I am from Bengaluru, Karnataka, born on the 2nd Oct’ 2009 (12 years as of now) entering 7th Grade CBSE, Shri Kumarans Home.
My father, Anand C K Shashidhar, who is a sports coach, supports me in my passion, which is anything to do with wildlife. We go out on weekends to click the feathered marvels at one of the many surrounding lakes and jungle areas, or sometimes to distant forests and mountains too.
I am lucky and blessed to also have many mentors like Shri Jai Sharma (NatGeo Educator), Shri. Guru Prasad, Shri. Bopanna Pattada (Professional Photographer), & Shri. Naren Srinivasan (Wildlife Association of South India). I also get many photography advices from my father’s friend, Shri. Sharath, who stays in the US.
I am very keen in photography and am creating documentaries on certain important activities of a bird’s life cycle, like its nest building, laying eggs, incubating the eggs, hatching their young ones and feeding them and fledging. I can spend the whole day capturing interesting photos of the avian diversity.
I am also interested in Music, Sports Shooting, Cricket, Cycling & Trekking. I have visited a few places and have a long bucket list of places to visit. I love the camps in wilderness and actually feel at home, amidst nature’s green bounty.
In my pursuit of learning more on nature, especially on birds, I have completed 5 NatGeo Certifications, 3 Certifications from Coursera and recently cleared the Basic Course in Ornithology from NPTEL, which is an undertaking of the Ministry of Human Resources, IITs & IIMs. Of the 5045 students who enrolled All India, only 372 cleared the certification, of which I am proud to be the youngest!
As I learn more, which will be my lifetime passion, I am also realizing that the nature that we live in is filled with so many wonderful surprises and information, which many of us are unaware of.
Matter of fact, we have taken this abundance of flora and fauna for granted and are disrespecting them to a point where it will lead to our own downfall. It hurts me to be a witness to the super large forest lands we lose every day from deforestation in the name of development, from mining in the name of manufacture and from climate change which is largely because of the pollution that we humans create.
I wish to be part of a movement that will emphasize on the importance of nature, build awareness in everyone and help make this planet a better world for all.