My upbringing as the
son of an army doctor is probably the source of my wanderlust. Right through my
childhood we moved from one place to another every year or two. This had the
plus that I am always comfortable being in new and unknown territory, but had
the minus that I never bothered to make too many friends during my childhood:
what’s the point when you know you will move on in a short while?
This childhood
experience made me determined to give my children stability in their growing
years: something that I had never experienced myself. But plonking myself in
Bangalore for the last 19 years led to feeling of ennui within me with the
wanderlust remaining caged within, until I developed the coping mechanism of
taking several short breaks each year.
Travel for me is
invigorating and enjoyable right from the moment when the plan to travel is
made. I can hardly sleep the night before a trip and usually wake up bright
eyed and bushy tailed in two or three hours; rearing to go.
For me the journey is
as important as the destination. I enjoy the experience of traveling and
watching the scenery change as you move along. That’s why my preferred mode of
travel is by road which gives you the freedom to make frequent stops to
experience things first hand for yourself , rather than have them pass you in a
blur while looking out from a train, or miss them altogether while cruising at
30,000 feet in a plane.
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| Splashing through a stream @ Satkosia Tiger reserve. Pic by Tasneem. |
Leaving aside the
initial training my father gave me on his ancient Yashica ( which took
incredibly good pictures ) I was not much of a photography enthusiast until the
age of digital camera’s dawned. While I enjoyed the sharp pictures we took with
our Panasonic Lumix ; deep down I yearned for a D SLR ; a dream which came true
in 2013 when my wife got us a Cannon 1100D. This was a whole new experience,
which led to us taking a lot more photographs, and taking a lot more trips so
as to take photographs. I was still very much a keen amateur photographer until
we attended a workshop by Toehold where I learned the “science part” of D SLR
photography. Since then I have become a passionate photographer, and the
results have been improving steadily as well. I think I still have a long way to
go as a photographer, but then; journeys have always fascinated and excited me…..
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| A boatman in the Mahanadhi river. Picture taken with the maximum 250mm telephoto zoom I had at the time, and cropped to bring the subject into the foreground. |
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| A brook in the Satkosia Tiger Reserve in Orissa. |
My friends and family
have often suggested that I write a travel and photography blog to share my
experiences with like-minded people. For long I was overwhelmed by the technology
and the thought of writing and posting on a regular basis, but with steady
prodding by my wife and some help from a friend with the blog layout I have
finally taken the plunge.
