we invite him to do a session with our students, I learn something new from him. He has 3 books coming out shortly. To know more about him, you can refer to this link: 

http://www.mumbaimirror.com/article/35/2010080620100806140216292b2836d9a/Between-the-folds.html

We tell our children to take up careers that are a safe bet, but later on in their lives they understand what their true calling is and some of them leave everything else to gain that creative satisfaction. Mostly its a liking or a hobby that they might have developed during their childhood or got inspired by an individual or an idea that they might pursue later. Among the students that I have taught in the initial years have worked in the industry but its nice to see some of them take up their hobbies as their careers and they are doing well. Its nice to nurture that dream and see it materialise some day. Himanshu Tomar is one of those students who I taught in the initial years of my career.... in fact the picture is taken from his collection. Some of them have even gone on to become famous television personalities.

Parents certainly play a very important role in helping their children during their student years. They need to get a good education for sure, in India we say that should see them through at the same time if the child has a gifted talent it can certainly be nurtured and the child can be trained in that aspect, be it a particular sport or an art form. I know a classmate of mine at the catering college who was so passionate about dancing. Yes he had a degree that would've seen him through but the talent that he had has actually taken him places. In fact Terrence Lewis is one of the top choreographers in the country today and has even created a Guinness record for the maximum number of people dancing on a Bollywood choreographed song at a time. 

There are a lot of non- traditional career avenues opening up now that can be explored and so much more can be achieved making you the winner!

PS

I'll keep with my promise of writing about Abhilash Tomy in my posts till he is back from his historic voyage.

(Abhilash Tomy is attempting to be the first Indian on a solo non stop unassisted circumnavigation of the globe)

He is a Naval aviator, sailing at the moment to be the first Indian to take up that kind of a voyage. When he was asked if being a pilot has helped him in the voyage that sees the seas in their element, with loads of swell, rolling and pitching. He says that everything that he did in life has helped him, including adobe Photoshop! Ofcourse one can see that as he is sailing, almost about to round the Cape Horn, maintains his facebook page and updates his blog regularly.

 To know more about Lt. Cdr Tomy and his boat the Mhadei, follow the link below.

Check: www.sagarparikrama2.blogspot.com

             www.Facebook.com/www.mhadei.co.in