Lucknow :
A sudden splash of green amidst a riot of colours and perfect timing in taking the shot helped Lucknow Arts College passout Anurag Kumar bag a prestigious photography award that came with a cash prize of Rs 75 lakh.
“Holi celebrations at Nandgaon and Barsana (Uttar Pradesh) are attended by people from all over the world in large numbers and it is tough to get the perfect shot,” Kumar told TOI on telephone from Dubai, where he won the Hamdan Bin Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum International Photography Award (HIPA). “I had spent a lot of time at the scene, when suddenly a man threw greenish blue colour on the riotous crowd. That is when I got my shot,” added the 29-year-old on the making of the coveted picture. Officials at his alma mater from where he passed out in 2011 are set to honour Kumar for bringing fame to the college and the country.
A native of Chauri Chaura in Gorakhpur district, Kumar pursued graduation and post graduation from Lucknow Arts College and had photographed the Nandgaon Holi scene as part of his travel photography portfolio. In the fourth edition of the Dubai competition, 60,000 photographs from 166 countries had been submitted. The award constituted by the crown prince of Dubai has brought Kumar the opportunity to prepare his photography paraphernalia and portfolio much more professionally. “After the ceremony, winning photographs were put up on display. Many Indians living in Dubai came up and told me how proud they were of me. At that moment it became not just my prize, but India’s grand prize,” he said. Learning photography under Bhupesh Little, it was the appreciation he got that motivated him to keep clicking.
“It is a proud moment for all us. Our students have received national and international accolades, but this one in photography is huge and the biggest so far,” said Arts College principal P Rajiv Nayan, adding, “Once Anurag is back, we will honour him for the achievement and organise interactive sessions with him and the current batch of students.”
source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / Home> City> Lucknow / by Yusra Husain, TNN / March 20th, 2015