Prerana Gawde | Marine Biologist | Divemaster | Ocean Photographer | India
Prerana is from India and is currently between Bengaluru and the Lakshadweep islands.
She is I currently learning how to write a script for a documentary on small-scale fisher communities and the challenges they face.
“I want to have positively impacted people and the environment in some way or the other.”
When did you first start your storytelling journey?
I think it was my first dive. The visibility was hardly three to four meters. But that didn’t matter. I was just in awe of everything I was seeing and I naturally had the urge to get a camera to shoot for a video docu someday.
At some point, I started working as a divemaster in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, where I had true blue waters in my backyard and a handy digital camera. I would spend endless hours by the sea, observing all the shades of blue and green of the ocean and the marine life underneath it. Some of the underwater footage contributed towards a marine field guide. That, I believe, was my first experience with storytelling.
What are the fondest memories from your upbringing that you feel impacted your life choices and lifestyle today?
It has to be some of the memories of me being in the water. Growing up, swimming was something my sisters and I always looked forward to. Starting from swimming in a well with freshwater turtles keeping us company to swimming laps in an Olympic-sized pool, being in the water became second nature to me. I believe that somewhere this drew me to marine sciences.
What path did you choose after leaving school?
It is very common in India to feel peer pressure after school, to choose fields like medicine and engineering, or be sure of what you want in life. I too felt that pressure, but it is important to just stop and feel the pulse of your interests or know what you are good at. I loved being in nature and I was good at biology. So after school, I simply tried to learn about the environment we live in by getting an undergraduate degree in zoology.
When it was not enough and I wanted to go deeper into animal sciences, I decided to do a postgraduate degree in zoology. My love for being in the ocean led me to work in the diving industry for a while and then narrow my focus specifically toward marine sciences. This brings me to what I do now, and that is studying marine life and its interaction with people that depend on the ocean for everything.
What/who currently inspires you?
I am inspired by the people around me. As a researcher, I get to interact with other researchers, conservationists, divers, fishers, island communities, and more. Stories about their journey and the drive toward their work motivate me.
A healthy dose of storytelling by Jacques Cousteau and David Attenborough never fails to fire my imagination. Craig Leeson’s A Plastic Ocean and Jeff Orlowski’s Chasing Coral are some of my favourite films because of such breathtaking imagery with a powerful message. I also love children’s stories about the oceans and some of the best ones I like are The Shark Lady, Moonlight in the Sea and The Big Book of the Blue are my favorites.
Are there any books/documentaries that have guided your thinking, and that you'd like to recommend to other ocean lovers?
Stories told through The Sea Around Us by Rachel Carson and The Unnatural History of the Sea by Callum Roberts are some books that have added to my perspectives of the oceans.
Visual media has influenced me a lot, so I would particularly recommend the BBC docuseries like the Oceans, The Blue Planet or Titans of the Deep.
What would you most like to change in the world/environment today?
Wow… many things! But something that I think of often is responsibility towards our environment. It’s high time that people, governments, big companies, etc, particularly those with resources, be cognizant of environmental conditions and take corrective action to address issues.
What legacy do you hope to leave?
I would want to have positively impacted people and the environment in some way or the other.
What advice would you give to anyone looking to follow their dreams as an Ocean Storyteller?
I would suggest finding a personal connection with the ocean to weave genuine stories around them. Go local. It could be about the life that calls the ocean it's home or about people who use them for their livelihoods while taking care not to cause it any harm. There are numerous communities have evolved traditions and cultures around the oceans and their marine beings. These traditions teach us how to use ocean life as a resource, but sustainably. I believe we need more stories like these as well.
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