{{short description|Indian conservationist, documentary filmmaker, and environmental journalist}} {{Use dmy dates|date=January 2021}} {{Use Indian English|date=December 2020}} {{Infobox person | name = <!-- use common name/article title --> | image = <!-- filename only, no "File:" or "Image:" prefix, and no enclosing [[brackets]] --> | alt = <!-- descriptive text for use by speech synthesis (text-to-speech) software --> | caption = | birth_name = <!-- only use if different from name --> | birth_date = <!-- {{Birth date and age|YYYY|MM|DD}} for living people supply only the year with {{Birth year and age|YYYY}} unless the exact date is already widely published, as per [[WP:DOB]]. For people who have died, use {{Birth date|YYYY|MM|DD}}. --> | birth_place = | death_date = <!-- {{Death date and age|YYYY|MM|DD|YYYY|MM|DD}} (DEATH date then BIRTH date) --> | death_place = | other_names = | occupation = {{hlist|[[Conservation movement|Conservationist]]|[[documentary film]]maker|[[environmental journalist]]}} | years_active = | known_for = | notable_works = | spouse = [[Craig Foster (filmmaker)|Craig Foster]] }}
'''Swati Thiyagarajan''' is an Indian [[Conservation movement|conservationist]], [[documentary filmmaker]] and [[environmental journalist]],<ref name=":1">{{Cite news|last=Doshi|first=Tishani|date=2 August 2017|title=Soul of the jungle|language=en-IN|work=[[The Hindu]]|url=https://www.thehindu.com/life-and-style/travel/conservationist-journalist-swati-thiyagarajans-new-book-recounts-her-experiences-of-over-two-decades-in-the-wild/article19408678.ece|access-date=26 December 2020|issn=0971-751X}}</ref><ref name=":02">{{Cite web|editor-last=Sahgal|editor-first=Bittu|editor-link=Bittu Sahgal|title=Meet Swati Thiyagarajan|url=https://www.sanctuarynaturefoundation.org/article/meet-swati-thiyagarajan#:~:text=Swati%20Thiyagarajan%20is%20one%20of,wilds%20of%20India%20and%20Africa.|access-date=26 December 2020|website=[[Sanctuary Nature Foundation]]|language=en}}</ref> based in [[Cape Town]], [[South Africa]] and [[New Delhi]], [[India]].<ref name=":2">{{Cite web|title=Swati Thiyagrajan|url=https://www.bloomsbury.com/author/swati-thiyagrajan/|access-date=26 December 2020|website=[[Bloomsbury Publishing]]|language=en}}</ref> She is a core team member of the Sea Change Project in South Africa and environmental editor at the Indian television news network of [[NDTV]].<ref name=":0">{{Cite web|last=Raga|first=Pippa|date=September 2020|title=Craig Foster Brought Us the Most Touching Nature Documentary of the Year|url=https://www.distractify.com/p/craig-foster-my-octopus-teacher|access-date=26 December 2020|website=Distractify|language=en}}</ref> Thiyagarajan is a recipient of the [[Carl-Zeiss-Stiftung|Carl Zeiss Award]], [[Earth Heroes Award]] and two [[Ramnath Goenka Excellence in Journalism Awards]].<ref name=":3">{{Cite web|last=Gupta|first=Amrita|date=15 February 2018|title=Quick Five: Swati Thiyagarajan|url=https://www.natureinfocus.in/interviews/quick-five-swati-thiyagarajan|access-date=26 December 2020|website=Nature inFocus|language=en}}</ref> Her work as the environmental editor at NDTV has been acclaimed internationally and she has been described as the [[doyenne]] of environmental journalism in India.<ref name=":3" /><ref name=":5">{{Cite web|last=Rego|first=Anoushka|date=7 September 2020|title=Craig Foster, My Octopus Teacher: Is He Married? Who is Craig Foster's Wife?|url=https://www.thecinemaholic.com/my-octopus-teachers-craig-foster/|access-date=26 December 2020|website=The Cinemaholic|language=en-US}}</ref>
== Early life == Swati Thiyagarajan grew up in the city of [[Chennai]], [[Tamil Nadu]],<ref name=":1" /> and is the daughter of Kannan Thiyagarajan, a student of Sishya School, Chennai and [[Rishi Valley School]], the latter of which was founded and mentored by the philosopher [[Jiddu Krishnamurti]].<ref>{{Cite news|last=Padmanabhan|first=Geeta|date=6 January 2014|title=The class meets again|language=en-IN|work=[[The Hindu]]|url=https://www.thehindu.com/features/metroplus/the-class-meets-again/article5545120.ece|access-date=26 December 2020|issn=0971-751X}}</ref> In her testimony, she states that her father was influenced by Krishnamurti, which led him to become passionate about nature and wildlife. She also states that her father introduced her to his best friend Siddharth Butch who was an [[ornithologist]] and photographer.<ref name=":02" /> Butch mentored her and initiated her in nature while on a beach in Chennai when she was a child.<ref name=":4">{{Cite web|last=Lal|first=Ranjit|date=4 October 2017|title=Natural Instincts|url=https://openthemagazine.com/lounge/books/natural-instincts-2/|access-date=26 December 2020|website=[[Open (Indian magazine)|Open The Magazine]]|language=en-GB}}</ref> She learned to identify species of birds at the park of [[Theosophical Society Adyar]], visited the [[Madras Crocodile Bank Trust]] where she held a snake for the first time, and visited the [[Guindy National Park]] to witness a tiger in the wild.<ref name=":1" /> Thiyagarajan was also the granddaughter of the classical [[Carnatic music]]ian [[M. S. Subbulakshmi]].<ref>{{Cite web|date=10 April 2008|title=Bangalore happenings|url=https://www.livemint.com/Leisure/rUiV1RggzclOlIg4NkbfWM/Bangalore-happenings.html|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201230075549if_/https://www.livemint.com/Leisure/rUiV1RggzclOlIg4NkbfWM/Bangalore-happenings.html|archive-date=30 December 2020|website=[[Livemint]]|language=en}}</ref>
