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The dark holds no terrors
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A mechanical engineer turned wildlife photographer, D.K. Bhaskar is the only Indian who's camera trapped the dark forests of the Amazon
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SPIRIT OF ADVENTURE Bhaskar: `The locals warned me never to get close to the anaconda if you are a novice' Photo: Murali Kumar K.
Only the foolhardy, and the adventurous, would ever bother toying with the idea of making a personal acquaintance with the Amazon and the amazing rainforests through which it flows before pouring itself into the Atlantic after a journey of over 5,000 km. Or naturalists who want to prove Darwin right or wrong. Or natural history photographer D.K. Bhaskar, who is the only Indian who's camera trapped the wonders and secrets of the Amazon, not once, but twice.
A mechanical engineer who dabbled in animation and writing chemistry lessons on CD-ROMs while quietly nursing a passion for wildlife photography — done the hard way, by roughing it out in the jungles — Bhaskar's work got noticed during a stint in the U.K. where his photographs of the local wildlife received some rave reviews. His photographs of the gannets of Bass rock in Scotland, in particular, which we admired while going through his vast portfolio, were, simply put, awesome.
The Amazonian rainforests, the most diverse and mysterious ecosystem, and despite the many intrusions from the civilised world, home to thousands of nature's secrets, is spread over eight South American countries — Brazil, Ecuador, Bolivia, Peru, Venezuela, Colombia, French Guyana and Surinam. And 33 per cent of these forests are on the Brazilian land measuring more than the entire European continent.
Commissioned by a British organisation, Projecto Parama, working on Amazonian rain forests in several areas, the Bangalore-born Bhaskar, got to spend 41 days in this last remnant of earthly Eden two years ago. He got to photograph the most magnificent wildlife, landscapes that a shutterbug can ever dream of. And he did it, like we said the hard way. Birds and beasts, the legendary anaconda, the colourful macaw, and the wildcats, and even the lowly praying mantis.
Boat rides through the darkest thickets as the Amazon flows, fed by the melting snow of Peruvian Andes, through a region of high temperature and high humidity, where rain is as regular as the sunrise, and is also copious.
A lifetime experience
The Amazonian landscape is home to nearly 3,000 species of fish, reptiles, snakes and mammals, including the world's biggest otter. It also harbours more than 1,800 species of birds. A visit to this greatest natural wonder on earth is an education and a practical experience for anyone who comes here.
The Embassy of Brazil in New Delhi thought Bhaskar's pictures were a good way to showcase the country and it sponsored an exhibition of 42 of the best last April. That wasn't all. Within a few months, Bhaskar was back in the Amazon, for another 18 days. Even an attack of a parasitic worm that lived off his head and back for over three weeks (and could only be removed by a native) couldn't keep Bhaskar away.
Solo exhibition
So after a solo exhibition at the Kaziranga National Park centenary celebrations in Assam, where he was an invitee last year, and doing the rounds of India's own exotic wildlife destinations — Ranathambore, Corbett, Bandhavgarh, Kanha, Dudhva, Silent Valley, Periyar, Madumalai, and Nagarahole — he decided one more tangle with the anaconda would be just the thing for a greedy shutterbug.
Bhaskar, who wields a colourful pen as well, wrote in a travelogue: "The locals warned me never to get close to the anaconda if you are a novice." But patience pays, and one rainy afternoon, he spotted the deadly reptile wrapped round a low branch that slung over the river, a rubbery loop 40 feet long! Menacing enough for Bhaskar to heed the native wisdom and turn back.
Dark and secretive though the Amazon is, Bhaskar found that fear of the deep forests and the dark river has not deterred the poachers from going about their business. Intense poaching and habitat destruction is happening apace, and many magical beasts, like the capybaras are being hunted for meat.
But there is hope too — a four-lane highway that has been virtually squeezed into one lane by the determined overgrowth of the forests. And the fact that naturalists can still go on spotlight expeditions, picking up snakes and caymans (South American crocodile) for a closer look to return them to the same spot, and animals vanishing into the undergrowth, none the worse for the experience.
Photography in the Amazon is challenging — the sunlight doesn't touch the forest floor in many places, and the creatures are cunning, silent and seeing, but unseen. Except for the brilliant red macaw, self-consciously posing a mere 10 feet away as Bhaskar clicks away merrily.
Bhaskar can be contacted on bhaskardk@gmail.com
ALLADI JAYASRI
This column features those who choose to veer off the beaten track.
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