Travel through the wildside

My Photo scholarship 2011 entry

India | Thursday, October 20, 2011 | 5 photos

My name is Vinay and I live in Bangalore, India. A gold medalist and University topper in Management, I have always been ambitious and wanted to achieve a lot in the corporate field. A freaky accident resulted in being bedridden for three months and this was a new beginning in life. I just wanted to get out of the four walls. The result was me joining a birding group and going on treks and nature trails. Eventually I took a sabbatical from work, attended a Naturalist Training Program and began wildlife photography.
Over the last one year, I have been fortunate to see some of India's amazing wildlife and enjoy the last remaining natural diversity hotspots of the world. My passion in life is to inspire people, particularly the young kids about wildlife and generate awareness about the environmental threats we face. I envision this scholarship to enhance my experience and build a better platform to achieve my dream of using photography as a tool to educate people.
My story "Chasing the Tiger" - is about how people travelling to forests are always interested in seeing Tigers, but in this narrow minded excitement, they may miss many more incredible and unique inhabitants of the forests. I request people to enjoy the holistic experience of a forest with an open eye and mind rather than run behind a few exotic species. The accompanying pictures are from Kaziranga National Park, a present day Eden in the northeast India. A home to the endangered One-Horned Rhinoceros, Kaziranga is also famous for its tigers, elephants, and birdlife. On this trip I was fortunate to see some amazing landscapes, a wide array of animal and bird behaviors. Did I finally get to see the tiger? That’s another story in itself.