From fests to fortunes

At the age of 20 when yoursquore goofing around mdash or even sweating it out mdash at your boisterous annual college festival performing with one of the countryrsquos biggest composers AR Rahman at his concert would seem quite improbable It certainly was for Bachelor of Mass Media student Avinash Tewari of MMK in Bandra West until he found himself sharing the stage with the legend at his show at the DY Patil Stadium in April this year Sultan Barodawala who headed KC Collegersquos annual festival Kiran last year says fests are the next big thing when it comes to landing your dream job Barodawala earned quite a few freelance projects in the media after heading the fest PicAtul Kamble Tewari a beatboxer and music enthusiast used to perform during fillers at various college festivals ldquoBeatboxing was always just a hobby for merdquo he says ldquoMy first real exposure on stage in front of a big crowd was at Jai Hind BMMrsquos festival Detour in 2009 I later took it up professionallyrdquo he says It was during one such fest in January this year BMM festival Cutting Chai of National College in Bandra that Rahman heard Tewari perform ldquoHe had come to the college for about 15 minutes and it was my last festival as a BMM student I made sure I beatboxed even if it was only 30 secondsrdquo says Tewari Later in April just two days before his concert at DY Patil Stadium Rahman remembered Tewari from the fest and asked him to perform on stage ldquoThe next day I sound checked and the day after that I was on stage with Rahman himselfrdquo Tewari gushes He is now part of the band Voctronica created by Sony and The British Council in January 2012 He found a place in the band after applying through an online competition and a undergoing training after a workshop ldquoI donrsquot think any fest could do any better for anyonerdquo he says Itrsquos raining fests Over the next few months many festivals will see Mumbairsquos college students competing in art and culture and management competitions But today fests are not just about having a good time mdash they are stepping stones to lucrative career paths for people like Tewari who know how to make the cut The greatest advantage of festivals lies in the fact that they give students an opportunity to explore sides that cannot be honed by textbooks or set curriculum of universities Festivals can play quite the fairy godmother when it comes to turning onersquos passion into a profession Avinash Tewari second from right a singer and musician was first spotted by AR Rahman during a college fest and performed with him at his concert in April this year Pic CourtesyAvinash Tewari It happened to writer and cartoonist Alok Sharma 31 yearold is currently writing directing and producing the documentary film Chitrakatha Indian Comics Beyond Balloons amp Panels which covers the untold history of the sequential art form in India He however wouldrsquove been a chartered accountant had he not won awards for his cartoons and writing at ironically a commerce collegersquos fest in his hometown Orissau00a0ldquoI remember meeting RK Laxman as a school boy When I showed him my cartoons he liked them a lot but also suggested that I have a viable alternate career plan in case my dream of becoming a cartoonist wasnrsquot fulfilled Following his advice I planned to be a chartered accountantrdquo says Sharma u00a0However when Sharma began interning in the second year at an institute in Madhya Pradesh he realised he would never be happy as a chartered accountant That is when the fests happened ldquoI knew I could be happy only if I was drawing or writing and I started pushing myself in that directionrdquo he says ldquoJust participating in such fests boosts your confidence and if your work gets noticed by the professionals who visit these fests it can help you get small gigs at timesrdquo he explains Sharma got a chance to draw cartoons for local newspapers and write for a couple of publications ldquoOnce you start getting paid for doing things you really love you will never opt for any other careerrdquo he says Bigger really is better With festivals getting bigger every year and companies smarting up to the talent pool they provide therersquos no doubt that many youngsters will land themselves that dream job via a college festival rather than the traditional job interview u00a0ldquoSome advertising agencies use festivals to give their clients better exposure A lot more money will be invested in festivals and as they get bigger and better theyrsquoll involve big judges celebrities huge prizes and opportunities Alok Sharma a writer and cartoonist made it big after participating at college fests in Orissa Pic CourtesyAlok Sharma Earlier college students had to beg companies to sponsor their festival but slowly as the level of professionalism has improved companies have started seeing the goldmine at festivalsrdquo says 20 yearold Sultanali Barodawala who was chairperson of KC Collegersquos annual festival Kiran last year ldquoMore money and professionalism are opening a world of possibilities for college students and companies alikerdquo he says Sultanalirsquos design directorial and managerial skills landed him some cushy offers from media firms and he is currently a freelancer who travels in his free time Success not shortlived Success through fests doesnrsquot fade with time either mdash if yoursquore willing to keep working at it of course Tanmay Bhat for instance is still serious about being a funny guy The 24 yearold is a regular at the Comedy Store at Palladium Lower Parel runs Indiarsquos premier comedy podcast and performs with the countryrsquos first improv troupe The Cardinal Bengans And it all began at a college fest ldquoI canrsquot really say I was lsquostudyingrsquordquo says Bhat ldquobut I attended BMM at National College Bandra and college festivals came my way I won Mr Malhar Kshitij and Fest O Comm The prizes at Malhar were spectacular worth over a couple of lakhs I won phones iPods laptops and vouchers from various sponsors as well as amplifiers for a guitar I still have vouchers to some eatery joints from four years agordquo he says The biggest win for Bhat however were the connections he made that eventually made him a standup comic and a writer ldquoI met a ton of my closest friends and work peers at festivalsrdquo Bhat won the Mr Malhar title in 2008 which was sponsored by a major youth channel ldquoThe head of the channel was one of the judges and I met her at the festival The next day I got a call to come and write for the channel and that was the beginning of my TV writing career A colleague of mine who used to be one of the organisers at Symbiosis Punersquos Fest O Comm called me years later to write a TV show for him and Irsquom still living off that moneyrdquo he says ldquoA lot of college festivals including National Collegersquos Cutting Chai offer direct internships at advertising agencies and other such organisations through festivals Members of several industry realise that kids are talented even at an early age and itrsquos a great idea to tap into them as soon as possiblerdquo sums up Bhat u00a0Itrsquos already begun The students are ready for the challenge And with corporate India fuelling their dreams this onersquos a sure recipe for successu00a0