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Aishwarya Sridhar is an Indian wildlife photographer, environment conservationist, documentary filmmaker, and TEDx speaker. She is the youngest recipient of the Sanctuary Asia- Young Naturalist Award (2011), and the International Camera Fair Award (2016). In 2020, Aishwarya became the first Indian woman recipient of the Wildlife Photographer of the Year Award.
Wiki/Biography
Aishwarya Sridhar was born on Sunday, 12 January 1997, and she hails from Panvel in Maharashtra. She did her schooling at Dr Pillai Global Academy, Navi Mumbai, and then she went on to pursue a Bachelor of Mass Media from Pillai College of Arts, Commerce and Science, Mumbai.
Physical Appearance
Hair Colour: Black
Eye Colour: Black
Family & Caste
Parents & Siblings
Aishwarya Sridhar’s father, Sridhar Ranganathan, is a member of the Bombay Natural History Society (BNHS). Her mother’s name is Rani Sridhar.
Relationships, Husband & Children
Not much is known about her relationships.
Career
Aishwarya got introduced to the world of wildlife when she was 8 years old. She spent most of her childhood, trekking, going on wildlife trails, visiting wetlands, birdwatching for hours and documenting them. Aishwarya’s father, Sridhar Ranganathan who is a member of the Bombay Natural History Society (BNHS) used to take her on nature trails when she was young. In an interview, she said,
At the age of 11, when I saw my first big cat at Pench National Park, I was elated, but also heartbroken after the news of the same tiger being poached made headlines. It was at that time that I decided that I wanted to work for wildlife conservation.’
In 2018, her debut documentary, Panje-The Last Wetland, was telecast on DD National and has helped to protect the last remaining wetlands of Mumbai.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pUZK8DbKsZ0
Thereafter, she became a member of the State Wetland Identification Committee appointed by the Bombay High Court. In 2019, she filmed another documentary, The Queen of Taru featuring ‘Maya,’ a tiger in the Tadoba forest, Maharashtra. The documentary won the Best Amateur Film Award at the New York Wildlife Film Festival, and it became the first Indian film to receive such an award. It was also nominated for the Best Film Award at the 9th National Science Film Festival (2019).
Thereafter, in 2020, she directed an eight-part digital series, Fun-Crafts with Aishwarya, for WWF India. Later, in the same year, she hosted Nature For Future, a unique wildlife chat show focusing on India’s most endangered species on Discovery Channel India. On 13 October 2020, Aishwarya became the first Indian woman recipient of the Wildlife Photographer of the Year Award for the mesmerising image named ‘Lights of passion,’ featuring fireflies. It was a number of photographs taken over time and then layered back together.
Lights of passion by Aishwarya Sridhar
Awards/Honours
- Sanctuary Asia’s Young Naturalist Award (2011)
- International Camera Fair Award (2016)
- Young Digital Camera Photographer of the Year Award for the picture titled ‘It’s a Small World’ (2018)
It’s a Small World by Aishwarya Sridhar
- Excellence in Short Film Award for the documentary ‘Panje- The Last Wetland’ at the NexGen Short Film Festival (2019)
- Woman Icon Award (2019)
Aishwarya Sridhar receiving WOMAN ICON INDIA AWARD (2019)
- Wildlife Photographer of the Year Award (2020)
Facts/Trivia
- Despite being active wildlife and environment conservationist, Aishwarya has never compromised with her studies. In fact, in 2013, she was the world topper in the business studies exam in Cambridge International Examinations. Her percentiles in the four examinations that she appeared in were, business studies-97, accounting-96, economics-91, and English literature-85.
- She has penned more than 200 poems on nature and conservation. Her images, poems and articles have been published in various magazines and newspapers, including BBC Wildlife, Guardian, Mongabay, Sanctuary Asia, Saevus, Times of India, DNA, Hindustan Times, and The Vibe and Pawstrail.
- She also works with the local fishing communities, NGOs, and the state to protect the wetlands in Maharashtra, and she is the youngest member of the State Wetland Brief Documentation Committee.