“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 realised 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, specifically 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 realised just how priceless his life and legacy were. We couldn’t simply make another book about him; we had to create a work of art that truly reflected his significance. That led us to produce a limited edition of 1,869 copies, each individually numbered and stamped to mark his birth year, featuring rare letters and photographs gathered from around the world. The book was launched in London, followed by South Africa and 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. Prime Minister Narendra Modi Ji has walked through one of our digital galleries celebrating Gandhi’s life.
Continuing this mission, this Gandhi Jayanti, October 2, marked the opening of the Mahatma Gandhi Digital Museum at Bapu Ghat, Langar House, Hyderabad, in the presence of the Hon’ble Governor, Telangana Chief Minister and other dignitaries.
My mission is not to make people Gandhians, but to find the next Gandhi. Humanity’s greatest strength is not force, it is Satyagraha. If today’s youth don’t embrace it, who will?”
- Birad Rajaram Yajnik