IT IS BETTER TO TRY AND FAIL INSTEAD OF NOT TRYING AT ALL

    

 

In today’s mundane life when office work is mostly happening from home, where salaries have been cut but the work has increased, there are also people who find ways of embracing life and keeping themselves up tempo!

Meet Neeraj Banka from Kolkata. Neeraj has his own business of car accessories and automobiles called POLYAD. He is also the lead singer and keyboardist of a band called GAONA.

 

Q- Hi Neeraj! Tell me about your professional journey from scratch.

A-Hi Pooja. I am into the business of car accessories, car parts and automobiles. Music was always a passion for me, right from school when I was in standard 8^th! I was always an active member of my school and college bands. I have also represented my school and college in various fairs all over the country! Once I started working, music did take a backseat but I never left music! In 2016 when I joined BNI, I once again got the opportunity to live my passion! I got together with Krishna who is my friend from BNI. We formed our band called GAONA and started performing at various places. We have performed at top lounges and weddings in Kolkata, award functions of BNI and love it!

 

Q-Do you ever find it difficult to balance your music with your profession?

A-Yes, sometimes it has happened that we had to let go off shows for work, but things are getting more streamlined with time. We do struggle with rehearsals occasionally, but somehow make time for them. We get together twice a week for rehearsals.

 

Q- Talking of your band Gaona, how do you and Krishna complement each other?

A-If I say technically, we both share very different textures of voice. For a good sound, there should be an equal amount of sharpness and base to it. Krishna has a great base in his voice and my voice is sharp. When we sing together, we balance each other!

 

Q-You and Krishna have done so many shows together. Do you have a crazy fan moment?

A- We hang out with several local singers of Kolkata who are quite popular in their circle. I feel elated to say that we now are friends with these singers who we admired from a distance once! We have a singer friend – Sunny and before we met him, we loved his singing and always thought if we could ever perform like him! You know what happened in the last show? We were performing and Sunny was sitting right in front of us in the audience!

 

Q-That must have been amazing! Has covid effected your profession and passion?

A-My business of car accessories has not been effected. In fact, automobile business is one of the few trades that have increased in this period. Yes the singing shows have decreased! Last year, before the lockdown, we had about 12 shows lined up in March and April, which all got cancelled! If there was no lockdown, we would have been at a different level today! So I have to admit that we did get a setback there!

 

Q-You and Krishna have set an example for people who want to pursue their passion but are unable to do so! What is your message to such people?

A-If we had not gotten together to form Gaona, we were making money anyway! In the initial period of Gaona, we also performed free of cost at so many places! Even today, our motto is not money! We sing for our passion!

I want to tell all the people who want to pursue their passion that passion is something that unwinds you from the tiredness of life! So make time for it and once you start pursuing your passion, you will see your life smiling at you!

I also want to tell people who know that they have a talent, but are apprehensive to show it. Without worrying about the result, come out, perform and show your talent to the world! Now a days, there are so many opportunities for everyone. There are so many reality shows and competitions. Things are really very easy as compared to10 years back! You should definitely give it a try. It is better to try and fail instead of not trying at all!

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                

Q- Neeraj that is very well said! Thank you for this inspiring conversation and all the very best!

A-Thank you Pooja!

 

Neeraj Banka from Kolkata owns a business of car accessories and automobiles called POLYAD. He is also the lead singer and keyboardist of the band GAONA.

 

Neeraj and Krishna

 

 

This article has been written by Pooja Gupta. Currently a freelance writer and an anchor, she is also a former Radio Jockey. She hosts all kinds of shows and writes everything from ads, promos, articles, dialogues, short films, screenplays, feature films and even web series. For work, she can be contacted on pooja.gupta2178@yahoo.com.