PRAYAGRAJ: Farhan Qureshi, played by R Madhavan in the 2009 Bollywood top-grosser 3 Idiots, left engineering to follow his heart and pursue his passion for photography.
Welcome to Maha Kumbh 2025, an IITian baba Abhay Singh from Haryana, who claims to be a former aerospace engineering student from IIT-Bombay, took the internet by storm as his videos went viral on social media.
Singh seems to be a sharp reflection of Farhan, who also doesn’t like to disappoint his parents in 3 Idiots and took admission in a top engineering institute but left it midway. In the viral videos, the baba can be heard claiming, “I studied for four years at IIT-Bombay… Did MDS from there. But there was something amiss.”
“Soon, I developed interest in arts and photography and had to teach physics at a coaching centre for one year to clear the entrance test,” he said.
Also See: Maha Kumbh Mela
Immediately after its release, 3 Idiots, also starring Aamir Khan and Sharman Joshi, had also triggered an intense debate on engineering education and how Indian parents force their kids to pursue careers that are only meant to create a good standing in society.
Despite admission to an IIT, which is extremely difficult due to high cut-offs, Singh, clad in a saffron robe with Rudraksh mala around his neck, is all smiles leaving his promising career to follow the path of spirituality.
Asked what prompted him to take a 360 degree turn in his career, Singh quipped, “I have finally understood the truth… Gyan ke peeche chalte jao, chalte jao, aur kahan jaoge, yahin aoge (Keep following the path of knowledge and wisdom, where else you will go, you will come back right here to your roots).”
As Singh’s videos started doing rounds on social media, IIT-Bombay started trending too, triggering an online debate. Singh is also quite active on social media, with his 4,145 followers on Instagram. Most of his videos on Instagram are on spirituality, resurgence and revival of humanity, future and destruction, meditation and bhakti movement, among others.
At Maha Kumbh, there is also ‘Chai Wale Baba’, a tea-seller-turned-ascetic from Pratapgarh, who claims to have been providing free coaching for civil services aspirants for the past 40 years without eating or speaking anything. Known as Dinesh Swaroop Brahmachari, he has vowed to remain silent and abstain from food, surviving solely on 10 cups of tea daily while guiding students through WhatsApp.
