On Episode 91 of the #LearningStories podcast we chat with Gopal MS. He is an advertising professional and photographer. His online project is called 'Mumbai Paused', and it documents Mumbai's streets and life through photography, shared across online platforms and social media using his phone and camera. Before 2009, he documented the streets of Bangalore on a blog called 'Which Main? What Cross?'. His project is driven by a daily habit where he walks the streets, takes public transport, and sometimes visit interesting corners of the city to shoot pictures of whatever catches his eye. He then posts them on Instagram with relevant hashtags. He also features them on his blog and creates photo essays on Substack to place the images in larger contexts. Additionally he makes digital zines and photo books available online. You can find him on Instagram, Blogger and Substack.

Show Chapters

(00:05) - Podcast Introduction

(00:30) - Guest Background

(02:40) - Childhood Stories

(02:55) - "I'm originally from Bangalore"

(03:20) - "My father had a public sector job"

(03:25) - "My mother was a housewife"

(03:45) - "Bangalore was very cosmopolitan"

(04:00) - What was your relationship to books as a student?

(04:50) - Why did you love listening to the radio?

(05:40) - Why did you love reading magazines as a student?

(06:30) - "Everybody was supposed to become an engineer"

(07:30) - What was it like growing up in Bengaluru in the 1980s and 1990s?

(08:45) - On spending time outdoors

(09:00) - What were your favourite television shows?

(09:50) - "I learned Hindi by watching a lot of Doordarshan"

(10:50) - "During a test match all of Bengaluru came to a stand still"

(12:50) - The economic realities of India

(17:00) - What were the most popular advertisements in the 80s and 90s?

(17:50) - "There were lots of jingles in advertisements"

(19:20) - "I also used to collect and cutout ads a lot"

(19:40) - "Print Ads influenced me"

(20:50) - What killed advertising?

(21:40) - The story of Campa Cola

(23:00) - Where does the money go in advertising agencies today?

(24:00) - What did you study in college and university?

(25:00) - "I wanted to study History"

(25:10) - "I took up Science in junior college"

(25:10) - "I studied hotel management at the under graduate level"

(27:00) - "I was lost for several years and the Internet saved me"

(27:10) - What was your first blog and online project?

(28:00) - Why did you move to Mumbai to become a copywriter?

(31:50) - Training to become an advertising professional and photographer

(34:00) - The stories behind your photography projects

(34:20) - Learning photography within an ad agency

(35:00) - "I came to Bombay from Bangalore in 2000"

(35:10) - Early days in advertising in Mumbai

(36:50) - "My wife gifted me a digital camera in the mid 2000s"

(37:50) - "I used to shoot pictures on the way to work"

(39:00) - "I started posting Mumbai Paused photos on Instagram in 2011"

(40:10) - On finding your voice as a photographer

(41:10) - "Clicking photos became a habit"

(42:10) - "I loved gathering and recording information"

(45:10) - "My photographs are about ordinary and daily things

(51:00) - Talking about Gopal's Photographs

(1:09:15) - Book Recommendation

(1:10:15) - Podcast Recommendation

(1:11:00) - Film Recommendation

(1:12:00) - Photographer Recommendations

(1:17:00) - Go Hallu Hallu Project Story

(1:21:00) - Closing Notes

Show Links

Mumbai Paused on Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/mumbaipaused/

Mumbai Paused on Substack - https://mumbaipaused.substack.com/archive

Mumbai Paused - https://mumbaipaused.blogspot.com/

Which Main? What Cross? - https://mainsandcrosses.blogspot.com/

Photo Credit

Island Hopping, 2011, Gopal MS

Show Description

#LearningStories is an audio and video show where we interview a diverse set of learners from the 21st century. Each guest profiled here has a unique story to share about how they acquired a set of valuable skills and knowledge in a creative and innovative manner.