Varun Maira is a keen landscape photographer. He held his first exhibition in 1996 at the State Art Gallery, Lalit Kala Academy in Ahmedabad. He has been exhibiting his work regularly and has so far held sixteen exhibitions of his photographs in Mumbai, Delhi, Ahmedabad, Vadodara, Udaipur and Panjim. He has exhibited in prestigious galleries like Piramal Gallery, NCPA, Mumbai and India Habitat Center, Delhi several times.
“Maira’s World” series of exhibitions have been extremely popular with viewers and have earned considerable critical acclaim as well as media attention. Almost all major national newspapers and TV channels have featured his work.
With his highly acclaimed Mandu exhibition, he coined a new terminology of “cultural landscapes”. His Champaner exhibition took this concept further. His contribution to UNESCO nomination of Champaner as a world heritage site is invaluable. He has a deep commitment to promote awareness about India’s rich heritage.
He has written two coffee table books “Champaner – a Medieval Capital” in 2005 and “Dholavira – A Harappan Metropolis” in 2009. Both have been very well received and have been reprinted.
An alumni of St. Stephen’s College and Delhi School of Economics, Varun Maira completed his M.Phil in Economic Planning from University of Glasgow, U.K.
An IAS Officer, he retired as an Additional Chief Secretary, Government of Gujarat.
