imported>Sadads at 23:51, 23 August 2021

2021-08-23T23:51:48Z

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{{Use dmy dates|date=December 2018}}
{{Use Indian English|date=December 2018}}
{{Infobox person
| name = Kalyan Varma
| image = Kalyan_Varma.jpg
| caption = Kalyan Varma
| birth_date =
| birth_place = Bangalore
| known_for = Co-founder of [[India Nature Watch]], [[Nature InFocus]], [[Peepli Project]]| nationality = Indian
|occupation = [[Photojournalist]], [[Filmmaker]]
| website = http://www.kalyanvarma.net
| footnotes =
}}

[[File:Harpegnathos saltator fight.jpg|thumb|Harpegnathos saltator fight]]

'''Kalyan Varma''' is a [[Bangalore]] based Natural history [[filmmaker]], photographer and [[Conservation movement|conservationist]].<ref>{{Cite web|title = Meet Kalyan Varma, the Visual Storyteller and Wildlife Photographer|url = http://www.mansworldindia.com/people/kalyan-varma/|website = Man's World India|access-date = 2016-01-24|language = en-GB}}</ref> He is one of the founders of Peepli Project;<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/blink/know/stories-not-headlines/article7637563.ece |title=Stories, not headlines |publisher=Hindu Businessline |date= |accessdate=2016-01-22}}</ref> co-director of [[Nature InFocus]] nature and wildlife festival; founding member of [[India Nature Watch]]. He currently freelances with the [[BBC Natural History Unit|BBC Natural History]], [[Netflix]], [[Discovery Channel]] and [[National Geographic (Indian TV channel)|National Geographic Channel (India)]], and also works with [[grassroots]] NGOs like [[Nature Conservation Foundation]] to highlight environmental issues in India. He is a recipient of the Carl Zeiss Wildlife Conservation Award.

== Earlier life ==
Kalyan studied mechanical engineering from [[P.E.S. Institute of Technology, Bangalore South Campus]] and right after joined [[Yahoo!]] in 2001. He headed the security division of Yahoo and at that time was active in [[open-source software]] and [[Linux]] communities in India and was active in pushing these technologies in the society. He was one of the core members of the annual conference [[FOSS.IN]]. He won the superstar award in Yahoo, given to ten employees globally each year. At the end of 2004 he quit his job in order to pursue [[nature photography]]. He worked in [[Biligiriranga Hills]] for more than a year before he took up full time wildlife photography and filmmaking as a profession.

==Community initiatives==
Kalyan is involved in fostering community among photographers and wildlife conservationists since his early years.

In 2004 he, along with a team of photographers, founded [[India Nature Watch|India Nature watch]], an online community which now has become the largest platform for wildlife photographers in Asia.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Mohan|first=Deepa|date=2007-11-05|title=Bangaloreans contribute to wildlife protection|url=https://bengaluru.citizenmatters.in/31-environment-wildlife-bangaloreans-contribute-to-wildlife-protection-indian-wildlife-online-31|access-date=2021-01-02|website=Citizen Matters, Bengaluru|language=en-GB}}</ref> This community was involved in pushing conservation of wildlife in India via visual media.

In 2015, he co-founded the slow-journalism initiative the Peepli project, which delves deep into the unreported, under-reported, themes that public discourse currently abdicates. Kalyan undertook a year long project to document human-elephant conflict in Karnataka.<ref>{{Cite web|title = Nature without Borders|url = http://peepli.org/project/naturewithoutborders/|website = www.peepli.org|access-date = 2016-07-14}}</ref>

He is one of the co-founders of [[Nature InFocus]], an annual festival, portal, contest and a documentary production company which is one of the largest in the world, focussed on nature photography and conservation.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.ndtv.com/bangalore-news/photography-exhibition-brings-together-nature-enthusiasts-in-bengaluru-778469|title=Photography Exhibition Brings Together Nature Enthusiasts in Bengaluru|website=NDTV.com}}</ref>

Kalyan is best known for directing and producing the film Wild Karnataka which was the first nature film to be released in Cinema in India and was produced by a team of natural history filmmakers.

