MEET GAUTAM GAVANKAR- Lawyer turned Umpire

                                                     Interview by ‘THE GREY MATTER:

Gautam Gavankar’s love for cricket goes way back to his childhood. He played with utmost passion but did not think his skill was exceptional enough to pursue it as a career. In a cricket frenzy nation like India, it is no doubt an arduous choice. It is stimulating to see him wheel back into this game after a host of exams, legal options and jobs. Today Gautam Gavankar is empanelled as an umpire with BCCI (Board of Control for Cricket in India). Let’s get you a glimpse of his interview with us at your very own show DAREACT.

“Philosophy of life is to have fun. It could be a rollercoaster ride but that is what we pay for in Essel world“. This multifaceted wonder has reconnoitred it all. From under-19 cricket, to corporate law corners, to litigation practice through High Court corridors, to teaching law subjects, to Radio jockeying for All India Radio, to dubbing and trying a hand at being a voice artist too. Well! Practice at these assorted pitches came from a very simple mindset.

He wanted to follow his heart and have fun. Though true to his feelings, he was not naive about the upshots. “When you do something so daring in your life, your bank balance takes an adequate hit”. When he first quit his job, he had no backup plan. Just an honest emotion that he could no longer justify the salary he was drawing. But the lack of a backup plan did not swamp him down, He tried his hand at pretty much everything he could do to keep the money machine churning.

His unblemished family values were a guiding light too. All through the trying times, his father always said,” As long as you are of use to someone else, you can help someone else, then you should think your life is worth it”. It did not matter to them which car he drove, house he lived in or clothes he wore. This gave him courage to move upward and onward no matter what! “I had enough confidence in me that I will do something or the other to make it work.”

You are sure to be charmed by his sheer honesty and gravel . He gives a candid account of a Marathi speaking boy entering the realms of an uptown South Mumbai college. How his journey unfolds from being a law college student to a BCCI acclaimed Umpire is an inspiration for several others who dare to dream. Next time you are tuning in for a match on your television, be sure to look out for him, or even better tune in to the interview right here with us on THE DAREACT Series presented by ‘The Grey Matter”.