A Look Back at 2023

My annual review...

Hey friends,

Greetings from Bangalore, India!

This year’s review is a long one. So, I’ve split it into two. I’ll be posting my 2024 plans next week. 

Ahh, that time has come. Man, this year has been quite a rollercoaster. I feel like I really lived this one.

When I look back, the one word that best sums up this year is introspection. Here’s why:

The Light of Wilder Things - My Upcoming Memoir

My book has been the dominant thing I’ve been working on all year. In fact, I only finalized the title last week (after much deliberation, polling, iterating and breaking-my-head-against-the-wall). I feel like it best captures what I am writing about. (Although I'm still undecided on whether it should be "Wild Things" or "Wilder Things"...)

Here’s the book brief: In my 8th grade at school, I was frustrated with life. Then a tiger stared at me, a snake bit me and my life changed forever. My fascination for wildlife took over my heart and my voice and came to dominate the last seven years of my life. This book traces that journey, where I catch snakes, run after (and away) from elephants, traverse through jungles and, on the odd occasion, dance with death. It showcases much of my journeys into the wild, as well as my journey inward…

In writing the manuscript (which went through sooooooo many revisions, edits and restructurings...), I feel like I have re-lived these seven years. I’ve overturned so many journals, photographs, WhatsApp messages and memories to place myself back on those moments that have become the bulk of the book. If you’re interested, we’re publishing next year…

Writing (apart from the book)

Apart from writing/editing the manuscript, I’ve been journaling one page every night before bed without fail. It’s like brushing my teeth. It just has to happen. Non-negotiable.

I’ve also kept up the weekly publishing cadence of my newsletter. I looked back, and I must have published for close to 150 weeks. That’s really something. 

This newsletter has transitioned into a public journal, where I share all that I am working on, along with struggles and challenges. I’ve transitioned my idea-centred writing (articles, as it were) to just every other week, which I then convert into website blog posts. 

These articles, however, have been few and far between. Somehow, I haven’t written many of those articles. My weekly writing has primarily been my newsletter. Looking back, I think this was because I didn’t want to dilute the work on the book. Perhaps I might have been able to keep that writing up, but it would have resulted in delaying the book’s editing, and right now, that’s my number one priority. 

Maybe once the book is published, I might get back into writing those articles more seriously…

Newsletter growth has been good, but not as good as my friends from Write of Passage. Again, this is probably because this is like a public journal and the fact that I am not writing those ‘idea’ based articles I mentioned above. But that’s alright. I’m happy with how this is. I expect a surge once the book is out…

Photography and Art

Heroes in a 100 Faces

With my photography, I finally finished my biggest project yet - Heroes in a 100 faces. This was a compilation of 100 portraits that I took across India over the last five years. Each photograph had a small write-up about the people in it and my interaction with them. These were people I’d photographed on the street, at food or flower markets, in restaurants, at the docks, in farms and in villages. Everyday people, in short. 

The core message? The everyday person needs to be acknowledged, to be heard, to be seen because we all are special because we are born into this world. 

This was by far the biggest project I had undertaken till then. And I can honestly say that I was overwhelmed with the response. People had shared it around the world, and I was inundated with messages of how touched people felt. Because that was the ultimate goal—more than reaching any people, I wanted to make them feel something. And that was worth all the typos I had to address

After that, however, I must say that my photography took a back seat. Perhaps I was burnt out from the project. Regardless, I only shot seriously when I was travelling (to Jaipur, Agra, Rishikesh, interior Uttarakhand, rural Kerala, Rishi Valley and so on…). I did not go to Delhi and photograph people in the local markets as I had initially planned on doing before moving to the city (for uni). That’s something to keep in mind. 

Book Illustrations

Making the illustrations for the book has been such a rewarding experience, especially because it almost never happened. This was never the plan. The idea had never struck me. 

I was merely casually talking about the book with my mom when she said, “I think we should find a way of bringing your art into the book”. I first thought I’d do a small sketch here or there. I never thought I’d end up making an illustration for each chapter (there are 20 as of now).

I’ve never done art like this before. Never. Art was always spontaneous for me. I did it whenever I felt like it. 

But when this came up, I found myself with a deadline and an agenda. This meant no long breaks and flexible timelines. I needed to work. So I parked aside my laziness and simply got down to drawing.

Here are some of the illustrations...Super happy with them!

I suppose art is a lot like writing. You need to cultivate a habit. You need to learn to sit at your desk at 9 in the morning and stare at the white wall until something moves your fingers across the keyboard. With art, I had to force myself into a routine. I had to summon creativity, as it were.