==Wildlife documentaries==
Kalyan has in the last decade dedicated himself to make wildlife documentaries. He has made various wildlife documentaries for the [[BBC Natural History Unit|BBC]] and [[National Geographic Channel|National]] Geographic Channel.

* 2008 BBC The Mountains of the Monsoon{{cn|date=April 2019}}
* 2009 BBC One million snake bites <ref>http://www.iconfilms.co.uk/productions/past-productions/one-million-snake-bites.html</ref>
* 2011 [[National Geographic Channel|National Geographic]] Secrets of Wild India<ref>{{cite web|author=P. Oppili |url=http://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-national/article3282652.ece |title=Today's Paper / NATIONAL : ‘Secrets of Wild India' bags award at International Wildlife Film Festival |publisher=The Hindu |date=2012-04-05 |accessdate=2012-10-26}}</ref>
* 2012 BBC [[Life Story (TV series)]]
* 2014 BBC [[Wonders of the Monsoon]]<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p027dkjp/p027dj42/ |title=Wonders of the Monsoon |publisher=www.bbc.co.uk |date= |accessdate=2016-01-22}}</ref>
* 2015 BBC India: Natures Wonderland<ref>{{cite web|url = http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p0319ncl|title = India: Natures Wonderland|publisher = www.bbc.co.uk|date = |accessdate = 2016-01-22}}</ref>
*2017 ORF sky river : Brahmaputra{{cn|date=April 2019}}
* 2017 BBC Big Cats<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p05q599b|title=Big Cats - BBC One|website=BBC|language=en-GB|access-date=2018-02-09}}</ref>
* 2019 [[Wild Karnataka (2019 film)]]<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.thehindu.com/entertainment/movies/a-majestic-celebration/article26429185.ece|title=A majestic celebration: Wild Karnataka, India’s first blue-chip natural history|first=Sravasti|last=Datta|date=4 March 2019|publisher=|via=www.thehindu.com}}</ref>
*2019 Netflix Our planet
*2020 BBC Primates

==Awards==
* 2015 Sanctuary Asia - Wildlife photographer of the year <ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.sanctuaryasia.com/photography/gallery/item/2037/asInline.html|title=Best Wildlife Photography Images and Nature Conservation Photos {{!}} Sanctuary Asia - The Voice of Wild India|website=www.sanctuaryasia.com|language=en|access-date=2017-08-13}}</ref>
* 2013 NHM photographer of the year - Biological Realms <ref>{{Cite web|title = Cocoon of life|url = http://www.nhm.ac.uk/visit/wpy/gallery/2013/images/botanical-realms/4758/cocoon-of-life.html|website = www.nhm.ac.uk|access-date = 2016-01-24}}</ref>
* 2015 Asferico international nature photography contest <ref>{{Cite web|title = The Hunt|url = http://www.asferico.com/concorso/gallerie/e_index.html|website = www.asferico.com|access-date = 2016-01-29}}{{Dead link|date=February 2020 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref>
* 2015 Por el Planeta - First place in Animal Behaviour <ref>{{Cite web|title = Stunning Images Show the Impact of Man on Nature|url = http://news.nationalgeographic.com/2015/12/151201-por-el-planeta-conservation-photo-contest-winners/#/04porelplaneta.ngsversion.1448978400991.jpg|website = National Geographic News|access-date = 2016-01-24|first=Brian Clark|last = Howard|publisher=National Geographic | date=1 December 2015}}</ref>
* 2017 Carl Zeiss Wildlife Conservation award <ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.business-standard.com/article/news-ani/zeiss-wildlife-conservation-awards-celebrates-unsung-heroes-117032500648_1.html|title=ZEISS Wildlife Conservation Awards celebrates unsung heroes|first=|last=ANI|date=25 March 2017|publisher=|via=Business Standard}}</ref>

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
* {{Official website|kalyanvarma.net}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Varma, Kalyan}}
[[Category:1980 births]]
[[Category:Indian wildlife photographers]]
[[Category:Indian documentary filmmakers]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:Film directors from Bangalore]]
[[Category:Photographers from Karnataka]]
[[Category:21st-century Indian photographers]]

Kalyan Varma - Revision history

imported>Sadads at 23:51, 23 August 2021