Conversation With Sharath Gayakwad

Indian Paralympic Swimmer and Arjuna Awardee Sharath Gayakwad
Indian Paralympic Swimmer and Arjuna Awardee Sharath Gayakwad. Photograph by Nishant Ratnakar

In this multimedia photo-essay, I profile Indian para-swimmer Sharath Gayakwad.

Bangalore-based Sharath won the bronze medal in the last Para Asian Games held in China. Here, Sharath speaks about his early life, swimming career, and upcoming London Paralympics. He also sends out a message to people with disabilities. I was inspired meeting Sharath. I hope he inspires you too.

This is a multimedia project done as an assignment during my Scholarship Photojournalism diploma from ACFJ at Ateneo De Manila University, Philippines.

The audio interview was recorded on Zoom H1 Handy recorder, and the final multimedia was produced using Soundslides Pro, a rapid production tool for still image and audio web presentations.

Edit: Originally, the project was produced as a Soundslides multimedia project. The project has been now converted to a video format to make it available for viewing on all devices. Soundslides, at the moment, is not responsive website design-friendly and hence doesn’t display well on mobile devices. If you want to view the original Soundslides version of this  project from a desktop computer browser, then please click this link – Conversation with Sharath Anna (Soundslides version)

All Photographs and sound are copyright Nishant Ratnakar.

Note: To reuse any of the material for editorial purposes, please contact me using the contact form.

Update 1: Sharath has become the first Indian swimmer to qualify for a Paralympics. The 20-year-old para-swimmer – who was born with a deformed hand – will represent India in the 2012 London Paralympic games. Do cheer Sharath all along his Olympic journey.

Update 2 (30th August 2015): Sharath has been given the Arjuna Award by the government of India.

Follow Sharath on his facebook page: Sharath Gayakwad

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By Nishant Ratnakar

Nishant is a Bangalore, India based Wedding, Portrait & Editorial Photographer. He is available for assignments across India. He also conducts photography workshops and offers personal photography mentorship.