Many of us are passionate about different things, but how many of us actually turn our passion into a career? We often let family or society dictate what is appropriate for us to do with our lives. But sometimes, people can surprise you. Let me give you an example. Gowtham Lakshman loves music. But Gowtham Lakshman was left with little to no choice but to become an engineer. But that didn't stop him from doing what he loves. Today, he's the proud founder of PrismOne Music Academy in RS Puram, Coimbatore.
At the academy, which is Gowtham's first venture, he conducts classes in varied instruments. “The courses offered here are in keyboard, guitar, violin, drums and flute. We conduct classes in the theory of music. We also offer training for the coveted Trinity exams. Our students will be given certificates from the Trinity College of Music, London,” he says. A mechanical engineering graduate from Ranganathan Engineering College, Gowtham talks about his passion for music. “I have always been interested in music. Since college, I have been practising quite intensely. I always wanted to work in this field and I didn’t want to work in my field of graduation,” he says and confesses that his long-term goal is to host live shows.
Gowtham, a trained keyboardist and also a guitar teacher at The Camford International School, says, “My guru was Chandru Kumar and I've worked for Issac Sundhar at DPS Music Academy as well. I'm actually a pianist, but later, due to the unavailability of trainers, I had to take up teaching of other instruments as well. So, I had to train myself in other instruments too." Of course, we were curious about the story behind the name of his academy. “Prism signifies positive energy. And one signifies the number one. So it means positive energy number one,” he says.
Gowtham feels that age is just a number and people are always young to follow music. “Music doesn’t have an age limit. Anyone can learn it. We are open to taking even retired people,” he says, with a smile, adding, "There are 18 students currently. We have students from the age group of 4 to about 26 years of age." The students are trained in groups and the admissions are open all year round. Classes are conducted thrice a week in batches. “We have a separate trainer for guitar and he usually takes care of administrative work too. We also have a separate trainer for flute. I train the students in the other instruments,” he says. Gowtham strongly recommends people to follow their passion. “It is important to follow your passion to stay happy and enjoy what you are doing,” he concludes.
