Why IAS Officer Kashish Mittal Left Bureaucracy to Launch a Music Startup
In a country where cracking the UPSC Civil Services Examination is hailed as the ultimate career milestone, Kashish Mittal’s decision to walk away from the Indian Administrative Service (IAS) left many stunned. A prodigious academic mind, an IIT Delhi graduate, and a former IAS officer, Mittal gave up his prestigious post in 2019 to pursue his first love: Hindustani classical music.
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Born in 1989 in Jalandhar, Punjab, to IPS officer Jagdish Kumar and Sangeeta Mittal, Kashish Mittal was raised in an environment steeped in discipline and melody. While many children his age were navigating their schoolbooks, He began formal training in Hindustani classical music at the age of eight. By the time he turned eleven, he was already performing at the revered Harivallabh Sangeet Sammelan in Punjab.
Despite his early passion for music, academics took center stage in his teenage years. Mittal secured an All India Rank of 6 in the prestigious Joint Entrance Examination (JEE) and went on to study at the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Delhi. But his ambitions didn’t stop there. With a deep sense of public duty, he cracked the UPSC Civil Services Examination and began his career in the IAS, a dream for millions of Indians.
However, even as he climbed the bureaucratic ladder, music continued to echo in his heart.
In 2019, after nearly a decade in civil service, Kashish Mittal made the bold decision to resign from the IAS. “It was never about leaving something behind. It was about returning to who I always was,” he has said in past interviews. He is now a full-time practitioner of Khayal gayaki from the Agra Gharana, a classical music tradition known for its deep, meditative quality and intricate voice techniques.
Today, instead of navigating government files, Kashish Mittal can be found performing on stages across India, pouring his soul into every raga. His journey has inspired many who find themselves torn between secure careers and personal passion.\
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