Gaurav lives in a thickly wooded residence at Circuit House Road. His father Ramnarayanan spends a lot of time in the forest. The shutter bug took over when the youngster was just 3 years old. " Dad gifted me a Kodak film point and shoot camera in 2001 and I started with it. Then slowly I started using dad's SLR around 2004 or so now and then. I did a bit of videoing in 2006 and 2007. Had to go back to stills due to the non availability of video cassettes. I got my first digital camera in 2010, 11 years after the onset of the digital revolution ( 1999 ).
Gaurav lives in a thickly wooded residence at Circuit House Road. His father Ramnarayanan spends a lot of time in the forest. The shutter bug took over when the youngster was just 3 years old. " Dad gifted me a Kodak film point and shoot camera in 2001 and I started with it. Then slowly I started using dad's SLR around 2004 or so now and then. I did a bit of videoing in 2006 and 2007. Had to go back to stills due to the non availability of video cassettes. I got my first digital camera in 2010, 11 years after the onset of the digital revolution ( 1999 ).
This was followed by a number of trips all over. My first road trip was from Coimbatore to Bandhavgarh and we went to Kanha, Pench alongside. The round trip was about 4300 kilometres and we saw 20 tigers. Daddy has a place in Talavadi and in Masinagudi. We spend time in both the places. My dad is my mentor full and full, " smiled 21 year old Gaurav while offering some refreshments from the classy and ornate leisure room in his house.
The youngster was born to Sashibashini and Ramnarayanan. He is a scion of the DPF family. They had been pioneers in the motor pump set business in Coimbatore. Gaurav had done his schooling in Vivekalaya and GD schools. His B.Com was from the PSG College of Arts and Science. He is the Founder of ' THE WILDSIDE ' a travel company which specializes in wildlife, cultural travel, photography, beach holidays, spiritual trips and family vacations. His website is http://www.thewildside.in . He is on Facebook and Instagram too.
On queried about his journey which led him to the venture, the young entrepreneur shared the story, " I got to see 22 out of the 29 states in India over the course of my travels. Lots of experiences and contacts were built as a consequence. One overseas photographer whom I had met during the 2011 BBC Award Ceremony was coming to India. He sent me a quotation which was from a travel agent. I understood that it was over priced and had takers in spite of this. This helped me see it as an oppourtunity to enter the arena. So the first objective was to ensure that people had a good and reliable base to travel in India at a reasonable cost. Therefore I started ' The Wildside ' at the age of 18 while I was pursuing my first year in PSG. It is a full fledged venture and is GST complaint. Now I have a clientele of around 250 people from 12 countries. I have thus far led about 18 expeditions in India, Nepal and Finland, " stated Gaurav while showing some of the pics shot by him from his childhood days. The boy entrepreneur has ensured that his work is completely recorded.
Gaurav undertakes trips to places like Ranthambore and Bharatpur in Rajasthan, Kutch and Gir in Gujarat, some parks in Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra and Assam. He covers popular destinations too. Remote places for bird photography include Badrinath - Chopta in Uttarakhand, Nathula Pass and Gurudongmar in Sikkim along the Indo China border.
His newest add on to the offerings include sighting Red Pandas in Indo - Nepal and Ladakh. They camp in Nepal and trek into India everyday. He states that October and November are ideal to do this trip. Gaurav took his grandmother Prema Dhamodharan to Tanzania, New Zealand, Cambodia, United Kingdom, Turkey, Greece and a few other places. He has visited 21 countries so far. One of the exciting trips included leading an expedition to Finland.
Seeing Brown Bears, European Wolf, Volverine Sighting and Volverine Photography were the goals for the trip.
"The groups are small and these private tours are tailored specifically. Each group consists of about 3 to 6 people. We make a package which includes everything. The trips include on field lecturing , teaching photography , guiding people to use photo processing software. Foreigners do a lot of shopping in places like Fatehpur Sikri, Agra and Varanasi.
Pushkar Mela in Rajasthan is also one more destination. The Camel Fair is much prefered. I have partners with whom I work with in places like Costa Rica, Brazil and Africa. These are trusted people who are accredited. We take people to Borneo in both Malaysia and Indonesia. I have experienced temperatures which vary between minus 27 and 50 Degrees Celsius. Plans are afoot to start group tours and to also tie up with photographers in order to facilitate travel for their clients," added Gaurav, the determined travel facilitator who adds experiences to the travels of his clients.
Gaurav works with his phone from wherever he is. "Technology has enabled me and I work from anywhere. I can talk, book, get money, pay money, make invoices etc., from any spot in the world. Digital India is happening. People can reach me in Gaurav@the wildside.in
The young travel entrepreneur spoke at length about Varanasi while adding that it was a must visit destination, "Its a milk sweet paradise. Temples, portrait photography of sadhus, also a place for last rites of the departed souls, photography of the rituals on the ghats. The ghats are very clean, there are garbage bins everywhere and regular cleaning is taking place. People think that Varanasi is only for elders but its for everyone. The vibe is wonderful. I spent 5 days at Varanasi during my first trip in 2017."
Gaurav has been to the Olympic Stadium in Athens ( Greece ). It had been the location for the first Modern Olympic Games in 1896 and is the only marble stadium in the world. The photographer is very patient with his work. He has spent hours together waiting for just for each single chance to shoot a picture in the wild. This has got him 5 International Awards thus far. In 2011 & 2014, he got the Wildlife Photographer of the Year ( UK - BBC ). The pictures clicked by Gaurav are much sought after and nowadays people are putting them on different mediums in order to display them in both public and private spaces. These pictures have become prized possessions. Gaurav's work has been published in an array of magazines both Indian and International, coffee table books and calendars too.
