The Stories Of 12 Inspired Young Indians Who Chose Their Dreams Over Stability [Vol. IV]

“My own heroes are the dreamers, those men and women who tried to make the world a better place than when they found it, whether in small ways or great ones. Some succeeded, some failed, most had mixed results…but it is the effort that’s heroic, as I see it.”

 – George R. R. Martin

We believe you’re familiar with our fascination for those who lead double lives professionally, that we explored through the lives of different individuals across India. These are the guys burning the candle at both ends and doing a fine job at it. Then, there are those who choose to go off the deep end and vouch completely and irrevocably for their dreams (and no, they don’t get much sleep either). For these dreamers, we have another kind of respect, albeit an equally special one.

It takes immense courage – and a healthy dose of madness  – to put an end to what is potentially a financially stable life, to pursue your real calling. So we scoured the space for individuals who have, at different points in their lives, taken a step back and re-evaluated what their dreams meant to them before deciding to throw their entire weight behind them. Here are 16 individuals who’ve truly followed their hearts, and won us over while at it.

[We take on this list yet again, since there's no dearth of passionate dreamers and wanderers. If you missed the first few compilations we did, catch Vol. I,  Vol. II and Vol. III here. All names are in alphabetical order, and not presented in any order of preference.]

I. Adhiraj Singh | Innovative. Creative. Ambitious.

“Dreams are hallucinations without action and execution!”

You can follow Adhiraj and Founder’s Café on Instagram, and LinkedIn.

 II. Akshay Rajpurohit | Homebody. Moody. Idiot.

“Dreams are like music. You see/hear something inside your head but it is useless until you materialise that and put it out there.”

Follow Scribe, Pangea and Aqua Dominatrix on Facebook and give them some love.

 III. Ali Sachedina | Passionate. Discreet. Failed (Musician).

Realize

 “Dreams are meant to be realised.”

Follow Ali on Instagram.

IV. Anjali Batra | Passionate, Real, Eccentric

Who: 26-year-old Anjali Batra is the co-founder and COO of Food Talk India, a digital food community that creates space for people to share some of their best food experiences. One of India's largest digital food influencers, FTI are the ones you should blame for your uncalled-for hunger pangs every time you open Facebook or Instagram.

She worked as a publicist in a fashion and lifestyle agency for over three years before she was convinced that food was where her heart rests. "It was a brilliant opportunity and I got to work closely with some of the greatest names in both the food and the fashion Industry with brands like Olive, Guppy by AI,  Sabyasachi Mukherjee, Shantanu & Nikhil, and Suneet Varma—and I learned heaps and bounds from each one of them. When I look back on it now, I feel like it helped me set the foundation for who I am today and helped me find my calling," she shares.

It started the day she met Shuchir Suri at an official dinner. Soon enough, she filed her resignation and decided to make the dream a reality, "Over time, we each found our place and defined our roles in the company. I am the strategy and creative head of the company.I lookafter the digital marketing and event curation leg of the company—everything from curating bespoke event concepts to campaigns and strategies for various brands in the F&B space.They call me the creative butterfly of the company—not something I am proud of," she says.

What started out as just two people sitting at desks in an empty room is now slowly and steadily growing to become a force to be reckoned with in the F&B industry.

"Two kids with no culinary or hospitality background trying to be disruptive and doing something different. But, we've created a space that gives consumers a voice. We are a social network for food lovers," she conveys, proudly.

Anjali Batra

"Dream is to never stop being different, to ever fit a mould and always be in love with what I do every single day."

On her passion for food:

"Food has always been an obsession in my life. Those who have known me for over a decade would say I even looked the part a few years ago. I've always been fascinated with the industry—the passion, the brilliant opportunities, the people. I knew that I wanted to be a part of all this. When I quit my job, I had absolutely no idea how I would make my way here, but I knew I had to take the leap. I had three months to figure my way out while working off my notice period. Little did I know things would all just work out. I met Shuchir when I was working on my last F&B project. That was in December and one month later, we signed a dotted line and officially became partners and co-owners of Food Talk Pvt. Ltd. To know that you have created something of your own,  and watch it grow into what it has become today, it's an amazing feeling. Having people I have never met in my life come up to me and say: 'Hey, you are Ms Food Talk India right?' and talk about how much they love and use the platforms we have created— that feeling is priceless."

The Biggest Challenge:

"Time. Life is so consumed by work that you don't get the time to stop and take a breath."

One line that inspires her:

"Do one thing every day that scares you" - Eleanor Roosevelt

You can follow Anjali's work on Twitter. 

 V. Ashmeet Kapoor | Driven, Fair, Deliberative

I Say Organic

“Dreams are only realised when you wake up.”

Follow Ashmeet and his work on Instagram

VI. Basu Ratnam | Inquisitive. Calm. Hopeful.

“Dreams are the best predictor of your career path should you have the courage to pursue them.”

Follow Basu on his website and Instagram.

VII. Dhruv Madhok | Driven. Curious. Humorous.

Who: 26-year-old Dhruv Madhok is a former salesman, banker, and consultant-turned-entrepreneur. He is one of the co-founders of Snacket, where he takes up the title of Chief Energy Officer. His job description mainly includes, in his words, ‘keeping all stakeholders excited using positive, powerful and contagious mental, physical and emotional energy’.

“Dreams are just that. They are absolutely nothing without execution. But, it is a good starting point, indeed.”

Follow Dhruv’s work on Instagram.

VIII. Druv Kent | Dare to dream!

About Time

“Dreams are what you spend your waking hours trying to live by.”

Follow Druv on Facebook.

 IX. Jitender Sangwan |Ambitious. Determined. Positive.

"Dreams are some things that don't let you sleep."

You can follow Jitender’s work on Facebook.

X. Kabir Anand Uppal | Self-Driven. Loving. Analytical.

"Dreams are only dreams until you work on making them real."

Follow Kabir and Fitnut on Instagram.

XI. Rikin Gandhi | Astronaut. Farmer. Dreamer

“To dream is to better myself to help others achieve their dreams.”

Follow Rikin’s work on Facebook and Twitter.

XII. Rishi Seth | Relentless. Resourceful. Garfield

“Dreams are there for the taking.”

Follow Rishi’s journey on his Instagram.

If you have a similar story, do reach out to us. We would love to feature you in our next compilation.  E-mail your story to us at contact@homegrown.co.in with the subject line: ‘Passion Pursuers’. 

 Compiled by Krupa Joseph, Raj Rege and Sanyukta Shetty