Language: English
From the preface:
"My love life with the jungles of India started during my college days, unfortunately, in the company of a few trigger-happy young boys. I remember with remorse the days when I was under the delusion that anything that moved in the jungles offered a perfect chance for target practice. This delusion continued until one evening, when, my friends informed me that they had bagged a barking deer. Remorse, horror and an overwhelming sense of guilt swept through me as I as they continued to narrate that the animal was pregnant and would have given birth to two little fawns in about two weeks. The next dawn saw me bidding adieu to all my gun-toting friends and disposing off all the unspent cartridges into an abandoned well nearby.
My father had just bought a Russian Zenith camera from Moscow and presented it to me with outward reluctance but inner delight, when he observed the covetous look in my eyes. This transition from shooting from a gun to shooting with a camera changed my life. I realised, with satisfaction, that I had acquired a better friend than the gang of young "shikaris".
During those days colour films were not easily available and as I clicked away in black and white, I noticed that each film roll had something more to offer than the previous one. In a short span of one year I had collected quite a heap of photographs and spent much time reviewing, arranging and counting them. I, however, could not count my pocket money for I had none left. Thereafter, I restricted my photography to nature and wildlife."