Rahil Mushtaq Bhat of Elahibagh, Soura of Srinagar is a qualified Master of Business Administration (MBA) who has turned his passion into employment. His passion: love of chickens. He has been credited with the introduction of foreign poultry breeds of Chicken in the Kashmir valley.
“My relatives and neighbours criticized me for looking after the chickens. But following my dream and passion is not a bad thing. One should always follow his dreams. People will always talk, let them talk. One should not be ashamed of what others say,” Rahil Mushtaq told in an interview to Brighter Kashmir.
He says that since childhood he had a liking towards chickens and other animals. “I always wanted to breed chickens. After completing my degree in 2021, I was completely jobless. So I thought about going after my dream. I got these chickens from different countries and also got a good response from customers,” he said.
“I felt it would be best for me to go after my passion and that is how I opened my poultry farm. I even qualified for the prelims of JKAS but still wanted to follow my passion only. That is why I wanted to aim for my passion.
Different chicken breeds like Colombian and Polish Brahma, Malaysian Serama, Long Tail Enadori, Chinese and American Silkie are what Rahil Mushtaq is keeping at his farm. “If anyone wants any other breed which is not available in India, we can deliver it to them within a week to ten days time,” he said.
He said that it was actually during Covid that he started this venture. “We had to go to another place for hatching the chicks but with passage of time we started hatching at our own place as well,” he said.
He said that his brother who also has a degree in electronics and communication engineering supported him a lot in making and preparing egg hatching at their own place.
“We have sold around 200 units of these foreign chickens. But again I must emphasize that youth must pursue their passion,” he said.