My Journey as a photographer has been an integral part of my life and will continue to be , bringing immense joy and happiness together with having given me the opportunity to frame my inherited talent and showcase it to the world.

As a young boy , my love for nature and outdoor activities was never ending. Art in any form , be it creating models, singing ,drawing & painting came naturally to me.

Whenever I wanted to draw, sketch or paint , besides the subject itself , most important was what all I could capture within the space contained , it was the total frame which fascinated me and this inherent desire naturally connected me to photography.

I admired the work of Henri Cartier Bresson , who shot `off the cuff `, so as to say but who in the true sense was a master of composition. His frames are legendary, having widely carried his lens to capture amazing places and situation , his photography capturing the smallest of detail so naturally.

It was with the purchase of my first SLR camera that my journey as a photographer was initiated and having visited the first photography exhibition of S. Paul , who in time became my Guru (teacher)and companion , we travelled extensively and shared long journeys together and I learnt a lot from him about photography , specially on shooting black & white photographs and various techniques that could be used for this type of photography. Even today a good black and white photograph can hold your breath against a coloured one !

Photography became my passion and wherever I travelled , be it a for a holiday or for my work , my camera was a part of me . It is during this period that I had made several visits to Pushkar , a colourful and most magical place , at the same time an event which has been widely photographed by professionals.

From the curiosity of a beginner as well as the magnetic effect of the place , I went clicking away , capturing this colourful place and festival , following my heart and transforming it into a frame shot. I also captured many exclusive aerial balloon shots and had a narrow escape when the balloon collapsed. This has been almost memorable and precious journey for me and more so because eventually after having met Historian Aman Nath , the birth of my First coffee table book titled `Pushkar` took place , for which he provided the text and design . The book was formally launched by Prime Minister Of India , Dr. Manmohan Singh.

As my passion continued , there was always an urge waiting to be ignited …..another subject to excite me enough so as to be able to shoot my second coffee table book.

It is during this spell , that I connected with a friend Rekha Sarin , who herself is an author having written on many interesting subjects .

Rekha told me she was researching on the subject ` CHAI `as in tea , its heritage , history and other interesting facts about this beverage . She approached me to do the photography and once I heard her speak on the subject , I could feel myself amidst the beauty of nature , the lush green tea estates , the aroma of tea and all such awaiting to be captured in my camera .

We had teamed up for our coffee table book Chai – The Experience of Indian Tea.

Over the next few years we travelled extensively through all tea regions , at times together or individually , experienced the royalty of staying at the tea estates. I was spellbound seeing the never ending tea estates silhouetted against the beautiful countryside ,smiling faces of the tea pluckers , interaction with tea planters, visits to tea factories and tea auctions…….and I have tried to capture the heartbeat of this famous
Beverage through my frames , creating my compositions and capturing them with a click ! keeping the colour and charisma alive .
Have tried to shoot the `Perfect Shots `but as they say there is no end to perfection …..!
I do hope that somewhere amongst these 250 pages , I am able to take the reader into the beautiful world of `Chai`……!
( text for Chai Book)