Mukul Deva: You Are Your Experiences
By Lucas Duncan
Currently, I believe that there is more pressure on young students to choose a career path than ever before. Perhaps this is because of parents and teachers wanting pupils to get a “head start” in the working industry, or because of an abundance of people all pushing for the same job and needing to be one of the first few to get in. Even when I visit my grandparents they seem surprised that their grandson isn’t working a part-time job, and each year I’ve said same things; “not yet”, “next year”, and “later”, but how long will it be until I need to be certain on what I would like to do for a living? Finding that answer can be a long journey, one that takes time, effort and passion. Mukul Deva, best-selling author of over fifteen books, who was one of the speakers at UWCSEA East’s recent ‘Writer’s Fortnight’ had a similar problem.
“Life will bring up unexpected but often valuable choices.”
Growing up, Deva had always been interested in storytelling and developed a passion for it during middle school. However, he found it difficult implementing this passion into his school work. Upset with the way his education was going, he dropped out of high school. Similar to many UWC students, Deva had a basic plan for which career path he would take, but not all the details had been thought out. During a recent interview I did with Deva, he told me that, “Yes, I did have a plan – to join the army, but beyond that was a bit nebulous at that time.” He joined the Indian Military at age 16, soon being commissioned as an officer in the ‘Sikh Light Infantry’. He said joining the military was the decision that shaped him the most. “Yes, it has shaped not just my writing but me too. It taught me the value of Focus, Flexibility and Discipline – three things that have helped me in every aspect of my life.” During the twenty years, he was in the army, he spent a large amount of his free time creating stories, later telling them to his fellow soldiers and officers. The stories were largely focused on war and were based on the current events at the time. At 36, Mukul Deva retired from his position in the Sikh Light Infantry to focus on his refound passion; storytelling. Sometimes our plans may provide us with unknown strengths that lead us to unexpected but worthwhile changes. We may not even realise these changes until later, similar to what happened to Deva.
“He was talking about his favourite thing; himself.”
That was the brief overview he gave us during his ‘Writer’s Fortnight’ speech introduction, where he said he was talking about his favourite thing; himself. The majority of his talk was about how to create a story, and the fundamental aspects a story needs to have. Together, he and the audience worked to create the basic outline of a murder mystery, filled with twists and turns. After the talk, I felt like I had a connection with Deva, and felt comfortable reaching out to him to talk more about choosing a career path. I emailed a few questions out to him – not expecting to get a response, but not even a day later and there was a new email sitting in my inbox. Most of my questions were about the difficulty of choosing a job, and as he had been someone who had gone through something familiar, what would he recommend to struggling students. The big takeaways I got from his responses were that without his experiences in the past his writing would have lacked character and understanding. He said that he would not have changed anything about his experiences because he would not be here without them. Without his time in the military, he would not have been as knowledgeable of that area, or understand what someone goes through. The same goes for his experiences in school and finding work because it was those experiences that not only shaped who he is but his writing as well.
“Your experiences shape who you become in the future.”
As a student about to enter his last few years in school, I feel more comfortable now knowing that Mukul Deva has gone through what many students are currently going through – the struggle of choosing a career. The best advice he can give is live true to yourself. If you are extremely passionate about something, choose something in that area. Your experiences shape who you become in the future, so right now, experience as much as you can. Try new different things. Deva told me that when he joined the military, he was unsure whether he would join for one year or fifty years. But he still tried it. And if he had not, he would not be where he is today. Life will bring up unexpected but often valuable choices. I trust Mukul Deva because as an author of over fifteen books with many bestsellers, he knows what he is doing. His experiences led him there, so where will yours?
So, have you made a plan for your own career path, Lucas?!