On an Indian railway platform, life rarely pauses. Trains arrive late, chai is poured endlessly, strangers become temporary companions, and stories quietly unfold in the gaps between departures. For artist Bijay Biswaal, these in-between moments are not fleeting, they are the very substance of his art.

Early Life and First Encounters with Art

Born in a small village in Odisha, Biswaal’s journey as an artist began long before galleries, exhibitions, or international recognition entered the picture. In a place where “art culture” was almost non-existent, creativity had to invent its own tools. As a child, he drew on the mud floors of his home using charcoal taken straight from his mother’s chulha. Cardboard boxes from his father’s medicine shop became canvases. With no access to art supplies or formal training, Biswaal learned instinctively, drawing wherever he could, with whatever he had.

“I was always drawing,” he recalls. “On the sand, on dusty cars, on the floor, on paper, it didn’t matter.” Even as a schoolboy, drawing class was his refuge; he often finished not only his own work but his classmates’ drawings too. Long before he had the language to define it, he knew art was not a hobby for him, it was an impulse, almost a way of being.

Despite this lifelong pull towards art, Bijay Biswaal did not immediately become a full-time artist. He worked for the Indian Railways, a demanding public-facing job that required long hours, night shifts, and emotional resilience. Yet, even in this structured, often exhausting routine, art never left him. If anything, it followed him more insistently. After long shifts, he would return home and paint late into the night, unable to leave a canvas half-finished. During phone calls, he sketched absentmindedly. Painting was not something he “made time for” — it was something that occupied his mind continuously.

Bijay Biswaal and his Style of Art

Interestingly, Biswaal never experienced what many artists describe as creative block. “If I’m not painting, I’m sketching. If I’m not sketching, I’m observing,” he says. The world around him: people, spaces, journeys, constantly offered material. The only frustration he recalls was during periods when family responsibilities limited his time at the easel, not because ideas had dried up.

Over time, Biswaal began to define himself as a realistic, representational artist, someone who paints what he sees but infuses it with quiet narratives. Markets, villages, railway stations, platforms wet with rain, travellers waiting with tired patience, these scenes recur in his work, not as spectacle but as lived experience. His background as a railway employee offered him a unique vantage point: he was not a distant observer romanticising travel but someone deeply embedded in its rhythms.

The Railway Platform as a Turning Point

The turning point came almost by accident. Around 2010–11, while waiting for a delayed train at a rain-soaked platform, Bijay Biswaal noticed a lone woman sitting on the platform as puddles reflected lights like liquid mirrors. With hours to spare, he painted the scene in watercolour right there. Later, he recreated it on a larger canvas in his studio. When this painting was displayed at the India Art Festival in Mumbai, it drew immediate attention and sold.

That moment brought a realisation: his everyday surroundings, especially the railways, were not merely backdrops to his life, they were his artistic language. From then on, Biswaal consciously began painting railway-centric scenes. The response was overwhelming. His works travelled widely on social media, resonating with people who recognised themselves in these familiar yet tender portrayals of Indian travel — a mother and daughter sharing luggage, tea vendors and passengers from different faiths sharing space, strangers coexisting briefly before moving on.

Biswaal often describes railway compartments as “a miniature India.” They are spaces where religion, class, region, and language temporarily dissolve into shared experience. This sense of fleeting community became central to his work, a quiet celebration of everyday coexistence.

Recognition followed, including international exhibitions and awards. But one moment stood apart: in 2015, Prime Minister Narendra Modi mentioned Bijay Biswaal on Mann Ki Baat, acknowledging him as a railway employee who painted India’s railways with dedication. “It was my Oscar moment,” Biswaal admits. The validation strengthened a decision he had been contemplating for years. With the support of his wife, he opted for voluntary retirement and embraced life as a full-time artist.

Life as a Full-Time Artist

Today, Biswaal travels extensively across India from Varanasi to Konark, from small villages in Odisha to bustling cities, painting on location whenever possible. He believes that being physically present matters. “You can find a thousand images online,” he says, “but you cannot feel the place unless you are there.” For him, on-location watercolour painting is about capturing the soul of a place, while larger mythological or cultural narratives, drawn from the Ramayana, Mahabharata, and Indian temple architecture, take shape later in the studio.