The entrepreneurs of Coimbatore including the ancestors of Gaurav thought out of the box. They were disruptors and grew big time because of their appetite for hard work backed by ideas. Gaurav belongs to this tribe and may it increase.
This was followed by a number of trips all over. My first road trip was from Coimbatore to Bandhavgarh and we went to Kanha, Pench alongside. The round trip was about 4300 kilometres and we saw 20 tigers. Daddy has a place in Talavadi and in Masinagudi. We spend time in both the places. My dad is my mentor full and full, " smiled 21 year old Gaurav while offering some refreshments from the classy and ornate leisure room in his house.
The youngster was born to Sashibashini and Ramnarayanan. He is a scion of the DPF family. They had been pioneers in the motor pump set business in Coimbatore. Gaurav had done his schooling in Vivekalaya and GD schools. His B.Com was from the PSG College of Arts and Science. He is the Founder of ' THE WILDSIDE ' a travel company which specializes in wildlife, cultural travel, photography, beach holidays, spiritual trips and family vacations. His website is http://www.thewildside.in . He is on Facebook and Instagram too.
On queried about his journey which led him to the venture, the young entrepreneur shared the story, " I got to see 22 out of the 29 states in India over the course of my travels. Lots of experiences and contacts were built as a consequence. One overseas photographer whom I had met during the 2011 BBC Award Ceremony was coming to India. He sent me a quotation which was from a travel agent. I understood that it was over priced and had takers in spite of this. This helped me see it as an oppourtunity to enter the arena. So the first objective was to ensure that people had a good and reliable base to travel in India at a reasonable cost. Therefore I started ' The Wildside ' at the age of 18 while I was pursuing my first year in PSG. It is a full fledged venture and is GST complaint. Now I have a clientele of around 250 people from 12 countries. I have thus far led about 18 expeditions in India, Nepal and Finland, " stated Gaurav while showing some of the pics shot by him from his childhood days. The boy entrepreneur has ensured that his work is completely recorded.
Gaurav undertakes trips to places like Ranthambore and Bharatpur in Rajasthan, Kutch and Gir in Gujarat, some parks in Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra and Assam. He covers popular destinations too. Remote places for bird photography include Badrinath - Chopta in Uttarakhand, Nathula Pass and Gurudongmar in Sikkim along the Indo China border.
His newest add on to the offerings include sighting Red Pandas in Indo - Nepal and Ladakh. They camp in Nepal and trek into India everyday. He states that October and November are ideal to do this trip. Gaurav took his grandmother Prema Dhamodharan to Tanzania, New Zealand, Cambodia, United Kingdom, Turkey, Greece and a few other places. He has visited 21 countries so far. One of the exciting trips included leading an expedition to Finland.
Seeing Brown Bears, European Wolf, Volverine Sighting and Volverine Photography were the goals for the trip.
"The groups are small and these private tours are tailored specifically. Each group consists of about 3 to 6 people. We make a package which includes everything. The trips include on field lecturing , teaching photography , guiding people to use photo processing software. Foreigners do a lot of shopping in places like Fatehpur Sikri, Agra and Varanasi.
Pushkar Mela in Rajasthan is also one more destination. The Camel Fair is much prefered. I have partners with whom I work with in places like Costa Rica, Brazil and Africa. These are trusted people who are accredited. We take people to Borneo in both Malaysia and Indonesia. I have experienced temperatures which vary between minus 27 and 50 Degrees Celsius. Plans are afoot to start group tours and to also tie up with photographers in order to facilitate travel for their clients," added Gaurav, the determined travel facilitator who adds experiences to the travels of his clients.
Gaurav works with his phone from wherever he is. "Technology has enabled me and I work from anywhere. I can talk, book, get money, pay money, make invoices etc., from any spot in the world. Digital India is happening. People can reach me in Gaurav@the wildside.in
The young travel entrepreneur spoke at length about Varanasi while adding that it was a must visit destination, "Its a milk sweet paradise. Temples, portrait photography of sadhus, also a place for last rites of the departed souls, photography of the rituals on the ghats. The ghats are very clean, there are garbage bins everywhere and regular cleaning is taking place. People think that Varanasi is only for elders but its for everyone. The vibe is wonderful. I spent 5 days at Varanasi during my first trip in 2017."
Gaurav has been to the Olympic Stadium in Athens ( Greece ). It had been the location for the first Modern Olympic Games in 1896 and is the only marble stadium in the world. The photographer is very patient with his work. He has spent hours together waiting for just for each single chance to shoot a picture in the wild. This has got him 5 International Awards thus far. In 2011 & 2014, he got the Wildlife Photographer of the Year ( UK - BBC ). The pictures clicked by Gaurav are much sought after and nowadays people are putting them on different mediums in order to display them in both public and private spaces. These pictures have become prized possessions. Gaurav's work has been published in an array of magazines both Indian and International, coffee table books and calendars too.
The entrepreneurs of Coimbatore including the ancestors of Gaurav thought out of the box. They were disruptors and grew big time because of their appetite for hard work backed by ideas. Gaurav belongs to this tribe and may it increase.