Trust the voice inside you and back it with action. This voice first came when a four-year-old me saw a distant cousin playing the violin, marking the start of my relationship with the instrument. From the very first moment, I beheld a violin with a magical kind of wonder. And that never changed — not when I was ten, or twenty, or thirty.
I was decent in academics; hence my father had high hopes for me. But I never took it seriously. While many of my friends went abroad to pursue their master’s degree, I decided to stay back and learn violin under my guru Shri.S.V.Ramachandran. I had little idea then that this choice would lead me down a completely different path in life. Although I was serious about playing the violin, never had I thought of being a full-time musician.
In 2012, while I was at my first job at Indian Additives Limited, I met Neeraj Arya while performing on the streets of Mumbai as part of the non-profit Natural Streets for Performing Arts (NSPA) that promotes music at public promenades. Arya and I started performing as a duo with a guitar and a violin, laced with Kabir’s dohas and sakhis. This led to the formation of Kabir Café, a neo-folk band performing the verses of Kabir, the 15th-century mystic.
From performing over 800 concerts to being empanelled with Indian Council for Cultural Relations (ICCR), Kabir Cafe not only allowed me to travel across 14 countries but also helped me experience diverse art forms across India. It was disheartening to learn that many such art forms are dying now because the masses simply aren't aware of their existence.
Music has given me lifelong memories, incredible friends, my wife, and now a purpose. I want to build an organisation that can heal people of their mental and psychological troubles via music. Apart from working in the music healing space, I want to help create awareness of the various folk-art forms across India. For this, I needed to strengthen my business knowledge, leading me to pursue an MBA.
After days of preparation amidst performances and erratic travel schedules, I managed to secure a decent GMAT score on my second attempt, allowing me to interview with the esteemed panel at IIM Ahmedabad. Nervous, anxious yet excited, I tried to be as genuine as possible in the interview. The moment I saw the congratulatory note on the portal, I re-logged in to double-check, in disbelief, with tears rolling down.
There is one Doha from Kabir that has stayed with me through ups and downs:
Dheere Dheere Re Mana,
Dheere Sab Kuch Hoye,
Mali Seenche So Ghara,
Ritu Aaye Phal Hoye
I strongly believe that good things come to you at the right time. My dream, my time at MBA-PGPX, IIM Ahmedabad has started. Yours too will when the right time comes.
~Mukund Ramaswamy
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