There is also a spiritual dimension to his practice, though he resists defining it too rigidly. When painting, he forgets everything else, worries, noise, time. “I am completely present,” he says. “That calm, that absorption — maybe that is spirituality.”

Despite his openness to observing different art forms, Biswaal remains committed to realism. Abstract art interests him intellectually, but realism, for him, carries a human touch — imperfections, texture, personality. “A painting should look like a painting,” he insists. “You should recognise the artist without reading the signature.”

Bijay Biswaal’s Advice for Emerging Artists

As someone who has built a sustainable career in art — something still considered unconventional in India, Biswaal is acutely aware of the struggles young artists face. His advice, though simple, is firm: work on your skill relentlessly. Avoid shortcuts, resist the urge for instant fame, and respect the discipline of drawing and observation. “Every sincere artwork has a buyer,” he believes, “but sincerity takes time.”

In the end, Bijay Biswaal’s story is not just about art, it is about patience and persistence Between platforms and puddles, He reminds us that sometimes success comes not from chasing the extraordinary, but from truly seeing the ordinary.

Caricature Art in India is widely misunderstood. It is a style of portraiture that exaggerates a person’s distinctive features for a comic, satirical or grotesque effect. A caricaturist aims to capture the subject’s personality and essence through these exaggerated drawings. A caricaturist’s goal isn’t mockery, but meaning — to capture the soul of a subject through playful exaggeration. This article is a deep dive into Ritesh Gupta, a young artist and painter, founder of the Creative Caricature Club.

Born in 2006 in the restless heart of Mumbai, Ritesh Gupta found his world not in textbooks but in colours. While other children found themselves focused on grades, he chased the feeling of creation, the quiet satisfaction that comes when a blank page begins to breathe yellow, blue and green. What began with school crayons slowly shaped into a goal, an ambition that would define his life. Today, as the founder of the Creative Caricature Club, Ritesh continues to balance learning and leading — growing as an artist while working on live caricature events across the country.

Origins: Middle-class Mumbai, Discovering Art

Ritesh grew up in a middle-class family where art was seen more as a hobby than a future. He wasn’t particularly inclined toward academics in his early years, but things changed when he began participating in art competitions from Class 3. By the time he reached Class 6, he had already made a conscious decision—art would be his chosen path. Ritesh learned that drawing and painting weren’t mere forms of expression but a language through which one could observe, feel, and communicate with the world. From then on, he began preparing seriously for drawing and painting examinations, laying the foundation for his artistic journey.

After class 10, Ritesh formally took up the arts stream. He joined the renowned Sir J. J. School of Art in Mumbai and is currently in his third year of a painting degree. During his journey he undertook meaningful projects: he created work for the municipal corporation, Indian Army, Indian Navy and other civic bodies. He also contributed to the “Mann Ki Baat” initiative of the Prime Minister and created numerous “Swachh Bharat” paintings, including an intense week in Delhi when his work was featured.

How did Ritesh Gupta Start Caricatures?

When the lockdown struck, Ritesh found himself with more time yet fewer opportunities—but also with possibility. He discovered caricature on social media and began to experiment: taking people’s photos, creating caricatures, posting on Facebook and Instagram. What began as a personal curiosity soon became a public voice. At the end of 2021 he did his first live caricature session in Dadar. That live-event experience boosted his confidence: the anxiety of public creation gave way to the thrill of engaging an audience. A big help was his friend who had been in the caricature field for long. Observing his quick wit and calm, he was able to adopt the same stance too.

In 2022, Ritesh formally founded the Creative Caricature Club. His aim: not just to be a content creator, but to build a strong portfolio for artists. Within 2-4 months the page gained significant followers thanks to consistent process and artistic focus.

