Following his penchant for photography, Tarini became the youngest from Odisha to have created photo stories for National Geographic and Discovery.

Tarini Kumar Barik is a final year medical student and is currently doing his internship with the National Geographic Channel. He further plans to intern with Discovery Channel as well. He has covered the famous Nabakalebara festival at the Jagannath Temple and also done photography during the floods caused by the Fani cyclone in 2021.

Tarini also worked as a freelancer with a company facilitating food to people in need during the times of COVID.

Born in Delhi, he came back to his hometown Baleshwar where he completed his basic education. Thereafter, he came to Bhubaneswar and joined St Xavier’s International School and then he started his career in Medicine.

Talking about the pandemic, Tarini says that it was challenging since being a medical student, he had to deal with patients and do practical work. He adds that being away from his friends for a long time was heartbreaking for him.

As someone from a typical Indian family, it was a difficult choice for Tarini to choose photography as his profession. His family wanted him to become an engineer or a doctor for better prospects. Nevertheless, following his interest, Tarini learnt the basic photography skills and started capturing wildlife which was difficult for him being a novice. However, the trust and confidence he had within himself garnered him appreciation for his work after which he started getting more projects.

Tarini aims to complete his medical studies and become a successful doctor. Besides, he wants to continue with his passion for photography and cooking.

Tarini wishes to work with Sudhir Narayan, a well known personality in the wildlife arena. He also wishes to participate in Germany School of Wildlife Photography to push his limits further. For Tarini, photography is capturing the beautiful moments of the animal world and giving a message to people to take conservation seriously.

Talking about Leadership, Tarini says that he learnt leadership skills having worked with the nursing staff and ward boys. For him, a good leader is someone who does not just lead the path, but works in synergy with his team members guiding and mentoring them. He adds that a leader should learn from his own mistakes and through the experiences of his team.

In his leisure time, Tarini enjoys cooking new dishes and is a binge series watcher. He also likes reading novels and story books.

Tarini draws inspiration from his father who reached heights in his career starting his  journey as a bus conductor.

If Tarini could go back in a Time Machine, he would like to revisit his school days and be with his friends again. He would also want to get back to his hometown Baleshwar and roam in those streets yet again.

He advises the young generation to stop trying to impress everyone and indulge in productive work that could add value to their life and help build their careers.