A perfect split

Not content with letting their hobbies take a backseat because of their profession we meet individuals who have gone the extra mile and now straddle more than one job with much elan All this for the pleasure of self expressionAyesha Billimoria Athlete ModelAyesha Billimoria might be faster than a speeding bullet when shes on the running track but when in front of the camera she looks nothing less than a glamourous diva Her career as an athlete and model began simultaneously when she was about 16 My first ad was for Shaadicom at the time I was studying at St Xaviers college and made to look like 35yearold woman laughs the 27yearold national level athleteToday Billimoria not only juggles these two professions but is also a sports trainer where she instructs kids and older people on body alignment and indoor strength training She begins her own training at 5 am after which she imparts lessons in body movement to a group of people aged 4050 years at Priyadarshini Park Napean Sea RoadIn the evening she teaches the kids She has also started her own athletic club called the One Track Club where she hopes to nurture thinking athletes Ninety per cent of the training is focussed on the mental level and ten per cent is physical Athletes needs to understand the dynamics of their own mind and body and not blindly follow coaches she says Billimoria who trained in Australia for three years in athletics feels coaches abroad encourage you to think out of the boxTwentyfour hours is more than enough for her to juggle three professions People who say they dont have the time are simply fooling the world she shrugs Her modelling career seems to be flourishing with several sports brands vying to get her on boardAlthough modelling is full of dirt it has great money says Billimoria adding that she will always remain an athlete at heart Although due to an injury her Olympic dream is yet to materialise she hasnt lost hope I will run as long as I can she ends with convictionSofia Ashraf CopywriterRapperSofia Ashraf is a copywriter at Oglivy and Mather by late afternoon and a rapper by night By morning Im sleepy jokes Ashraf who loves music and comes from a family of talented musicians But I was never good at it My fingers would waddle across the piano like a duck in high heels she says Her rapper career happened by fluke Rapping to me is all about speaking my mindAnd thats what got me noticed she says After rapping at college events Ashraf got her first break when she got a call from journalist and activist Nityanand Jayaraman asking her to perform at Justice Rocks mdash a protest concert For the first time I was performing in front an informed crowd that was open to listening to what I actually had to sayThrough Justice Rocks my rap found a voice and I found an identity That identity was a rapper mdash a female rapper in a burkha who raps about her Islamic identity and social taboos mdash the audience loved it Yes I agree it was gimmicky but I was just being myself she says with disarming honesty The turning point in her rapping career came when she got a call from AR Rahman to rap for his songs Ashraf has rapped for the song Jiya Re from Jab Tak Hai Jaan 2012 as well for Sonapareeyan from Maryan 2013Although Ashraf is updated on current trends in rapping she ensures to not blindly ape international artistes Ive always tried to create a style of my own Art is all about baring your mind Rap is a medium that relies heavily on content My opinions are my only tools The day I stop having one is the day my rhymes will stop flowing she saysToday Ashraf is able to juggle both professions with ease and this she feels is because she has been blessed with a rare breed of understanding bosses They know how passionate I am about my music and respect me for it Just as long as I deliver at work they let me frolic about on stage she saysSantosh Sirur BankerRJWhether its working in a foreign bank during the day or soundtracking music during his night show on radio Santosh Sirur is always on the hot seat His stint with radio has been longer than his banking career mdash 20 years as a radio jockey with All India Radio and 15 years into banking Reminiscing his first audition Sirur says I had no training whatsoeverWhile the other candidates waxed eloquent about their prior experience in radio jockeying the only achievement I could talk about was the fancy show I hosted in my colony he laughs Sirur handles the English music show at 10 pm on 1071 FM radio and has been hosting a quiz show for kids called Knowledge RadioSirur feels balancing both jobs is relatively easy as the timings do not clash But family support and organisation support is very crucial On days when you have a weekend show you need that muchneeded nod from the family to head to the studio he admitsSajad Rafeeq EngineerPhotographerSajad Rafeeqs story almost sounds like a rip off from the movie 3 Idiots where his family was staunchly against the idea of him becoming a photographer It took me three years to convince them to follow my passion says Rafeeq who is also an engineer by profession Interestingly he has also worked as a college lecturer in Dehradun in the pastI kept taking up small jobs because I wanted to make time for photography he explains Rafeeq works as a junior engineer at Baglihar dam Chanderkote Ramban located about 150 km from his hometown Pampore Kashmir And while he is not surveying dams he is busy clicking the picturesque beauty of the Valley and its beautiful peopleI am a selftaught photographer It gives me peace and creative satisfaction This is what keeps me going says the Kashmiri lad who won National Geographics realitybased photography show ndash Nat Geo Covershot ndash this year I am an engineer to make a living and a photographer to keep my passion alive he saysSunil Taneja DoctorCommentatorWhile we wonder how Sunil Taneja straddles two seemingly demanding professions mdash being a doctor and a commentator mdash he is quick to clear our doubts Its tough so commentary is my primary profession As an ayurvedic doctor I see very limited patients now he says Taneja even works as an anchor and a voiceover artistHis first job was with ESPNStar Sports as a Hindi commentator The break came about after he participated in a reality TV show called Harsha ki Khoj I reached the semifinal stage A few weeks after the show I got the job offer and thus began my journey in sports media he says Taneja who always nurtured a passion to lend his voice to live sporting events feels he could not have asked for a better job offer to begin withHis resume is rather impressive From cricket to hockey to kabbadi he has had his fair share of commentary in most sporting events I have even done live commentary for the English Premier League EPL Champions League FA Cup FIFA World Cup and EURO But for past a few years I am only doing hockey and kabaddi he says Apart from his sheer love for sports he also owes his knowledge of it to his Punjabi genes Being a Punjabi I know hockey and kabaddi well My only challenge is to make viewers understand these games better he saysTaneja finds it fairly easy to perform his duty as a doctor as he attends to patients at his residence For commentary I have to stay away from my home for weeks and I must thank my wife Dr Shaveta for supporting me and managing my fiveyearold daughter Saanvi I would have not have continued pursuing my passion of doing commentary had Shaveta not supported me he saysTo be a commentator Taneja feels it always works better if you have played the game but if one hasnt one can acquire the knowledge of it I believe you must be a natural commentator first And as a lead commentator my job is to narrate the game to the viewers in a simple and interesting manner he says adding that he is happy with the current limelight that kabbadi has been receivingHis only advice to youngsters who aspire to become commentators is to not be complacent Never ever think that you know your game well The hunger to learn should never end Try to communicate with them as friends Keep your words and work simple he concludes