Woodworker Anoo Kulkarni: Answering the Heart's Call

"For many years, I wondered what it really meant to 'follow one's heart'. I was very curious to know what it felt like. I was certain it would be extraordinary, with an air of mystery. Something lofty and noble, a higher purpose. It would be a dramatic turning point after which all the pieces of the puzzle would fall neatly in place. I would no longer feel torn, there would be no guilt or self-doubt, no more bad decisions, and no future-anxiety. I was convinced it would bring clarity and peace, joy, fulfillment and perhaps, success. All the good stuff. I finally found my calling around my forty-second birthday, but it wasn't quite like I had imagined. I was let go at work, just when I'd begun to feel a sense of security and stability that I had missed for many years. For reasons I didn't understand, but that felt right, I started making slightly odd-looking wooden lamps with a few hand tools in a makeshift workshop in my apartment." Anoo Kulkarni left the corporate world five years ago to follow her calling as a self-taught woodworker. The aesthetic of her hand carved lamps is spare, yet each is lavished with a passionate attention to detail and carries a palpable integrity. She shares some of her journey and insights here.

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