==Career== In 1997, Thiyagarajan joined the television news network NDTV as a journalist.<ref name=":2" /> She states that she proposed the idea of a series on wildlife, environment, and conservation issues to the network in 2000; her idea was accepted and she was assigned an all-woman team consisting of a co-anchor, a cameraperson, and an editor.<ref name=":02" /> She was the script writer, director, and presenter of the show,<ref name=":3" /> which featured half-hour documentaries on wildlife and conservation issues in locations around India and Africa,<ref name=":4" /> airing at [[prime time]] on NDTV.<ref>{{Cite news|last=Ramesh|first=Mridula|date=10 July 2015|title=An Urban Conundrum|language=en-IN|work=[[The Hindu]]|url=https://www.thehindu.com/features/metroplus/climaction-an-urban-conundrum/article7403479.ece|access-date=29 December 2020|issn=0971-751X}}</ref> The series, entitled ''Born Wild'', was broadcast by the network for 15 years.<ref name=":02" /> Ostensibly, it is the only documentary series on conservation that ran for more than ten years on an Indian television news network.<ref name=":3" />
In 2012, Thiyagarajan directed the documentary film ''The Animal Communicator'',<ref name=":3" /> which investigated the claims of [[interspecies communication]] by the conservationist [[Anna Breytenbach]] while examining her works.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Merwe|first=Marelise Van Der|date=28 January 2016|title=The human question(s): 20 of the best|url=https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/article/2016-01-28-the-human-questions-20-of-the-best/|access-date=26 December 2020|website=[[Daily Maverick]]|language=en}}</ref>
In 2017, Thiyagarajan authored the book ''[[Born Wild (book)|Born Wild]]'' which was based on her experiences on the field as a reporter and filmmaker.<ref name=":1" /> The book, published by [[Bloomsbury Publishing]],<ref>{{Cite book|last=Thiyagrajan|first=Swati|title=Born Wild: Journeys into the Wild Hearts of India and Africa|date=2017|publisher=[[Bloomsbury Publishing]]|isbn=978-93-87146-05-1|pages=iii|language=en}}</ref> is divided into chapters about various species and features an interview with the [[natural historian]] [[David Attenborough]].<ref name=":4" />
Thiyagarajan was the production manager for the [[Netflix]] film ''[[My Octopus Teacher]]'',<ref name=":6">{{Cite web|date=22 September 2020|title=SA filmmaker's documentary captivates the world|url=https://www.algoafm.co.za/entertainment/sa-filmmaker-s-documentary-captivates-the-world|access-date=26 December 2020|website=[[Algoa FM]]|language=en}}</ref> which featured her husband as the human subject and his diving experiences with octopuses in the [[kelp forest]] of [[False Bay]], off the western shore of South Africa.<ref name=":6" /><ref>{{Cite web|date=19 September 2020|title=Where was 'My Octopus Teacher' on Netflix Filmed?|url=https://internewscast.com/where-was-my-octopus-teacher-on-netflix-filmed/|access-date=26 December 2020|website=[[Internews]]|language=en-GB}}</ref> The film won the [[Academy Awards|Academy Award]] for the Best Documentary Feature, the [[Wildscreen]] Award presented by the [[World Wide Fund for Nature]] and was the winning nomination at the [[Jackson Wild]] Festival for 2020.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Jha|first=Fiza|date=13 September 2020|title=Why 2020 is a good year for Indians at the Oscars and Emmys of wildlife film festivals|url=https://theprint.in/features/why-2020-is-a-good-year-for-indians-at-the-oscars-and-emmys-of-wildlife-film-festivals/501566/|access-date=26 December 2020|website=[[ThePrint]]|language=en-US}}</ref>
Thiyagarajan has become a core team member of the Sea Change Project, a conservation effort founded by Craig Foster and Ross Frylinck.<ref name=":0" />
==Personal life== Thiyagarajan married the South African wildlife documentary filmmaker [[Craig Foster (filmmaker)|Craig Foster]], who has a son from a previous marriage.<ref name=":5" />
== References == {{reflist}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Thiyagarajan, Swati}} [[Category:Indian conservationists]] [[Category:Indian women journalists]] [[Category:Indian women documentary filmmakers]] [[Category:Indian documentary filmmakers]] [[Category:Living people]] [[Category:Year of birth missing (living people)]]