Gautam Kamat Bambolkar’s recent accomplishment at the Moscow
International Foto Awards (MIFA) is one of his biggest, internationally. This
New Jersey-based young Goan’s photography work was critiqued by a jury comprising
28 experts that consisted of acclaimed photo editors, art directors, art
buyers, gallery owners, curators, publishers and other influential luminaries.
Gautam’s work competed with thousands of entries from more than 85 countries
and was judged on concept, creativity, uniqueness, execution and impact. In the
end, Gautam’s exceptional work earned him a Gold in the Nature (Seasons)
category for his photo, titled, ‘Geometrical Snow’, a Silver in the People
(Wedding) category for ‘Wishing her more smiles ahead’ and Bronze in the Events
(Wedding) category for his photo series, ‘Awkwardly Cute’. The achievement is
huge and hence the dire longing to celebrate it with family and friends in Goa
is stronger than ever.
Born in Ponda, Gautam’s father’s frequent job transfers
ensured that the family moved across Goa, living and soaking in the diverse
flavours that every village had to offer, before settling back in Ponda. A
Bachelor’s degree in Fine Arts (Applied Arts) from Goa College of Art and a
short stint in Mumbai later, Gautam moved to Pune to join an IT firm that flew
him to the US in 2015. Gautam works as a User Experience Lead, serving the
clients’ needs for creating usable websites, mobile apps, portals etc. Work and
the landscapes of New Jersey keep him distracted but not enough to negate the
longing to return ‘home’. He says, “It has been long. I miss Goa beyond words.
Though video calls and chats have tried reducing the distance, I miss the air.
I need to get back ASAP.”
Gautam’s love for all things arty was an easy criteria for
him to veer towards other forms of art. As a religious follower of design, as
he puts it, Gautam has been dabbling with set designs for plays and shows,
writing theatre scripts, theatre direction, canvas paintings, sculptures,
photography and much more. While his involvement in multiple ad campaigns has
won him accolades at various competitions nationally, his work in the field of
writing and direction of theatre plays has made people sit up and take note of
him.
For someone who is invested in multiple things at a time, asking him about concrete future plans can be an exercise in futility. Gautam is currently writing two one-act plays in Konkani, with filmmaking next on his to-do list. The process has begun already with a short film, 'Six-Seconds', which he shot with New Jersey Film School. When asked about what he wants to focus on in the future, Gautam says, “I want to continue doing what I am doing – draw, paint, shoot, write and repeat. It's still day one for me and I have a long way to go.”