Leaving the Life You Trained For

Leaving the Life You Trained For

Author: Pushkin Industries September 24, 2026 Duration: 47:30

Professional violinist Vijay Gupta grew up performing on the world’s biggest stages in order to fulfill his parents' dreams for him. But the pressure to play perfectly became too much, and over time he lost his love of the violin.

Then Vijay started performing in homeless shelters and mental health clinics, where audiences wanted something very different from him: not perfection, but connection. 

This week, Vijay joins Maya to share how those experiences rekindled his passion for music, and gave him the courage to walk away from his parents’ dreams towards his own.

Check out Vijay’s new book, “Restrung: A Memoir of Music and Transformation,” and learn more about his work with Street Symphony at StreetSymphony.org.

For Fun: Watch young violinists Vijay and Maya on PBS’s Reading Rainbow in 1996, “Zin! Zin! Zin! A Violin.”

For more episodes like this, we recommend our conversation with Shira Gabriel, “Why Experiencing Awe With Others Feels So Magical.”

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.


Life has a way of rewriting our scripts, often when we least expect it. A Slight Change of Plans, from Pushkin Industries, sits with that universal truth through conversations that feel both intimate and expansive. Hosted by cognitive scientist Dr. Maya Shankar, the podcast is shaped by her own pivotal shift-a violin career ended by injury, which led her to professionally examine how we process transformation. Each episode moves beyond theory, featuring deeply personal stories from a wide range of guests who share their own encounters with upheaval. What you’ll hear isn’t just about resilience, but the nuanced science and practical strategies that can help anyone navigate a redirected path. It’s this thoughtful blend of human experience and grounded research that earned the series Apple Podcasts’ Best Show of the Year. Listening feels like gaining a wiser friend, one who helps you reframe life’s unexpected turns not as disasters, but as complex chapters in a continuing story. The podcast ultimately explores how our identities adapt, how we find meaning, and how even the most disruptive changes can lead to growth we never planned for.
Author: Language: en-us Episodes: 50

A Slight Change of Plans
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