In September 2014, the whole valley was flooded with water, among the thousands, Aariz Bhat, resident from RajBagh area of Srinagar too lost his home in the devastated flood. The moment he thought he could spread his wings for his dreams, he lost everything.
Aariz says, “I started my career as a junior artist in Haider movies and had some different plans for my life. I belong to a middle-class family, but my dedication towards my work did not stop me from earning fame.” “I thought of becoming a well-known businessman , but destiny had some other plans for me. That exposure helped me in eliminating my shyness to some extent. Initially I thought I had learned what is required to live, without knowing a fact that life is always unpredictable,” Bhat added.
He had to rebuild everything which he and his family lost in the floods. He was aware that starting something on his own will not be possible at this time. So he joined an event management company which gave him another kick to start again.
After waiting for 4 years, in 2018, he started his own company – Free Birds Production & Events. Initially, the company did events for traffic.
He did not stop here. His thirst for work kept him driving. He got a lot more appreciation and these appreciations gave him more confidence to do more. Then, he organized a picnic for special children of Dumb & Deaf School to give them exposure. He was not able to do things on his own, but he was good enough to take help from some NGO’s (Khalsa Aid and India NGO).
“In 2019, I did another event for special children and artists of J&K who never got on stage. Another impossible thing that I thought would not be possible without DC Srinagar – Dr. Shahid Iqbal Choudhary, Arun Manhas (Director Samagra Sikhsha J&K), and SSP Srinagar – Dr. Haseeb Mughal. The best part of this event was the support from my family, they have been always supporting me and without their support I wouldn’t have gone this far. This journey gave me a mission and vision to help youngsters of J&K. I wanted to give them a stage and exposure, so that the world can see and encourage their talent,” says Aariz Bhat.
In one of his events, he met with a lady whose child was a drug addict. She was trying hard to make life better for him but all her efforts were not useful. That was a heartbreaking moment for him which led him to think that he should do something to spread awareness and indulge youth in some fitness activity.
There is nothing better than that but to do so he first needs to throw himself under training so that he can become the master of what should be taught to addicts. In this Pandemic, spending money on training that will benefit others was hard but he somehow managed to do that by borrowing money as his desire was much bigger than his problems. After completing training, he was curious about the opportunity to train people but as usual, nothing comes easy.
After grappling a lot, Zahoor Bhat club manager of anytime fitness Srinagar and Bob Chris head trainer of anytime fitness Jammu gave him a chance to prove himself and his calibre. He did everything to prove that as he didn’t want to tarnish his reputation and purpose.
“I dreamed and I did, no matter what price it takes. That’s what it takes for someone to redesign life for the purpose you have – Be willing to pay the price,” Bhat advised, adding, I never stopped whether it was about giving a platform to the youth of J&K or spreading awareness about traffic, drugs,and helping addicts so that they can find their purpose and live life joyously.
Aariz says, “I am very thankful to my cousins especially Riyadh Bhat and Ubair Bhat for always appreciating my new initiatives and always standing with me”
Aariz is currently working as a fitness trainer at Anytime Fitness Gym at Narwal Jammu.
If you remember the story from the beginning, you will have an idea that his dream was something else but his journey of life helped him to uncover his purpose. Just because he didn’t stop, he didn’t think about quitting. He was able to uncover his purpose, his mission in life. So he did it.
“This is the same thing we need to do to uncover our purpose. Life without purpose is useless, but life with purpose can take you to another level where only few people have reached, which will give you things beyond happiness, but even when you reach that place – you need not to stop,” explains Bhat. He is still working on his mission and now people call him “Fitness waala dostt”
“Life is an uphill struggle and we all have to keep going till our last breath, uncover your purpose, re-design your life andnever stop till the end,” said Aariz Bhat
