A Musical Man

Some people often have dreams of their children becoming doctorx, engineers and other professions. In order to accomplish those dreams, parents many times force their children to join colleges and courses which they don’t like, and in doing so never really listen to what their children really want. From music to a whole lot of other talents youngsters today have a variety of talents and are well equipped to earn, doing what they like.

Youth doing what they like

 

There are talented people in every aspect of life which badly needs to be promoted, but unfortunately that’s not the case. In a day and age where academics take a priority, it’s no wonder other qualities of a person take a backseat, rarely do we hear about people who break such barriers. One such talented individual is Yohaan Samuel Rodrigues, a student of Presidency school in Mangalore in 10^th standard, who plays 5 instruments. 

 

The talented Yohaan

“I can play the guitar, the bass guitar, the saxophone, I can also play the keyboard a bit, along with playing the harmonica and the guitar simultaneously” commented Yohaan, on all the musical instruments he knows.

Yohaan playing the Saxophne

“I started playing the keyboard when I was 5 years old, but I wasn’t really interested in it. I wanted to play the guitar, but nobody was willing to teach me until the age of 7 when I finally started learning the guitar” commented Yohaan, regarding his musical journey.

Yohaan playing the guitar

Yohann further adds that “when I was 9 or 10 years old, my Dad encouraged me to learn the Harmonica, after being on the hunt for months, we finally found a teacher who gave me a few classes, along with showing me how to play the guitar and harmonica simultaneously”. “I was always interested in learning the Saxophone, my supportive parents encouraged me by giving me a Saxophone” said Yohaan about learning the Saxophone.

Yohaan, the Saxophone player

It was purely Yohaan’s interest in music which drove him to learn so many instruments. “I am not a person who plays through notes. I try to transfer whatever I feel within me, whenever I play any instrument, to the audience” says Yohaan on his experiences of playing music. He goes on further to add that “I enjoy playing any instrument, as playing an instrument is a soothing feeling. 

 

   

Scribble Art

Most people in the world often are so engrossed in studies and colleges that they often ignore the fact that there is a life beyond colleges and jobs. Society often becomes so competitive that it kills the creativity of people without even realizing it. If people look beyond books and studies they will realize that there are lots of different avenues people can use to generate money and earn their livelihood. Doodles are one of those increasingly popular and creative ways to make a living.

A Doodle

Mithisha Amin, a former student of Narsee Monjee College in Bombay who went on to pursue her MBA in HR from Jankidevi Bajaj Institute of Management Studies in Bombay is a doodle artist and a photographer. She began her business journey with ‘blink 13’, an Instagram and Facebook page in which she sells customized doodles for birthdays, wedding anniversaries, wedding gifts and various occasions.

A Doodle by Mithisha

“I ask clients questions about the person for whom the doodle is meant for, based on which I create a doodle exclusively for them, highlighting the personality and interests about the subjects of the doodle. Apart from customised doodles, I also make generic doodles and get them printed on mugs, notebooks, frames, calendars and other materials” said Mithisha, about the tricks of her trade.

 

A Generic Doodle by Mithisha

In addition to making creative doodles, she also is a freelance photographer. She says “I shoot events like birthdays, pre-wedding shoots, products shoots and small scale events”.  “Initially ‘blink13’ started as a photography page, it slowly evolved into a platform for showcasing my doodles”.

A photograph by 'blink13'

 “Since the human eye is often compared to a camera, blink refers to the shutter going off for every photo clicked and since I like the number 13 which also coincides with the day I was born. ‘blink13’ came into existence. ‘Blink’ also had the word ‘ink’ which conveys the doodle aspect of what I wanted to show” added Mithisha on the unique name for her page.

A bookmark by Mithisha

“The most prominent emotions would be peace and joy. I have always wanted to do something which I am passionate about, even though it took me a while to accomplish my goals, it was worth it” said Mithisha on the happiness derived from accomplishing her goals.

A type of Doodle by Mithisha

She definitely faced obstacles out of which the biggest obstacle was the financial resources, “on  the recommendation of my friend, I joined the marketing groups on Facebook which boosted my salary. Instagram and Facebook have been key players in my road to success”.

Life 'N' More

In life, people often think the only goal they have, what they can do is restricted to attending college, finding a job with a decent salary and repeating the cycle all over again, but that’s not necessarily true. In life we meet so many talented individuals, that we wish we had a life like theirs, and achieve so many extraordinary things in an ordinary life.

 

Breaking boundaries, not restricting

 We encounter such talented individuals in our everyday life either in our workplaces or in our colleges. One such talented individual is Rachael Flora Noronha, a student pursuing her undergraduate degree in B.Com also is a national level powerlifter, a student of fashion design and a member of two bike clubs, ‘Bikerni’ & ‘The Crew’ along with having a business where she sells a numbers diverse things like wedding bouquets, tiaras, dreamcatchers, art & craft items, thread jewellery, gift cards, Valentine Day gifts and a lot more which she sells on the internet and through advertisements in the magazine of the church which she attends. 

Silk thread jewellery by Rachael

‘Bikerni’ is a club exclusively for female riders whereas ‘The Crew’ is open for both male as well as female riders. Both these groups organise themselves through WhatsApp groups. She mentions “Out of the two, The Crew is the more active group where we meet up and go for rides” She adds “When I joined The Crew, I was the sole female rider in the group, but now the Crew has 40 members including 5 female riders”.

 

Rachael during her trips

She says “Both these clubs promote biking brotherhood & sisterhood” She also adds “they have become like my family now”. On her longest bike trip with the clubs, she mentions “My longest trip with the Crew was when I rode to Ballari in Karnataka which is 1600 kms and my longest trip and my longest trip with Bikeni was when I rode to Dandeli in Karnataka which is next to Goa”.