Creative Caricature Club: Structure, Vision, Style

By 2023-24 the Caricature Club had made impressive progress. The team expanded (in 2024 Ritesh hired India’s best caricature artists), events spanned all over India (corporate, social, weddings). He himself handles Saturday & Sunday events, while the team covers others.

What sets Ritesh’s caricature apart is storytelling. He says: “I focus on the bond, the relationship. We don’t just do physical caricature in that sense.” He especially loves doing caricatures of older couples (60-70 yrs): capturing the love, the bond, the lived experience. This is the philosophical thread: caricature isn’t mere exaggeration, it is life distilled and celebrated.

In a caricature session of 5-6 minutes (for one person) or 10-11 minutes (for a couple), Ritesh follows a thoughtful process: he observes the faces for one minute, notes distinctive features, watches how the couple interact (who speaks more, what their rapport is), then creates a mini-story on paper. Exaggeration is purposeful, not random. The aim is to reflect humor, love, character.

Thus his work remains personal, relational, celebratory rather than partisan. His philosophy: art is a spiritual journey — sādhanā. He adds: “Art is a big and most important part of my life.”
And he perceives creative work as a mirror of his mental, physical well-being. Ritesh insists that as artists we must build strong sleeping schedules, clean diet, and regular exercise to keep our mental and emotional palate healthy.

Ritesh Gupta on Balancing life, Goals and Growth

Though still a student, Ritesh balances multiple roles: his painting degree, running the Creative Caricature Club, live events, team-management, travel, workshops. He follows a disciplined routine: Monday–Friday for painting academy/study, Saturday–Sunday for events; meanwhile gym and diet are his priorities. He believes: only when you keep your mental health and physical well-being intact can your creativity flow.

His goals are ambitious yet grounded: buy a house in Mumbai, travel abroad, explore places and cultures. Moreover, he wants toinnovate in caricature so that when his subjects see their caricature they laugh immediately, create an unanticipating, humorous and memorable moment for them. The vision for his club is to raise awareness that caricature can be a personalised, meaningful feature in weddings and functions across India.

Reflections — Art as life, Caricature as Connection

Reading Ritesh’s journey one senses a philosophical thread: art as life, life as narrative, caricature as connection. He began with child-like affinity for art which grew into bigger ambitions, one that was at a tug-of-war with his middle-class background, a liking his parents weren’t so supportive of, which eventually progressed into formal education, and earning through it, built a team, and now seeks to touch the human bond in his drawings.

He says: “Whatever I think observe, see, and think in my subjects, I reflect that through caricature.”
It’s a subtle statement of artistic authenticity. The creative act becomes not just drawing lines, but listening to life, seeing relationships, capturing essence.

In a world where art is often commodified or seen as a side hobby, Ritesh reminds us that the true artist holds both the eye of the observer and the heart of the participant. The caricaturist becomes a storyteller, the paper becomes a mirror, the people become countless narratives.

Words of Advice for all Aspiring Artists and Dreamers

For Ritesh Gupta, founder of the Creative Caricature Club, the path is still unfolding. The house in Mumbai, the travel, the expansion of the club—all are milestones. But the deeper horizon lies in how his art will continue to reflect life’s relationships, how his caricatures will make people laugh and remember, and how the club he’s built will enable others to discover their voice. His journey is a reminder: when you answer the soul’s whisper early, and walk the path with discipline and love, art becomes more than a career, it becomes purpose.

To all the young and aspiring artists, Ritesh offers simple yet profound counsel:

1. Work on what you like. Passion is the root.
   
2. Participate in competitions; learning comes from doing and showing your work.
   
3. Stop worrying if there is a “future” in this field — just start working hard in your chosen direction; time will prove you.

He emphasizes fundamentals: “If your portrait fundamentals are strong, then you’ll be able to caricature. Caricature is advanced than portrait.” He encourages sketching everything around you, building observation, then moving into caricature.

