ADVENTURE DANCING AWAY FROM CORPORATE LADDER

Here’s why corporate employees in the Capital are ditching their high-salary jobs to pursue and revive their passion for dance

The arrival of e-readers had led many to predict the death of physical books in the near future. But clearly, the trend of e-books was ephemeral as the printed word seems to have staged a comeback. A new UK study suggests that the readers are ditching e-books and returning to physical ones.

Confirming the fact that readers are loyal to physical books, Avanija Sundaramurti, head of marketing, Hachette India, which is headquartered in Delhi, says, “E-books constitute just 6-10 % of our total publishing. It’s usually the paperbacks which outsell the e-books.”

Sales of consumer e-books plunged 17% in the United Kingdom in 2016, according to the Publishers Association. Sales of physical books and journals went up by 7% over the same period, while children’s books surged by 16%. The same trend is on display in the US, where e-book sales declined 18.7% over the first nine months of 2016, according to the Association of American Publishers. Paperback sales were up 7.5% over the same period, and hardback sales increased 4.1%. “The print format is appealing to many,” said Phil Stokes, head of PwC’s entertainment and media division in the UK.

People seems to be limiting their use of smartphones, tablets and other devices. According to the consumer research group, Euromonitor International: “E-readers, which was once a promising category, saw its sales peak in 2011. Its success was shortlived, as it spiralled downwards within a year with the entry of tablets.”

Not long ago, right after graduating from college, the biggest quest for every youngster was to land a job. However, the corporate dream seems to be losing its charm as many in the Capital are giving up their highsalaried jobs to pursue their passion for dance.

“There are a lot of people, today, who consider dance as a viable option,” says Mandeep Raikhy, choreography at Gati Dance Forum, who confirms that the applications from corporate sector have increased in the past few years. There are many, who take up corporate jobs, only to find that their heart belongs to dance. Thus, they end up quitting their jobs.

“I worked in three places for about two years before pursuing a full-time career in dance,” says Md Nazir, who is a 27-year-old co-director with Delhi Dance Academy. He says: “When I was studying civil engineering in Pune, I realised the significance of social dancing. Until then, I used to be an individual dancer in school and college. Today, I have a team of 30 choreographers, which includes about eight people who have quit their corporate jobs to pursue their passion for dance.”

Manishikha Baul is a 37-year-old director at Lost & Found Trust, which aims to promote various arts. “I started learning Odissi at the age of seven and continued to dance till I finished school. But like it happens, I had to let go of my practice after that. I completed my education, started working and even moved out of India due to work for a few years,” says Baul, who quit her overseas corporate job after 11 years and took to dance fulltime when she returned to India in 2013. She says “there is no constant source of income”, in a full-time career in an art form such as dance. But Nazir believes that income depends on the choice of the dance genre. “If you choose to learn and teach a dance form such as zumba, you can even earn up to 70,000 a month!”