Harshvardhan Kadam: Dreaming in Colour

As a child, Harshvardhan enjoyed creating things. He wanted to be an architect, but he found his passion elsewhere. We take a look at how Harshvardhan has become the artist he is today.

Former president A. P. J. Abdul Kalam once said, "You have to dream before your dreams can come true". Harshvardhan Kadam believes he is living his dream every single day. He enjoys adding colour and character to urban cities, but his life hasn't been easy.

As a young boy, Harshvardhan was completely enthralled by the idea of creating something new. He would race his Hot Wheels on tracks he'd scribble across his bedroom floor. While growing up, he was in love with the idea of buildings things, and he wanted to be an architect. But, he found his passion elsewhere, and decided to become a storyteller - but not in the conventional sense. Harshvardhan brings mythology and other concepts to life by painting incredible murals on city walls. He also illustrates characters for graphic novels and children's books. He eventually started his own collective, calledinkbrushnme, where he uses powerful visual art to bring his ideas to life.

Talking about his career beginnings, Harshvardhan is thankful to his parents for always believing in him and letting him choose his own path in life. They're no longer with him, but their teachings keep him inspired and motivated. He's been drawing professionally for over 10 years now, and it's the only thing that makes complete sense to him. And while his passion for his work has taken a toll on his personal life, he's come to terms with the fact that he's going to have to make sacrifices if he wants to continue to shape an extraordinary life for himself.

Harshvardhan knows that money can fuel dreams, but he refuses to take a loan to achieve his goals. The artist puts his thoughts down incredibly well, "I never borrow. My dreams were my super cars. I had to fuel them myself as I had to drive them on my own". There are times when he's had hardly any money left in his bank account, but he wasn't quite ready to give up on his dreams just yet. He's worked through all the rough patches, and has even worked in somewhat extreme situations.

When he does have money, the artist chooses to reinvest the money into his artistic practice. He hasn't used his hard-earned cash to build up his assets. Instead, he uses his money to fuel his passion projects, and these projects, in turn, have become his much-treasured assets.

Like Harshvardhan, there are many different artists who have different dreams, and along with their hard work, money will help them achieve their goals. A little financial planning is required to help out at times when money is tight, or there isn't any cash coming in regularly. But, with a good investment plan and a smart savings scheme, artists can secure their financial future, while also continuing to fulfil their dreams.

Harshvardhan believes that to be successful in life, you need to live your dreams - not just chase them. Whether he's working on a graphic novel, a mural in the city, or India's largest artwork, Harshvardhan gives every project his complete and unlimited attention. He doesn't believe in boundaries, and works hard to give his imagination a more concrete form. As the artist says, "From drawing graphic novels to conceiving larger than life artworks, the expanse of imagination has been the only key. If you can imagine, you can achieve".