The Sentinel

City-based vocalist Ajinkya Pusalkar,27,is back in India after a year-long stint in Dubai,where he was commissioned by his guru Suresh Wadekar to manage his music school,Ajivasan. “Abiding by the guru-shishya parampara,when Sureshji gave me this task,I set out to complete it,” says Pusalkar. Taking the assignment to another level,Pusalkar not only trained the students but also organised a live show in Dubai. “Teaching is an enlightening experience,partly because to be able to teach requires you to know the subject very well,” he says,adding,“I also discovered things about myself in the process.”

Tracing his journey,Pusalkar says he studied chemical engineering in Pune but unlike other engineers,he had different plans in life. He was passionate about singing and pursued it soon after graduation. “I shifted to Mumbai to train under Sureshji,” says Pusalkar,adding,“I trained with him for more than five years. When he sent me to Dubai,I left the city within 10 days. I reached there in the month of Ramzan and take over the new music school with 30 students.” Pusalkar came up with the idea of organising a live event to exhibit the singing prowess of his students. “They performed in September and put up a spectacular show. After the event,the number of students in my class nearly quadrupled,” he says. Pusalkar now wants to pursue his Bollywood plans.