The Indian Polish Connection

Meru Tikoo

Going by the above name for their social media channel, a Kashmiri Pandit (KP) and Polish couple – Meru and Sylwia, are successful content creators on YouTube and also run an Aesthetic Clinic business in London. 

Another KP Engineer? Not me!

When I was a school student in New Delhi, as a KP you would grow up to either be a doctor or an engineer – often it was what was asked of us, rather than our own aspiration. I don’t blame our elders though, since after the turmoil 1990 onwards most of them started from scratch and securing a future for their children was pivotal. 

I obliged and did what a Sonngobur would do – Engineering and MBA. Back then YouTube was something I never would have ever thought. So, London happened! It’s where I did my MBA and fell in love with my now wife Sylwia. I then began working in a seemingly run of the mill job and was trapped in a Lakeer Ka Fakir lifestyle i.e. wake up, go to work, come back home, sleep and repeat. 

One fine morning my company awarded me as The Best Employee. I distinctly remember my boss coming up to me with the sales sheet and telling me how me and my team have delivered the company their best ever quarter. EUREKA MOMENT HERE…Something in my head started saying…SO I MADE MONEY FOR THEM AND GOT AN “AWARD” AND “FEW QUID” IN BONUS? No, no, no… GOLMAAL HAI BHAI SAB GOLMAAL HAI. I told my wife who was also tirelessly working night and day for the NHS that “Sillu, what are we doing yaar!’’. We decided life is too short and risks need to be taken. 

We started our own business in the field of Aesthetic Medicine. I started handling digital marketing and put my MBA to practical use. So, with all our savings go into the business, I still remember our first day trading with just £25 in our bank account looking at each other and thinking if we had made a big mistake? After a short period of self-doubt and being a little scared, the business started picking up and nervousness finally changed to smiles. 

So happy ending Meru, but where is YouTube? Haha yes where is YouTube? Well, after a few years we found ourselves in a pandemic. Having to stay at home and the slowed down pace of life was not pleasant for anyone, including us. 

Little did we know that this phase would trigger something so big and beautiful. Yes, YouTube came into our lives then. As we had a lot of free time, we decided to explore our local area a bit more and document it in the form of vlogs. Only within a matter of few months, a video that I posted on YouTube became ‘’viral’’. It got around 10 thousand views and numerous comments. I was so surprised that people found us entertaining, because we were only showcasing our lifestyle and routines. As the pandemic stretched longer, our vlogs started being more regular and in just less than a year we were standing at 100,000 subscribers. 

The ever-growing support and love we received is what drove us to keep creating more and more. YouTube gave us an instant medium to connect with people and show them things that they may not physically see, which serves as a huge motivation for us. We still treat YouTube as a hobby and I think that’s our secret to success, as many people now a days want to be YouTubers just for the money. 

As we approach 100 million views and 350,000 subscribers on our channel The Indian Polish Connection, our advice for young and budding YouTubers or anyone for that matter is “Don’t take life that seriously and always follow your passion’’. 

Love you all!

Meru & Sylwia