– Alexshendra Venus Bakshi –
From the recent time to make a career out of your hobby was always considered a tough, though mostly people believe in this as it will make them more productive. Speaking on this issue, Young Author and Advocate Alexshendra Venus Bakshi said, “The concepts of career and hobby are inextricably linked with the blessed phenomenon of Leisure which in its own steed emerged from the amazing phenomenon of Surplus. As the traditional agriculturist society matured and achieved enough surpluses – it provided its members latitude for leisure which generated the cultural landscape of art and crafts. With enough surplus people could now have hobbies where they enjoyed certain activities primarily for pleasure? Many of these hobbies were quickly absorbed by the society as necessities and became full fledged careers in themselves such as carpentry, metallurgy, weaving etc and from this point onward began a most interesting interplay between technology, economy, career and hobbies with every age having its representative careers and so much so its representative hobbies.
As the economy moved from barter to minted money as a mode of exchange- it brought in its wake new careers such as banking and accountancy and the use of paper and pen spawned new hobbies such as calligraphy and canvas art. With the consequent rise of urbanisation new technological skills such as in construction further resulted in new careers and new hobbies. The occupational skills now decided the career and therefore were being kept limited to its guild and thus the notion of career, from this point onward had begun to get iron clad stereotyped. The occupation became hereditary and career was now limited solely to the family occupation. The mobility between careers was almost impossible and so in this age the hobbies just kept to themselves. The career in army however -thanks to the method of conscription- has always been a class apart throughout ages.
With the advent of Industrialisation- the occupational stereotypes were compromised as industrialised urban society provided a whole new set of careers open to all and that also with the momentous anonymity of the city dweller which could not even be imagined in a village or a small town. This strategic combination resulted in an extensive mobility between professions -the guild system collapsed and a festival of hobbies such as theatre, circus ensued which quickly became established professions.
The information technology revolution further accelerated the pace of this transition and provided people enough technological competence and ultimate anonymity to transmute their hobbies into actual careers. People now have the privilege to learn all the new career skills which the technological growth required and also all the new hobbies which the technological growth provided.
Today hobby has once again claimed an economic coefficient. People realised that they have so much of technological empowerment that they can now have their hobby earn money and respect just as a career would. The present economy provides enough surplus and technological latitude for a variety of hobbies to be easily converted into a well defined careers. An illustrative example would be that of the hobby of photography. The hobby of photography has recently achieved the technological competence to be easily maintainable. Today one can make the hobby of photography as one’s career with relative ease. It can thus now be comfortably said that the stereotyped division between career and hobby has to a great extent permeated in present age. The technological growth has also helped ancient hobbies to transit in active careers. Let us take the example of an ancient hobby of wood carving. In today’s age of E-Commerce – one who has a hobby of wood craving can easily have a market for her product and make her hobby a full fledged career. Also let us look at the ancient hobby of playing a musical instrument such as flute. Today a good skill at playing a musical instrument can easily provide a career in film and music industry through the social media itself.
The gradient of respect which is associated with the term career is now slowly been achieved by the term hobby as well. The intrinsic emotional perspective difference between a career in the armed forces of the country and making a hobby a career in the music industry is still operative and it shall take some more time before this difference is dissolved but the stereotype of career as entirely different from the hobby has been no doubt, much compromised.
It is not a falsehood to claim that given a chance everyone would make their hobby a career. The emotive empowerment of passion which a hobby has makes it most enjoyable to follow. It shall also not be wrong to state that what one does passionately- one does perfectly and so if hobby becomes a career, the productivity level would truly be amazing. In not to distant a future- one can say that we will find enough technological and economic competence that we will discover the passion of the child and then make that passion a career for her rather than forcing her to follow something which is away from her interest and that shall be in my opinion- the true actualisation of human dignity.”
_____________
About the author
Alexshendra Venus Bakshi
Author and Advocate
__________
Author is Advocate and a young author who writes in Hindi and already penned down a Book in Hindi to promote Hindi.
_______________
Disclaimer : The views expressed by the author in this feature are entirely her own and do not necessarily reflect the views of INVC NEWS