This was unlike anything I’d done before, and to my surprise, I’ve been more artistically prolific than I’ve ever been. No joke. I’ve been pumping out some banger pieces every week or so. I’d never have thought this was possible. I am so incredibly proud of the pieces I’ve made, and I think they will really elevate the stature of the book. Now I feel scared when I think of what the book would have been without them…

However, the one thing I worry about is that such an art approach might make my overall style restrictive. For these illustrations, I’ve had to preserve the anatomical details of the animal and try to capture the exterior of the animal as best I could. But often, I like to put my own spin on things and borrow ideas from Zentangle. I haven’t gotten to do this here. That’s something I think about…

Other forms of art, like origami and so on, happened here and there, but nothing focused. 

Reading

One of the blessings (or a curse, depending on how you see it) of writing a book is that you begin to read everything critically. You analyze every line and every word and wonder why the author chose to include it. You hunt for what you can steal. This makes reading frustratingly slow but also incredibly fulfilling.

To write my book, I’ve had to read far and wide. This was my ‘study’, where I analyzed how authors told their stories, and I borrowed what I liked. I’ve never written a memoir before, and I soon learnt that it isn’t about simply listing your life events. It’s FAR more than that. 

I also read a lot of fiction. My favourite was “The Midnight Library” by Matt Haig. I suppose I’ll do a whole issue on it later. Here’s a picture of my book with all these Post-it tags, which my sister recently introduced me to.

Here are some books I enjoyed that you might like:

• Where the Light Enters by Dr. Jill Biden - lovely writing about mourning, loss and family.

• A Walk in the Woods by Bill Bryson - A comical and engaging read about a long camping/trekking journey.

• Pillars of Life by Divya Mudappa & T.R. Shankar Raman (Illustrations by Nirupa Rao and Sartaj Ghuman). This book is a collection of illustrations of native trees of India’s Western Ghats—you can probably guess why I like it…

• Among Tigers by Dr. Ullas Karanth - One for the core wildlifers.

• Time on Rock by Anna Fleming - About the physicality of rock climbing. Could have been edited better though. Too UK centric.

• The Art of Memoir by Mary Karr - Even if you’re not a writer, this make for an interesting read. The whole book isn’t necessary

• Bird by Bird by Anne Lamott - Not about birds. About writing and life. If you want to read someone with a good writing voice, pick this up.

• The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck by Mark Manson - Not for you if you’re not into the self help genre, but I found it interesting

• To the Elephant Graveyard by Tarquin Hall - Reread this one. Anyone can read this. Love it.

Compared to last year’s review

I’ve grown from 115 subscribers in Dec 2023 to 298, which is a good jump. That’s only going to grow, especially with the book. I achieved both the things I set out to do: an anthology of wildlife essays (which later evolved into my memoir) and publishing Heroes in a 100 Faces. 

When I look at last year’s review, I can see that I was incredibly conservative with my goals. That’s not going to be the case this time around. Next week, I’ll share my goals for 2024 (as of now).

Overall

As a whole, I am incredibly happy with what I’ve managed to pull off this year. I feel like I am at a stage in life where many big projects are coming together, and it's starting to pay off. It's incredibly exciting.

I suppose I must accept that when a big project comes around (like my book), then other things have to take a backseat. That’s just the nature of things. I’ve tailored my life around the book, and that has resulted in less socializing, exercise and everything else.

But the book is finally taking shape. Things are coming together. The anticipation is killing me, but it is also keeping me on my toes. It's both exhilarating and frustrating at the same time.

I’ve learnt what a game changer such a big project can have. It's one thing to have writing weekly as your only goal. It's a totally other game to do that, along with creating something out of scratch. It is incredibly creatively fulfilling, and I KNOW that once the book is out, I will be on to the next thing. I just NEED to have a big project (and many small projects) to work on throughout (and after) university. I just need them; without them, I would be creatively unfulfilled. 

Postcard

Spot the spotted deer!

Favourite Quote

“You are in an unusual situation. There are at least a billion people on Earth at this moment who would consider their prayers answered if they could trade places with you…To have your health, even just sort of, to have friends, even only a few, to have hobbies or interests and the freedom to pursue them, to have spent this day free from some terrifying encounter with chaos, is to be lucky.” - Sam Harris

Have a creative, wild and inspiring week!

If you’re new, welcome to The Owlet! My name is Ishan Shanavas, and I am an Artist, Photographer, Writer and Student of the Natural World.

Here I talk about my work, along with curating the most interesting ideas on the internet. I confine them to topics like Nature, Culture, Photography, and Art but often fall prey to other genres.

I would greatly appreciate it if you shared my newsletter and work with your friends. It really helps me out :)