Art is considered the most supreme form of expression that is counted as very cathartic for good reasons. It doesn’t require you to possess any form of language skills, which allows you to express yourself spontaneously without any hesitation. Furthermore, the fact that you can make something beautiful out of the chaos in your mind only makes you love yourself in all its imperfections. Thus, art not only allows you to express and explore, but also uplifts your soul and your self-worth. It helps you carve a space for just yourself, and that’s something Swarnima Telang did with her artworks in @_itsahappyworld_. Let’s catch up with her!

Breaking The Ice With Swarnima Telang

Born in Vrindavan and spending most of her childhood in Agra, Swarnima Telang holds a unique and special significance in her heart that shaped who she is today. After completing her B.Tech degree, she started working at an IT company. She has always loved art since her childhood days. One would think she would lose touch with it over time with college and work, but somehow she kept finding her way back to it. In 2015, while she was still working at an IT company in order to manage her stress, she relied heavily on art, which soon became a ritual and later turned into an inevitable part of her daily routine.

Swarnima Telang: Art As A Process

For Swarnima Telang, the ultimate goal in life is to fill your life with happiness and fulfilment, and that is something art does for her, unlike anything else. Throughout her entire journey as an artist, there were a lot of things she learnt along the way in terms of skills, and she is positive that she will learn way more with each passing day. Her creative process, as she puts it, is quite “simple and intuitive” as she draws her inspiration from everyday moments such as the time spent with her family, meaningful conversations and small life events. 

Whenever an idea or concept enters her mind, she mentally sorts through it, gathers inspiration from various sources and finally lets it all out on her Instagram page for her community to see and get inspired by. The process, though, seems simple, is actually a lot more complex, as the majority of the work is done mentally as she mixes and matches various elements, finds the right colour palette for the mood of the concept. And the end result is just marvellous.

According to Swarnima Telang, vulnerability in art means, “It’s the courage to create something that reflects who you are at your core—knowing that others might not always understand it, or even like it. Yet you still share it, because it’s real.”

Swarnima Telang expresses how her work ethic is very consistent, self-driven, and deeply intentional. But despite being consistent and driven, she does encounter creative blocks now and then. During that time, she tries to engage herself in something else, like reading books, etc., until the spark of inspiration is ignited within her. There are a lot of artists she takes inspiration from, but it’s Ruskin Bond whose writings give her direction and peace.

Art As A Lifestyle

Swarnima Telang sees the world from the point of view of an artist, as one that is curious, empathetic and celebrates the amalgamation of beauty and complexity. Using art as a lens to explore human emotions, connections and stories, she emphasises how art helps her make sense of the various layers of human emotions and inspires understanding, provokes thought and brings people together by revealing a shared humanity. 

Her artworks mostly talk about: 

• Appreciating little things in life 
• Beauty in simplicity 
• Finding calm and serenity in your regular and everyday life. 
• Gratitude for things and blessings that often go unnoticed. 
• Positivity and happiness 
• Quirky takes on Society from a woman’s point of view

She believes in establishing a strong connection between the artist and their work and putting in effort when no one’s watching, as for her, it’s about personal integrity and pride in what she creates. For her discipline and passion go hand in hand. Further, Swarnima Telang immensely values quality and authenticity but always leaves room for growth.

Sharing her work on social media at times does make her fall prey to chasing after what’s trending or what’s expected, but those are the times she reminds herself why she started doing art in the first place, for herself, and always finds her way back home.

Telang believes that everyone has their own unique talent; it’s just a matter of discovering it. She believes that innate talent can only take you so far; it’s hard work, consistency and dedication that help you get to the finish line. It’s something that is highly reflected in her journey so far.

Message for Young Artists

Lastly, Swarnima Telang leaves us with some advice for the future young artists: “Make sure your art is a true reflection of who you are—something that brings you joy and aligns with your beliefs. Don’t just chase numbers or trends. Be intentional and responsible with what you create, because your work might be influencing more people than you realise. Share ideas you genuinely understand and believe in. Create from a place of authenticity, not imitation—don’t do something just because everyone else is doing it.”

If you are feeling too stressed and overwhelmed with your day-to-day life and wish to take a break to enjoy in the little things that life has to offer, check out @_itsahappyworld_!

