An Artist Talks about Hobbies, Passion, and Family
Sourya Chakrabarti | Everyday People #77
Hi, this is #EverydayPeople. This week, I interview Mr. Sourya Chakrabarti. This was conducted as a podcast — a selection of Sourya’s answers have been transcribed below.
History of this project rrrrrrrrrright at the bottom. Enjoy this chat!
1. Who are you, what do you do, and what is your current side project?
I’m Sourya and I’m a guy with multiple interests. Over time, I’ve figured out that if I actively invest time enough, I can get better at what I attempt.
I grew up all over the Middle East, and have changed like, 9 schools, so growing up, it was pretty much new experiences and cultures all the time. I’m from Kolkata, and when you’re in a Bengali family, it’s often expected that the child has many different hobbies. We were ushered as we grew up to do this and do that, and it’s not that we excelled at them, but we made a modest effort.
Over the years, I’ve used that and the cultural experiences I’ve had in different countries to mould myself and reach some foothold, and say proudly, that this is my history and past and this is what I’m good at.
I’m into advertising — strategic PR, and that is my day job. But when the lights go down, everything changes and I become a freelance artist and illustrator. I sing, I perform, and I play a couple of instruments. And over the last few years, I’ve taken my love for food into the kitchen and learned how to cook.
2. Which of your hobbies did you naturally lean into, and which started with family pressure, but you eventually learned to love?
So, well, I wouldn’t use the word ‘pressure’, it was mostly just gentle ushering like, “Why don’t you try it? You would like it.”
I remember initially — art for me has a big significance. I don’t come from a family of artists, but it is something I have developed over time and experimented with. I remember there was a little cartoon when we were young called Ninja Turtles and I used to draw them. It was hilarious, the muscles looked like intestines. So every time a bit of positive criticism, a bit of [illogical] criticism from non-artists just helped me exude a lot of style and venture into the various dynamics concerning art in general. And you know, I am some sort of self-proclaimed artist.
For me, art is my therapy. It is my solace and retreat. So if I am at the lowest of lows, I don’t think I ever have a dark moment, because I have a very close-knit family and we have always been there for each other. I do try to actively draw and spend time alone by myself. After a dull work day, just a little bit of a doodle, just a sketch, and I am in my happy place. But definitely, some points in my life, I would like to have my work displayed in local galleries, get people ooh-ing and aah-ing at what they see and that’s the dream.
3. So what excites you about advertising? Why did you choose to get into this field? Why did you choose to become an artist in the advertising field?
Well, my work does not pertain anything to art. I work in PR. I deal with clients. But definitely, you know, let’s say we are having a busy day and the graphic design team requires me to fill in or somebody isn’t showing that much of enthusiasm, I am more than happy to delve in and get stuff done.
For me, advertising is generally delivering an experience to a consumer. So I try to — because I am a creative — so I try to come up with different creative means during group discussions to, you know, give that overall experience which blends art, which blends literature, which blends, you know, a little of profit and losses as well, because it definitely needs to be project friendly and reach some point of harmony with the clients.
4. Since you have moved around so much, if you had to sum up the human experience in three key pieces of advice, what would they be?
Well, what I have seen from my upbringing, any family is not without its share of pros and cons. I mean especially, if you are growing up in the 21st century, you have got a lot of distractions. You have got a bunch of external and internal hindrances, pressures, expectations. And that way I have been very fortunate to be blessed with a family which truly respects my passion and also, my interest towards anything.
My direct advice would be to have some faith in people who have got your back, be it friends, guardians, family. Just have faith in them. And in time, you might definitely have things you want to do and are not able to, you might not be able to spend time enough, you might just get the green signal or you can do it and show it to them. So I personally believe that you have to prioritise your roots and prioritise the people who care about you.
The second piece of advice would be to never have an idle moment. They say an idle mind is a devil’s workshop. And because I do a lot of things, I constantly am creatively engaging myself. It could be anything, it could be as mundane as making circles on a piece of paper to recreating a MasterChef recipe. There is always time to do the things you love. Learn how to love the things you do. Explore your passions.
Nowadays, when it comes to the other spectrum, we tend to rely on our screen devices for a greater part of our recreation. Old school things like reading books or just a random sketch or photography or walking out — these things are getting lost in the midst. And that’s why companies like Nintendo are coming out with things like Pokemon Go to make you go out and explore a bit [laughs]. But yeah, I think you should give unto leeway to your passions and your caliber and figure them out. If you truly feel like you are coming up with a little bit of a block, it’s completely understandable. Make a trip, invest time and/or money and go to a counselor. And find out what you are good at, and nurture them and develop them. Make them prominent. You never know which skill might come in and when.
And my final advice would be — don’t have any fears or inhibitions over what you can’t understand. Explore it. Don’t believe in hearsay. Try to figure it out for yourself. Explore. Talk to people. And always, don’t take things at face value. I think this has really helped mold me into the person I am today, because I strongly believe that appearances can be deceptive. And because of that, I completely take the time to do background checks or research before I take the leap of faith.
5. What can you leave the audience with? What can they explore next?
Well, I can leave the audience with a treasure trove of fun illustrations on my Instagram account (@thedetailier).
So funny story, I had an Instagram account and a Facebook one. I used to draw just for the sake of it. I really never thought I would be selling it or making a buck. One of my clients, he was a local client from Kolkata. He said, “why don’t you promote it on social media and see how it turns out? Get an audience.”
And I think that’s what I did, and I opened it. And I received active support from the community, local artists, budding artists, and it’s been three or four months now and I can proudly say it has reached some point where I am proud of what I do. When I get time in the week, I just put it up.
So if you are hearing this, and you love fine artwork. I encourage you to firstly have your own account, promote your hobbies there, and if you have the time- if you have the time to spare rather, do check my profile out. It doesn’t disappoint.
[The conversation continues, exploring personal motivation, passion, and a lot of things. Do check out the podcast above for more!]
Henlo fren. If you made it all the way here, THANK YOU for reading! Did you enjoy it?
#EverydayPeople is season 2 (and up) of Talkback Tuesday, a project I started in 2016 because I wanted something easy to do. Who knew it would become more complex?
This is a weekly (ahem) interview with everyday people. I think it is inspirational to look into the life of another person and realize it is just as complex and large and confusing as your own. Hopefully you do too!
Next, check out the previous interview with Sangeetha Alwar by clicking on the image below.
Sangeetha is an English teacher, artist, and poet who explores body positivity, identity, and literature on her Instagram.
