These city techies are artists at heart

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They are supposed to be fast, tech-savvy and conversant in all things modern. They work hard and earn handsomely. But contrary to popular belief, most of them don’t have to struggle to have a social life. In fact, some make time to follow their passion too. Let’s meet a few such ‘techies’ and learn about what else drives them.
Amartya Bhattacharyya
He’s a suave and smart team leader in an MNC in Bhubaneswar, but the 30-year-old is equally
passionate about filmmaking.And how! He’s so good that one of his short films, Benaras: The Unexplored Attachments, has won a National Award. Amartya, who leads a team of 20 engineers at work, has made 10 shorts and a few feature films in Bengali, Odia and English. “As a student in school and college, I’d act in plays. Then I started writing poems after joining a job. That’s also when I started making films. It has been going great so far,” said Amartya, who spends weekends and holidays pursuing his greatest passion.

Chandan Kar
He has been an IT professional for 15 years now and even has four patents to his name. But then, he got his first taste of acting in films and there has been no looking back since. He has acted in more than 10 Odia films over the years. “I wasn’t into acting till a friend approached me for a movie. Though I was reluctant at first, later I agreed. Now, I normally take offs to act in films if I have enough leaves and also at night or on weekends,” he told us.

Anurag Kriti
He has been working as a project engineer for a couple of years now, but that hasn’t doused his passion for music. Now, this trained Hindustani classical singer is quite a popular name in the state’s music circuit. Anurag, who is also a poet, told us, “I love to perform live. I enjoy it when people cheer for me. It’s an amazing feeling. I find time on weekends and after work to indulge in my musical pursuit,” said Anurag.

Milan Puri
He has been an IT professional for three years now, but has never let work pressure affect his love for photography and music. “Even after I joined the company, I followed my passion. Both photography and music are close to my heart and I’m hopeful that I would make a name for myself in these areas one day,” Milan told us.

Swastik Choudhury
He has completed 11 years in the IT sector, but that never kept him away from his core passion — acting. This techie is also Amartya’s colleague! In fact, he has acted and worked as the production head in several shorts and films helmed by Amartya. Swastik told us that he has been passionate about writing since school. “When I landed my first job in Chennai, I started learning Tamil with the hope that I’d get a break in the film industry there. But then I took a transfer to Bhubaneswar and started seeing things in a different light. Now, I work with Amartya,” he signed off.