“I was born in Hyderabad, but my journey has taken me across cities and industries, from printing presses to global tech platforms. My family ran one of the oldest printing presses here, and I quickly realized the importance of embracing technology. By the mid-90s, I was building interactive and GPS-based solutions for Fortune 500 companies, helping companies enter the Indian market.

After years in software and global contracts, I wanted to create something lasting. That led me back to print—not newspapers, but books that could make a difference. Visual Quest first published Tirumala Tirupati: The Legends and Beyond and The Great Indian Yoga Masters: Tracing 2500 Years of Yoga, 500 BCE to 21st Century, but it was our third book, Peace, Truth, Ahimsa: A Photobiography of Mahatma Gandhi, that transformed my vision.

While researching Gandhi, I realized he was priceless. We couldn’t just make a book—we had to create a work of art. That inspired a limited edition of 1,869 copies, each numbered and stamped, marking his birth year. The book included rare letters and photographs from around the world. It was launched in London, then South Africa, later at the United Nations, and finally at The Metropolitan Museum of Art—a recognition few books ever receive.

This project awakened in me a deeper mission: to bring Gandhi’s life, philosophy, and values alive worldwide. Since then, we have created over 100 interventions, from the Mandela–Gandhi Digital Museum in South Africa to the Bangabandhu–Bapu exhibition in Dhaka, using digital museums and exhibitions to share his legacy. Some of these installations have been recognized by world leaders, including Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who walked through one of our digital galleries celebrating Gandhi’s life.

My mission is not to make people Gandhians, but to find the next Gandhi. Humanity’s greatest weapon is not nuclear, it is Satyagraha. If today’s youth don’t embrace it, who will?”

• Birad Rajaram Yajnik