Art was never a profession for the 63-year-old Parimal Vaghela, known for his hyper-realistic still lifes, landscapes, and portraits. It was more like a quiet companion he has carried through life, by his side — from childhood through his decades-long career as a civil engineer, and now into his sixties. Even as he spent decades as a civil engineer, he’d come back to his blank canvases, painting them with his reflections of the day – the ‘overlooked’ that Vaghela loved capturing.

A Childhood Shaped by Art

Vaghela’s artistic gift revealed itself early. By the age of 12, he was sculpting with chalk sticks, work that was also featured in Phool Vadi, a well-known Gujarati children’s magazine. His teachers and headmasters urged him to join a fine arts school, but in the 1970s, art education meant a five-year course with no guarantee of a livelihood. Coming from a modest background, Vaghela chose the safer path of civil engineering — a profession that could ensure survival, even if it meant putting art on the margins. Yet painting never left him. Vaghela proudly states that God has sent him with a pre-installed application on art and painting. “There is a driving force within me,” he reflects, “telling me which composition is right and which is not.”

With poster colours and ordinary paper in his childhood, he graduated to oil and canvas in his twenties. At first, he painted landscapes, inspired by the survey field visits he undertook as an engineer. Later came figure paintings, drawn from melas and cultural gatherings. Over time, he found himself drawn most to still life, where his brush could transform humble, overlooked and ignored objects — a bulb, a broken switch, a spice heap, into compositions of visual treat.

A Mentor Across Borders

Growing up in a small town with no internet, mentors, or access to proper art resources, Vaghela taught himself through observation and books. A turning point came when he discovered A Brush with Art by British painter Alwyn Crawshaw. Deeply moved, he wrote to Crawshaw’s publisher, narrating the story of Eklavya from the Mahabharata — the boy who learned archery by observing Drona from afar.

To his surprise, Crawshaw replied. He sent Vaghela books, videotapes, and cassettes, offering guidance and tips on art and painting, across continents. For Vaghela, Crawshaw became his Drona, and he, the Eklavya who trained in solitude. Crawshaw’s motto — “Go for the top of the mountain” — became Vaghela’s own life mantra, sustaining him through decades of balancing engineering and painting.

Exhibitions and Recognition

Despite his full-time profession, Vaghela held annual solo exhibitions, including three one-man shows at Mumbai’s Jehangir Art Gallery, as well as at Nehru Centre and Lila Art Gallery. His Ahmedabad exhibition caught the eye of a Times of India reporter, who was struck by the originality of his still life work. Over the years, he experimented with oil before settling into acrylics, which now dominate his canvases.

Apart from his observations of the daily life, Vaghela’s subjects are also deeply inspired by culture and locality like folk symbols from Gujarat, cultural events and melas. A painting of spices and herbs even won him a national award. His works also reached prominent personalities: Ramesh Chauhan of Bisleri is a deep admirer of Parimal Vaghela. Vedica’s bottle label has a mountain-view painting done by Vaghela, and one of his portraits was used in a Jackie Shroff-starrer film Grahan.

The Pull of the Ordinary – Parimal Vaghela’s Signature Style

For Vaghela, beauty lies in what most people miss. He recalls finding inspiration in a broken switch on a wall in Nagpur or an old rack in his grandmother’s kitchen. To him, these details are not trivial but deeply alive, waiting for someone to notice them. His newspaper series — paintings of headlines about GST slabs or the passing of Lata Mangeshkar — were not intended as commentary but emerged as by-products of the society he lived in. While Vaghela doesn’t call his arts an attempt at ‘intellectual operation’, or ‘morality’ yet, viewers often find deeper meanings in them.

For Vaghela, the surrender before beauty is the essence of art: to lose oneself in what is before you. He sees painting as a form of self-discovery, a relief from life’s difficulties, and a practice that gives mental peace.

