Multi-millionaire businessman Gautam Kulkarni shifts his course to photography and philanthropy

Human wants can never be satisfied with superficial things.  Every one of us wishes to explore and know more about our roots and what makes us truly happy. Some of us forever pursue a lifestyle that gets us luxury and comfort but doesn’t bring a sense of satisfaction, but some of us manage to break free from this.

Gautam Kulkarni is a prominent entrepreneur who has set a benchmark by being the first Indian Chartered Cost Consultancy which he started at the age of 23 and growing the company to one of the largest in the region.

“When I started my company, I was fully dedicated to the growth and expansion of my office.  I was extremely ambitious and was doing very well financially as well.” said Gautam.

Although Gautam’s life seemed thriving and fulfilled, he knew that something was missing and he was forced to ask himself if this was what he really wanted. The entrepreneur decided to take a break to revaluate his life and travel the world starting with a trip to China for 3 months.

“I enjoyed travelling around the world and capturing diverse cultures and stories of people, especially those whose lives were very different from his own” added Gautam.

It was on one such trip that he stopped by the city Allahabad to visit Maha Kumbh Mela in 2012. While photographing a small boy, Gautam was encountered by a question. The boy asked him what he did with his photos and if he would give him something in return for taking his photograph.  Gautam didn’t feel money was the appropriate exchange, and decided to print the photo and give it to him instead.  The look on his face at seeing his own photo and the disbelief that he was going to be able to keep the print, was etched forever in Gautam’s memory. Shortly after this, he called all his friends and soon Gautam was surrounded by people who wanted him to take their photos and give them a print too. 

This is where the idea for “Pictureforapicture” started as a simple gesture of giving a photo back instead of just taking one.  “Many of the people I met on my travels did not have access to phones, emails or social media.  Some did not even possess a single photo print of themselves.” said Gautam, who since then carries a small portable printer with him wherever he travels.

Gautam’s book “pictureforapicture” is an amazing collection of all his travels and experiences of meeting people in different parts of India, living with tribes in remotest parts of Africa, meeting nomads in Iran and many other wonderful stories of connecting with people through photography.

Picureforapicture is available on Amazon and Kindle and is published by Notion Press.   Gautam’s Instagram handle is #hobograph and his social media is managed by Groundwork.

The success and fulfillment of this adventure led him and his wife and to found their charity - the Kara Foundation (#kara_foundation), which thus far has funded several education and healthcare projects in India and Nepal. His wife Kanchan is also a renowned mental health coach and has been doing exclusively pro-bono work since the start of the pandemic.

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