Bikes on a halt during the journey

“It’s my passion, my life, my everything” says Rachael when asked what riding and fashion designing means to her. “People ridiculed me for both my fondness for riding as well as fashion designing. When I ride my bike people used to ask me why am I acting like a man and they also said that there’s no future for me in fashion designing” commented Rachel on facing obstacles in her journey.

    

A real myth

Superstitions are something which have existed in the world since ancient times, some continue to exist in the 21^st century, for example if a black cat crosses your path, bad luck is bound to follow and many such ridiculous superstitions continue to exist even today. Dreamcatchers are another example of superstitions which are associated with dreams, Dreamcatchers has its origins in the tribes of Native Americans.

 

A Dreamcatcher

 
The belief associated with Dreamcatchers is a separate story altogether from the people behind the creative designs of the Dreamcatchers which is exactly what Poojitha Poojary, a student of Srinivas University, Valachil  in Mangalore is, a designer of Dreamcatchers. Poojitha, along with pursuing Computer Science from Srinivas is also a designer of this unique skill
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Poojiths designing a Dreamcatcher

Dreamcatchers are usually kept in bedrooms, according to myths it helped to fight the negative dreams which were caught in its web. Dreamcatchers have a different meaning today and helps in beautifying homes. “Designing Dreamcatchers helped me earn my living when I had nothing to rely on. There were a few moments when I felt like quitting but the emotional attachment behind it prevented me from doing it” commented Poojitha on the emotions felt while designing Dreamcatchers.

 

A Dreamcatcher

“I saw a girl designing a Dreamcatcher which caught my attention and I turned to the internet for learning about Dreamcatcher, upon surfing the interest my level of interest regarding Dreamcatchers grew resulting in me designing Dreamcatchers” said Poojitha

A Beautiful Dreamcatcher by Poojitha

Initially there were a lot of obstacles in Poojitha’s journey. “When I began designing Dreamcatchers I didn’t receive any support from people. My parents weren’t aware of my newfound hobby, moreover they would question me and ask me why I was spending my time and money on such stupid things, hearing this constantly would humiliate me but one of my friend supported me by bringing the materials required without caring about the cost, he just wanted me to succeed and be happy in doing whatever I am doing. Eventually I developed a sense of self confidence and thought to myself that the people who keep on teasing me don’t know even to tie a single thread required in making Dreamcatchers. I would understand people who are familiar with Dreamcatchers teasing me but people with zero knowledge of Dreamcatchers absolutely have no right to tease me”

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A cultural revival

Music and dance go hand in hand and they have a world of their own with many different forms which can be broadly classified as Western and Classical. While learning western music and dance forms can be a fascinating thing, exploring the classical world of songs and dance is also equally interesting which is exactly what a student pursuing her P.G in English is doing.

 

A classical dancer

Manasa Hegde, a student of St. Aloysius College (Autonomous), Mangalore, is pursuing her masters in English and is also a player of harmonium, but she didn’t restrict herself to only that and also went on further to learn the keyboard. She began learning the harmonium at the young age of 10 and then continued with the keyboard, learning it for two or three years. She also learnt Carnatic music for 15 years which she continues till date. She even learnt Bharatanatyam for 10 years

Young Manasa giving a Carnatic music performance

Apart from these two instruments, she also tried her hand at playing flute and guitar. Unfortunately, she couldn’t learn either of them as she could not sing songs at a very high pitch or above ‘C’ pitch as her voice is more suited for classical singing. She also is a Bharatanatyam dancer, but unfortunately she had to discontinue it as her personal issues hampered her regularity, following which she joined Alvas College in Moodbidri for her undergraduate studies. 

 

Manasa singing Classical music

Manasa gave tonnes of music and dance performance before going to Alvas and then in Alvas and in various parts of Karnataka. 

 

Manasa at a music performance

She says, “I look forward to continuing it, but am unable to do so now.” Apart from Bharatanatyam she can also perform other dance styles like Bollywood, folk dances and many more which she learnt all by herself. “I would love to learn western and contemporary dance forms which would be challenging” She says.

 

Manasa in her Yakshagana outfit

She adds “My mom gave me permission to join both singing classes when I was 5 years and dance classes when I was six years old, I love both singing and dancing equally.”  

Heart touching melodies

‘All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy.’ says an old English saying and the saying is quite true. We all need to balance both work aspects as well as entertainment aspect in our lives. Entertainment in the 21^st century takes many forms, one of them being music. From Bible related music to listening to songs on a headphone, music is an important aspect of human life.

Beautiful music being made via a guitar

Jovita Mishelle Rodrigues, a student of M.Com at St Aloysius College Autonomous, Mangalore plays two instruments, the guitar and the keyboard. She started playing instruments from the young age of 12 starting with the keyboard and then going on to learn the guitar at the age of 18. She admits, “Even though I’m not a professional, I’ve been working hard to improve my skills”
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Jovita playing the guitar

She used her skills in playing the keyboard at the church since 2010. “My mom was my inspiration in learning the keyboard as she forced me into it, I learnt the guitar because I developed a taste for it” she adds.

Jovita on the Keyboard performing for an audience

“I feel music, I feel love because that’s something I’m passionate about. I forget where I am or who’s watching me when I play the keyboard. I get into the mood of the song or hymn that I play, I try to do justice to it by rendering it the way the original composers rendered it.” she says when asked to describe the emotions and the feelings attached with playing musical instruments.

Jovita performing in front of an audience

She faced lots of humiliations initially with people laughing at what she played but her mom got her through those dark times and kept motivating her. “Today whatever I am, I owe it to her,” she admits. As a beginner, her attempts to play in the church were a failure, but that didn’t stop her from practicing until she perfected it.