Passion Vs Profession

They show this bollywood movie '3 idiots' many a times on TV... watched it yet again. I won't talk about the movie as such, but about the idea the movie tried to communicate. One of the idiots, Farhaan (Played by Madhavan), says to his father.. 'Rancho bahut simple si baat kahta hai daddy, us cheej ko apna profession banao, wo kaam karo...jisme tumhe maza ata hai, man lagta hai...fir kaam kaam nahi lagega...khel lagega!' This idea has been of many...that there is nothing better in this world than having your passion as your profession! You never feel tired or bored pursuing your passion...there is no chance you would complain about lack of job satisfaction when your passion is your job!

But easier said than done...there are many questions in my mind....can we really do that...can we really leave everything aside and pursue our passion? I often wonder how many of us do have a real passion for something? They say it's never too late to go for your passion...but is it really true?  

First of all, how can we define passion...and how can I identify what my passion is? Does passion derive from hobby? Don't know.....let me explore hobby and passion out here...!

In layman's terms, I would think a hobby is something, which I like doing the most. Something I can do all the time, 24 hours a day, and 7 days a week..yet can't get enough of it..can't get bored of it. Something I enjoy doing the most...Something that always makes me curious...Something I want to know more about..

I think a hobby would become a passion when you start feeling that this is your life....this is what you are born for. This is what you want to be known for (..if at all you bother about what others think of you!). You can live without your hobby...but I wonder if same can be said about your passion..! - Probably that's the difference between 'just a hobby' and 'passion'!  But come on....who thinks or talks like that...? All this 'funda'...and language is used by Philosophers, spiritual guru kind of people...isn't it??

Let me think what my hobbies are...which I would love to call as my passion (or are those already my passions?),  well, it took 30 years, to realize that there are two things in this world that give me immense joy & satisfaction...that fulfill my sense of creativity...that make me at peace with myself and also with the world....and those are: Music (to be specific - it's Singing...to be more specific - it's singing Gazals!) and Writing. Nothing gives me immense joy and peace other than singing a Gazal of maestro's like Jagjit Singh, Ghulam Ali or Hariharan, Talat mahmood, or Mohammad Rafi. Same joy and peace flows in and out of me, when I am able to write down my thoughts..when I am able to express my views & feelings in written words!

But what is my profession right now? For the past 8 years I have been known as IT professional, and have enjoyed the life as such without many complaints...going to onsite trips.. roaming around the world, having a salary which can't be termed hefty, but enough to lead a comfortable life...let me frame it as 'upper middle class' life in a metro city. Am I used to all this ease & comfort now? If I were to go for my passion now, lets say music, then I can see what lies ahead  - Some real hard-work in terms of learning the nuances of formal classical music and then the struggle in the music industry to carve out a career..I'll loose this consistent supply of a monthly salary I am so used to of! No surety that I will be able to establish myself as a successful singer or composer...there are millions who come to Mumbai to try their luck!

So going for the passion seems to be like taking a plunge into unknown...into uncertainty...! 

I am sure everyone of us has thought about living their passion at some stage in their life...but only some have the will and strength to go for it.


May God give that strength to the rest of us! - Wishing everybody a Happy Diwali!!