Doing a job and following a passion simultaneously is not as easy as it may seem, especially if you are in the civil services. The high responsibilities that this job brings along with it, often leaves an officer with very little time and energy to pursue hobbies and other interests in life. Yet, there are civil servants who are balancing work and passion perfectly and are making a wonderful job of it.
IRS officer Anand Kumar is one such bureaucrat. In fact, he is one step ahead, as he is not just pursuing one art form, but multiple forms at the same time. From painting to singing, playing musical instrument to sports, this officer amazes his colleagues and friends with his talents.
Mr. Kumar is currently posted as Joint Commissioner, Income Taxes, in Guwahati. During an exclusive conversation with Indian Masterminds, he shared about his interest in various forms of arts.
AN EMINENT PAINTER
Mr. Kumar is an engineering graduate who grew up in a family with a defence background. His father retired as Brigadier is currently the Vice Chancellor in Amity University. Since his school days, Mr. Kumar was inclined towards arts and music. The love for painting grew along with his age, and from the past 15 years, he has been pursuing and exploring this art. He started with pencil sketches and then tried his hands at charcoal painting. Now, he mostly works with water colours.
Till now, his work has been showcased in more than 30 exhibitions in the country and abroad. His work was exhibited in the 3rd International Water Colour Society exhibition which was organized in National Art Gallery, New Delhi this year. He was one of the artists from 60 countries whose work was presented in this exhibition.
Besides this, his work was present in International Art Festivals Borders (Venice) and many other exhibitions of repute. He was also among the 50 artists from India who were featured in a Coffee Table Book by Art Affairs.
EXPLORING OTHER GENRES
Explaining why he mostly uses water colour for his works, he said, “It is a very dynamic and fluid medium. You not only play with colours, but also have to play with the properties of water. One need to have control to present their imagination in this medium. This medium is challenging as well as interesting. So, I like it!”
Nowadays, he is also trying his hands at oil painting. He is so passionate about painting that there are times when he loses track of time while he is creating something new on canvas. “Whenever I get time from my work and family, I paint. It helps me to de-stress. Sometimes, I am so engaged with the paints and brush that I don’t even realise when night turns into day, he said.
LOVE FOR SINGING & MUSIC
Mr. Kumar’s talents are not just limited to painting. He is trained in Indian classical music and also playsmultiple instruments, including harmonium, drum, tabla and flute. During his school and college days, many of his programmes were broadcasted from AIR Nagpur, AIR Gwalior and Doordarshan Nagpur. He has also done many stage shows and keeps participating in music festivals.
Sharing his future plans on the singing front, he said, “I am working on a musical album that will have some cover songs. I am hoping to complete it soon and present it to the public.”
But, this is not all. He has done more than a dozen marathons (half, full and ultra) and has also won medals in badminton. This, we will highlight in the second part.
(To be continued….)
