Horn Falling Into A Flowing River, Hard Work To Cross The River; Behind That Look

Vignesh b. Until recently, the name Shivan was not familiar to wildlife photographers and photography enthusiasts in Kerala. 

But with the announcement of the State Forest and Wildlife Photography Awards on Friday, the name of the first place that everyone was looking for was Vignesh B. 

It was Shiva. When you search on Facebook, you will find that the place of residence is Mundakkayam. After his father retired in 2019, he moved from Mundakkayam to his family home in Parashala on the border of Thiruvananthapuram 6 months ago, but Vignesh could not leaveMundakkayam.

Vignesh and his family moved to Mundakkayam in 2002 following the relocation of K. Sivakumar, who was the Deputy Range Officer at the Periyar Tiger Reserve. While studying CMSLP School, Mundakkayam St. Anthony's High School, Enthayar JJ Murphy HSS, and Botany at Vazhoor SVRNSS College, Vignesh loved the forest and the camera. That's what he wrote in his Facebook bio, 'Love is in the woods'

Vignesh's stay in the hills of Kottayam and the stories of the forest and the children of the forest told by his father, the forester, made him a friend of the forest. Participation in nature camps and photography has been a regular occurrence since the age of 11, but it was in 10th grade that my father bought a small camera for Vignesh. 

The final year of the degree in 2019 turned into a professional camera, a gift from his brother Vaishakh, an engineer in Dubai. By then, Vignesh had become a regular visitor to the forest areas of Chinnar, Marayoor, Periyar, Agasthyamala, Eravikulam, Nelliampathi, Wayanad, and Silent Valley, beyond the boundaries of Mundakkayam and surrounding forests.

Although he traveled extensively with his father, he became a traveler and photographer who would visit the forest whenever he had the opportunity to do so. Vignesh recalls that without the support of his mother Binu, teachers, and friends, he would never have traveled through the jungle.

By the way, the award came 

The horn was seen trying to cross the river while participating in an amphibian survey in Silent Valley. The elephant, which fell into a strong river following heavy rains yesterday, managed to climb for more than two and a half hours. The picture of that effort clicked the state award. Earlier, in a competition organized by the Alappuzha Natural Historical Society, a prize was given to an elephant.