Gaurav

Science trained my eye to observe. Photography taught me to see. I’m Gaurav, a biomedical researcher by profession, and a creative soul by nature. Born and raised in a small hilly town situated in the heartlands of North-central India, I came to the United States at eighteen with curiosity as my only carry-on. That curiosity hasn’t left me since. I write poetry, paint, hike, garden, and spend too much time contemplating mythology, philosophy, and what it means to be human. These pursuits bring joy and offer unique insights. My passion for creativity goes beyond art—I’m fascinated by diverse cultures, their rituals, stories, and heritage. Language helps trace the roots and journeys of words, revealing our history and identity. Each word is a small artifact linking us to the past and each other. My name is Gaurav Singh and I am someone who finds the archaeology of language endlessly fascinating, I’d like to introduce it properly: Gaurav (गौरव) is pronounced GOW-ruv, the first syllable rhyming with now and how. Rooted in Sanskrit, it means pride, honour, and glory, not the loud, borrowed kind, but the quieter sort that accumulates slowly, like sediment, through a life lived with sincerity and purpose. Singh (सिन्ह) is often anglicised as Sing, but its proper pronunciation carries a soft aspirated breath at the close: sin-h. It derives from the Sanskrit word for lion and has been borne across centuries and cultures throughout South Asia as a name of courage and nobility. Singapore, for example, is the land of Lions, or the land of the brave. Not the lion that commands the forest through fear, but the one that other creatures approach without hesitation, drawn by a presence that is warm, unhurried, and safe. The one that sits at the edge of the forest, watching, thinking, present. Together, Gaurav Singh, translating to honourable lion, is a name I have been growing up with my whole life. I hope one day to deserve it fully.