“I slept and dreamt that life was a joy. I awoke and saw that life was service. I acted and behold, service was joy” – Rabindranath Tagore. Dreaming is not always bad for us as it gives reason to look forward and to act according to that. In the adolescent period or childhood, we always dwelt in the imaginary realm; where we rule ourselves. But soon our society makes us believe that we are here for something more important and our parents’ expectation from us, is an add-on. This time Satyavachan by Peach Blink brings to you the story of a creative personality who took a stand for himself and his dreams and gave birth to his own wings of will; Mr. Siddhartha Vankar
Mr. Siddhartha Vankar is a well-known name of tele-industry who hails from the city of Kanpur. His parents were IIT scientists and were skeptical of what he will do when he will grow up. Mr. Vankar struggled with his studies but his inclination towards writing was growing subsequently. Mrs. Urmila Jain, who was his mother’s friend and a teacher too became an angel for him and she said, “he is wired differently”. He managed to cajole his parents that he can achieve the zenith of success. Mr. Vankar was an avid reader and always tried his best so he can write alike those writers. He read the magnificent novel ‘Kafka On The Shore’ at the age of 14. In his class 12th, he wrote ‘Chaturmas; a story of a relationship between a Jain-female Monk & a Jain Businessman. He laughed when he recalled his days before his board exam when he indulged himself in the creation of art and his mother freaked out then and there. It is noteworthy that his Nana and Nani were journalist and writer respectively and his mother had a theatre background. Apart from that, Mirza Galib’s poems and ‘Jonathan Livingston Seagull’ by Richard Bach, Mrs. Urmila Jain’s guidance and his inbuilt creative zeal propelled him to be what he is today!
His poor marks and inactive attitude towards science subjects or 9-to-5 jobs always made him a piece of gossip. But he was pretty convinced for what he adamantly desired. Mr. Vankar said, “I don’t plan too much”. He believes in destiny; so, when Mrs. Jain suggested him to opt for Mass Communication, he readily accepted the proposal and enrolled himself in the ‘Manipal Institute of Communication’. From then on, he never had to look back!
Recently he authored a book, ‘LOVE AT MANIPAL’, which became quite popular. His second book is on its way to get published which is a mystery story revolving around an actress and her death. His third book is an accumulation of his blogs, ‘truethat_saurabh’, where he shares his wisdom every day after his meditation at 4.00 a.m. So now, when he had a glance back at his past days and struggle, he said, “I never regret anything I have done so far as wrong or right. Whatever decision I have taken has always helped me to unravel as who I am today”.
Mr. Vankar shared, “before the Manipal chapter ended, I worked for Fireworks Media as an Assistant Director of the Executive Producer in 2005 on the project of C.I.D. at that point. I wrote an episode that grabbed the attention of the producers and after Manipal, I joined there. In 2009, I joined Star Plus and bagged several projects as a Creative Director like ‘Balika Vadhu’, ‘Mariyam Khan Reporting Live’, ‘Ek Tha Raja Ek Thi Rani’ and to name a few. I am the creative director of one of Hindi GEC’s biggest shows at present ‘Ghum Hai Kisikey Pyaar Meiin”. He won the ‘Article 19 Award’ for his remarkable contribution to his radio projects. In the past when he found it hard to make anyone believe in his dream and himself, his mother extended her hand to caress him and soon after, his father also realized and supported his tireless endeavor. When Mr. Vankar’s parents used to see their son’s name in the credits, they used to swell with pride recognizing his heartfelt efforts.
When Mr. Vankar was asked about how he manages himself in the low tides, he sportingly replied; “I distract myself. Life is all about ups and downs and I can’t hold baggage if it's continuously pushing me towards something that I don’t deserve. I love spending time with my friends, family, and with my beloved wife”. He especially mentioned the name of his dearest friends Ms. Swati, Ms. Madhu, and Mr. Amar who encouraged him to do everything that his heart desired, and his humble wife Mrs. Kritika Gupta, who is an engineer by profession, stayed in his ups & downs and pushed him to achieve the peak of his success. Mr. Vankar lightly mentioned that his wife is the bread & butter earner of the family whereas he is the pizza-pasta earner. He said, “I am now a senior person in the industry and have seen worst to best. But still deep down I feel drinking or any other escape route will never soothe your pain”. Though he never tried to lecture anyone, that was a humble suggestion for everyone.
Mr. Vankar said something specific which grabbed our attention. He said, “looking at everything in a pessimistic way, should never be an attitude”. Mr. Vankar smiled and said, “I am a daydreamer” and has set an example for all those daydreamers who believed and tried to be the best in their respective fields as he has enlightened us to be consistent towards our dream and has entertained us with his wonderful scripts and emerged as a story-teller for us Indians who eagerly wait for him by sitting in front of the T.V. every day. The struggle, dedication, tenacity, consistency, and his ambitious nature has made him SIDDHARTHA VANKAR.
A personal message from Mr. Siddhartha Vankar “what is meant to happen, it will happen whenever the time is right. So why should we waste our time by just procrastinating or overthinking? Just look at that one flower from the window and be happy as it is not easy to get back to the life, we used to live in. But ultimately, we are the ones who can control it. I just want to add that, to all the parents- please do remember all the students who sit in exams, there is an artist who doesn’t need to understand Maths. There is an entrepreneur who doesn’t care about History or English literature. There is a musician whose Chemistry marks won’t matter. There is an athlete whose physical fitness is more important than physics. If your child does get top marks that’s great! But if he or she doesn’t plead don’t take away their self-confidence and dignity from them. Tell them it’s OK. It’s just an exam! They are cut out for much bigger things in life. Tell them no matter what they score... you love them and won’t judge them. Please do this, and when you do... watch your children conquer the world. One exam or a low mark won’t take away their dreams and talent. And please do not think that doctors and engineers are the only people who are happy in this world.”
By,
Team Satyavachan