Chiiz Volume 05 : Travel Photography | Page 25

M ukesh Kumar from Chiiz gets in talks with MR. JOHN EDWARDS about his journey and what he found out on his journey to capture the smiles that behold a whole little world for some people and are quickly disappearing behind the virtual screens. So John, the project Smiles 5000 Miles. We all can figure out the reason behind it but would you like to elaborate? Yes. As I live in a metropolis and my work involves a lot of travel, I have observed that in most of the places people are too busy to smile. They are always running after something or the other, worried and often tensed. It has become a rare sight to see people smile and laugh, especially in metro cities. It is almost impossible to see a true smile that comes straight from the heart. Whenever I go for a corporate shoot, it becomes a difficult task to make people pose with a natural smile. The higher they climb on the so called success ladder, the tougher it gets for them to smile spontaneously. It is time to realize that we humans are the only ones blessed with the gift of a smile on this planet. Like they say, 'journey is the real destination', how was your journey? I like to be called a traveler than a tourist. And this is one of life’s simplest hacks that I follow. I approach life as a traveler, with no serious itineraries and no “do or die” goal settings. It is not the destination which is important but the process of journey which brings more meaning, joy, surprises and sometimes pain too. If you believe that life’s final destination is death, then don’t focus on the destination but enjoy the journey called Life. During this road trip, I have realized that life exactly resembles the roads. A smooth six lane highway suddenly narrows down to a single lane two way rural road or a mud road or 52 Vol 5 no road at all. If you are a tourist and are more focused in reaching your destination by following your itinerary, then these elements will bother you and take away your peace of mind but for a traveler it is an experience. This journey has taught me a lot. I overcame my fear of dogs which I was nurturing since childhood. Four people who provided me with shelter on my journey were hardcore dog lovers and had huge dogs at their homes. They taught me everything about dogs and took my fear away. They are now my friends and in turn I learnt to befriend dogs! When you get out on the road, what are the important things you should keep in mind? Don’t carry even an extra feather if it is not essential. This was my first bike trip and I had never ridden my bike for more than 50 kms at a stretch before. I had no biker friends nor did I belong to any biker club. When I was packing my bags, with a typical security driven middle class mindset, I made a long list of things to carry and eventually ended up loading a huge sack on my pillion. The person who hosted me in Ahmedabad happened to be an automobile designer and an avid biker. He first laughed at my bag and taught me how to travel minimalistic. I promised him that by the time I complete my journey I will hold only twenty percent of what I have started with and eventually I stood by my words. Most of us carry a huge amount of unnecessary luggage and dead weights with us in our lives. Once you became conscious and aware of its relevance and importance then it is very easy to shed them off. There life becomes easy. Any upcoming projects from you on the same topic? Where we can see the result of this project or the collection of smiles?