Between Market Realities and Inner Calling

Though he has exhibited widely in India, Vaghela speaks honestly about the exploitative nature of the art market. Dealers often take more than their share, and monopolies dominate pricing. He recalls reading how a celebrated Gujarati artist’s work, sold in crores, earned the artist only some few lakhs. Such inequalities, along with delayed payments and financial misuse, often reminds us of the cruel capitalistic ladder which often disrespects the real origin of hardwork and creativity.

The Artist Who Endures

Parimal Vaghela firmly believes artists are born, not made: “90% of the ability I have today was with me since childhood.” Yet his own life also testifies to persistence — decades of practice without formal training, exhibitions pursued alongside government work, letters sent across borders, and above all, a fire that still burns to this day.

This higher force within him, a relentless drive to make a breakthrough in the art world draws inspiration from figures like Swami Vivekananda and Amrita Sher-Gil, personalities who left a profound impact on society despite their short lives. He nurtured a similar desire to create something extraordinary in his youth. “I always wanted to make a breakthrough in art at a younger age, and I believe I tried my best to achieve that,” he says. What sustained him through the years was this powerful will, coupled with his belief in his artistic skill and his constant striving to reach, in his mentor’s words, “the top of the mountain.”

Message to Young Artists

To all the beginners and budding artists, Parimal Vaghela reminds that an artist must decide within himself to do something extraordinary. “Consistency, patience, and putting your mind and soul into the work — that is what makes you stand out.” For him, art has never been about fame or market success. It has been about endurance, self-expression, and staying alive to the unnoticed beauty of the world — and that is what he asks of all young and aspiring artists.

Parimal Vaghela is a civil engineer by profession and an artist by mind, soul, and heart. He has been painting since a child, calling it a ‘fire’ within him that never stopped burning. Ever since, Vaghela has captured mere objects into timeless art – creating hyperrealistic paintings, landscape paintings, etc. His work has also featured in Jackie Shroff’s film, Grahan, as well as, Bisleri’s water bottle – Vedika.

When Arun Hegden speaks about photography, he speaks less about lenses and light meters and more about the silence of unguarded moments, the way emotions slip through people’s faces when they forget the camera exists. His journey into photography did not begin with an expensive camera or years of artistic training. It began with the simplest act of seeing.

Born in the small Kerala town of Ettumanoor and schooled in Kottayam, Arun trained in aerospace engineering and went on to work in a corporate job between 2011 and 2018. But parallel to spreadsheets and office hours, a quieter, more artistic story was unfolding. Just before he finished engineering, Arun bought a phone with a good camera and started clicking whatever was around him. He recalls, “I enjoyed the process of creating something unique, even if it was just hostel corridors or college friends.”

By 2012, he had invested in a DSLR. At first, it was just curiosity, the same curiosity that once made him sketch in school notebooks. But photography grew from a pastime into a parallel calling, and eventually, his main pursuit. In 2018, he made the leap, leaving behind the safety and stability of his corporate job to step into the uncertain sphere, an unconventional career path – photography.

Choosing Emotion Over Perfection

Arun’s philosophy as a photographer rests on a simple but profound belief: emotion outweighs technical perfection. “You can create a good picture with perfect lighting and pose,” he says, “but if you want to create a great picture, there has to be an unguarded moment. The imperfections are what make it beautiful.”

He admits he prefers humans in his frames whenever possible. Landscapes and architecture may have their grandeur and symmetries, but for him, photography becomes alive when it carries a trace of humanity—expressions, gestures, small emotional truths. That, he feels, is what creates resonance.

It is also why he publishes very little of what he shoots. From over a million images, less than 0.1% make it to his social media. For Arun, photographs that are technically perfect but emotionally empty remain “failed photographs.” A sharp image but without any connection or feel, he insists, is still hollow.

The Rough Road of Transition

Walking away from engineering into photography wasn’t a smooth crossing. Like every middle-class Indian family, Arun’s family too considered government jobs as the gold standards. Convincing his parents was difficult, as was convincing himself on days when work was irregular and money uncertain.

