Vadodara :- A woman’s daily routine is action packed; she enacts many roles in a given instance viz. mother, daughter, sister, wife and so on.. and in today’s world she even is engaged professionally like a doctor, engineer, conservationist and others. Is there any time slot for her to live for herself? Hence, when a woman takes time out for pursuing an act like Nature Photography, which demands travel to less travelled areas compels applaud.
Today we are celebrating such three women working in diverse fields and pursuing common interest of Nature Photography by stealing out time for themselves!
Dr. Paras Mehta, a renowned Ophthalmologist and 1st Cornea Surgeon of our city, started photography with a desire to explore something new and different from the routine life. The beauty and richness of nature always fascinated her that she didn’t realise as to when she turned to Nature and wild life photography. For her, going out with a camera in a group of two or three friends, walking for hours and clicking nature in its form is another experience. This makes her forget everything and feel oneness with nature.
Seema Abhale had keen interest in painting, but painting was always a dream due to her busy and irregular schedule! Hence, she thought of trying hands at photography, considering it as one click job!! (Not really, as she claims now!). She enjoys photography because it allows her to use her time to create pictures as she wanted, which otherwise would have been difficult painting with limited time. She has tried most genres of photography of which landscapes, nature and wildlife being her favourite genres; as they take her to places with less crowd and where she connects with herself. She has been doing photography for more than a decade, but 2019 Corona Times is what gave her wings; while the whole world stood still, the little winged angels on her bedroom window showed her how colorful nature’s creations are and it made her realize that the happiness she was looking for is nowhere but in the nature that makes us and the universe!
Nisha Bhagwat, apart from being a homemaker is actively involved in nature conservation activities conducted by their NGO Wildlife Educare along with her husband Dr. Rahul Bhagwat. Nisha became more interested in nature after her marriage and while roaming in the forests with her husband Dr.Rahul Bhagwat, her talent as a wildlife photographer surfaced. As she travelled through various parts of the country visiting forests and nearby community, she realized the importance of the forest and biodiversity for our survival and also how challenging it is to create awareness among people regarding its conservation. So far, she along with her husband has travelled in 10 states of India with a campaign to spread awareness for conservation of nature to young developing minds of our country through lectures and demonstrations in schools.
As per Great Backyard Bird Count 2024, Gujarat ranks 8 with 356 species out of 1377 species found in India, making it one of the rich state in terms of birds and hence the biodiversity. However, due to high influx and developmental activities, the natural habitats and biodiversity of the state is declining. Winter is the time when our state receives most of the migratory birds at the wetlands. However, most of the wetlands are for the irrigation purposes, are kept full of water throughout the year, which hampers the food chain of the migratory birds and as a result the migratory bird count has been seen to decline. Similar is the case with other species too due to habitat loss and disruption of food chain. Continuous efforts in identifying the decline and implementation of the mitigation measures by the locals, central and local government must be put in for sustainable biodiversity and maintain the balance of ecosystem.
To spread an awareness on how beautiful and colourful our nature is and why it is important to preserve it; these three photographers have displayed few of their photographs at Art Gallery of P N Gadgil & Sons, Jetalpur Road, Vadodara.
