What Freedom Means To Me

Choosing instinct, passion and compassion over the ease of conformity, eight trailblazers tell us how they chose to live free

- Neville Bhandara

NISHAT FATIMA

Photographer

Hyderabad-based Nishat Fatima, 41, knew she wanted to be a photographer ever since she picked up an SLR in college. In July 2015, she quit her top job at a national magazine and took up photography full-time. She’s also written two books, the uproarious Seriously Sitara? (Hachette, 2013), and Suneet Varma (Niyogi, 2013), which traces the designer’s journey through photos and interviews. “Nobody has the roadmap to your freedom. For me, it used to be the courage to follow my dreams. But now, I think it might be the ability to rise above my fears”

SHILO SHIV SULEMAN

Artist and activist

Shilo Shiv Suleman has been in the news as much for her stirring art as she has for her distinct sense of style. She refuses to be tied down, both in life and in her practice. Suleman, 29, based in Bengaluru, currently runs the organisation Fearless Collective, where she paints with marginalised and underrepresented communities around the world—from transgenders in Pakistan to refugees in Beirut. “Freedom means returning to our source, to our origin and flow. It isn’t an untethering as much as it is a union. I try to live outwards from my heart, stay fearless and love more. To live free is to live your most potent dream”

SUNNY LEONE

Actor