In a structured office, there are supervisors, deadlines, and colleagues to lean on. In freelancing, Arun had none of that. “You have to figure everything out on your own. There’s no boss to tell you what to do. And when there are long idle periods, creative blocks come in.”

Photography, he learned, was only about 10-20% of the actual work. The rest was marketing, networking, socializing, and constant skill upgrades. In the early years, he sustained himself on a few pre-booked projects and the hope that things would grow. Eventually, they did, though not without months of silences, struggles and challenges.

The Arun Hegden Motto: Photography as Process, Not Pressure

For many photographers, weddings are the bread-and-butter of survival. At one point, Arun was shooting 80 weddings a year, until the burnout set in. Today, he has cut it down to 30-35 days annually. Arun reminds us that while weddings bring in money, after a while, you lose the joy. “I want to enjoy the process, not feel drained by it.”

Having been in the creative field for almost a decade now, Arun has cultivated the approach of process over pressure. He doesn’t carry his camera everywhere, nor does he feel compelled to photograph constantly. If a scene feels worth capturing, he shoots. If not, he simply watches with his own eyes. “Not every moment needs to be photographed,” he says. “Sometimes it’s enough to experience it.”

Navigating a Digital, AI-Driven World

In today’s landscape where AI can generate images at the click of a button, Arun remains grounded. He does use AI tools to speed up editing, bringing down his workflow from an hour to just ten minutes, but he resists the idea of AI-generated photographs. Authenticity is the real art, and for Arun, the process of creating is an authentic act in itself. 

His love for film photography further reveals this attachment to authenticity. With two film cameras in hand, he relishes the slower pace, the delayed gratification of waiting weeks or months before seeing developed negatives. In today’s age of digital archives, it is these moments that bring us back to the materiality and tangibility of our lives. 

On Trends, Travel, and Impermanence

Travel and photography, for Arun, evolved hand in hand. In 2012 he bought a bike, in 2013 he visited Ladakh. A photograph from that trip was exhibited widely, convincing him that stepping out of comfort zones was essential. Over time, though, his relationship with travel changed. While earlier he might have traveled to click, but now he travels to experience. Even if he doesn’t find anything worth shooting, he’s happy just being present. Travel and photography have shaped each other and him quite equally. 

In a time where every trip, concert, or meal gets documented for social media, he remains cautious of over-documentation. We’re aware of the multitude of content present online, which is, as Arun points out, overwhelming. Our attention spans are shrinking. Arun comments, “I don’t want to create because others are creating. I share when it feels authentic, not as part of a daily race.”

Advice to Young Photographers

When asked what guidance he would give beginners, Arun Hegden keeps it practical:

• Practice daily: Shoot for 30 days straight to master your camera. Technical confidence frees you to focus on emotion.
  
• Find mentors: Attend workshops, learn from others’ visions, and don’t be afraid to ask for guidance.
  
• Create for yourself: Don’t chase validation. If you enjoy the process, the work will sustain itself.
  
• Act on inspiration quickly: Don’t let it fade into procrastination.
  
• Balance art and life: Pay your bills, upgrade your tools, but never lose sight of why you started.
  

Looking Ahead

Today, Arun Hegden is experimenting with videography, something he has been practicing for the last two to three years. Having once dabbled in short films, he hopes to return to filmmaking in the future. “Someday, I’d love to make films again,” he says, with the quiet certainty of someone who knows that creative journeys are not straight lines but spirals.

For Arun, success has never been a fixed point, never a fixed definition. “There’s no single destination called success. It’s always ups and downs.” Truly, the real success is in not giving up, in continuing to create even when nobody is watching. 

And perhaps that is what makes his story remarkable. In a world obsessed with perfection and speed, Arun Hegden reminds us of the value of imperfection, patience, and the simple joy of creating—whether for the world or just for oneself.

Arun Hegden is an Indian photographer who left his profession as an Aerospace Engineer. During his college days, Arun started experimenting with his phone camera and loved creating something ‘authentic’ and ‘unique’. Today he does landscape photography, portraits, weddings, cultural events, and more.