#PeopleOfDonatekart: Meet Sai Sindhu Kunthsam

“I used to be a civil engineer. I loved what I did as well. But I loved photography more. And after three years of working as an engineer in Mumbai, I decided to take the leap of faith. I left my job and decided to do something creative instead.

It was difficult making everyone around me understand my choices. I struggled to justify my decision. I had left my secured job on a hunch that I would be happier and better at doing something different. And that was all. How do you explain ‘hunch’ to your mother who has been a single parent struggling very hard to give you all that you have ever wanted?

I lost my father to cancer when I was still very young. Since then, I have seen her trying her level best to give my siblings and me the best of everything. She has been managing work and home and has never let us know how tired she gets by the end of the day. It was she who made us realise the importance of financial independence.

So, when she asked me — ‘what’s the plan?’ — I didn’t know what to say. But now after years of doing wedding photography I have finally landed in Donatekart. It is here that I got the opportunity to do what I love — edit videos.

I have accepted that I don’t fall into the category of people who plan ahead and adhere to it. I have also accepted that it is okay to care for your loved ones yet not fit into their expectations of you.

It took me a while but now I understand that I am my own person. Even though I might never be able to wake up at the crack of dawn and make my mother happy, I will surely give her many more reasons to smile. I stay up late and night and watch movies and documentaries, that is my time which I use to learn new things. I shall never give that up to fit into a box.

I am straight forward and don’t like to waste time beating around the bush. I have learnt the hard way that time and tide waits for none. So while I have the time, I wish to enjoy it to the fullest. I have also learnt to give importance to one’s mental health as well and be grateful to all the support and love that I have received from my friends and family.”

-Sai Sindhu Kunthsam, Video Specialist- Film Production