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In this episode, I’m talking to Chidanand Hiremath who is a Visual Designer, Photographer and former Digital Nomad. He has travelled 30+ countries till now and currently living in Berlin and getting his Masters in children’s rights and childhood education. His love for travelling started since his childhood when one day his father brought him an old NatGeo Travellers magazine from 1949. In his early 20s, he left his first job and started freelancing as a graphic designer. Since then he’s never looked back, he’s doing what he loves and exploring himself as an artist and as a creative.

In this conversation, we talked about how he got started with travelling, why he doesn’t like travelling as a tourist. How he started out with freelance graphic design and did his first solo trip in India with his own earned money and subsequently internationally. His perspective on how being a digital nomad may look attractive externally but how hard it is when you actually go ahead and do it.

He also does nude art (sketching and drawing) and we get into the detail about how it practically works out. He also talks about why he doesn’t like selling work of art or photos on stock sites. There are a lot of interesting topics in this conversation. I really enjoyed talking to Chidanand.

So without further adieu, please enjoy this conversation with Chidanand Hiremath.

Links and references from the episode –

Interesting references –

• National Geographic magazines from where his love for travelling sprouted, his dad brought him old magazines. Here his blog’s link to this story.
• Buddh International Circuit, Noida India – He went to see the first race here and from there he went to his first solo journey to McLeod Ganj, Himachal for the first time.
• His mom used to read a lot of English books, so he learnt and got the habit of reading from her. But he always loved how his dad narrated the stories.
• If you want to live a nomadic lifestyle, these are points you should think about –
  • First and foremost, if you really would like to do it, and not because it looks cool!
  • Let go of the feeling of stability and security in terms of income, relationships and more. If you want the network of people around the world, but not a very close group.
  • Just going ahead and actually doing it. Make a plan and execute it.
• He’s leaning into Filmmaking, editing, colour grading etc at this time.
• He likes Germany quite a bit because of the cleanliness and the freedom to express yourself and also Taiwan because of cleanliness and calmness and a very good transport system.
• He makes physical notes as compared to digital notes for more of a sensory feeling and brain connection.
• He’s finishing up his Masters in children’s rights and childhood studies.
• His dream is to make a feature film and backpack to Africa.

People mentioned –

• Amit Mehta‘s – Vegan Potluck where we met
• Uma da Cunha – Festival Curator.
• Bhavani – who’s story was published in the NatGeo Traveller India along with a photograph taken by Chidanand. Here is the link to the story and here is the link to NatGeo Traveller India Nov 2014 edition.
• His Favorite photography type – Portraits and he doesn’t like to put them online, he prints them out and shares with his subjects (people in the portraits).
• Sam Harris – mentioned by Himanshu
• Anurag Kashyap

Books mentioned –

• John Grisham Books – Legal Thrillers
• Frederick Forsyth Books – Crime Fiction
• Robert Ludlum Books – Spy Fiction
• Perry Mason Book Series – Law/Detective Fiction
• Sydney Sheldon Books – Thrillers
• Paulo Coelho Books – Fiction/NonFiction

Movies mentioned –

• Ford Vs Ferrari
• Parasite
• Dev.D
• Gangs of Wasseypur – Part 1
• Gangs of Wasseypur – Part 2

App/Tools mentioned –

• Adobe Illustrator
• His current camera – Nikon D750 (Full Frame)
• His lense of choice – 50mm Prime
• Mobile workflow tools –
  • Lumii
  • Adobe Lightroom Mobile
  • Snapseed
• Video Editing – DaVinci Resolve
• Calm – for meditation
• Waking Up by Sam Harris – app for meditation – mentioned by Himanshu

Quotes mentioned –

• I like to read fiction as my life is creating enough Non-Fiction Stories.
• When you travel, you meet new people, so it’s like you read a new book every day!
• Know yourself!
• People are in pursuit of many things in life, for external reasons not internal. Maybe they are doing things they are not even motivated to do, but because other people expect these things from them. Very few people speak to themselves and their innermost desires and really let reflect themselves. Everything happened to you since you were a baby and has shaped you, when you reflect on that, when you evaluate yourself as a human being, you’ll make decisions that will make you happier.

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