Might and glory
FORMER RANJI TROPHY CRICKETER AND THE CURREN ANDHRA CRICKET ASSOCIATION, SATHYAPRASAD YACH PHOTOGRAPHER BY PASSION, CAPTURES THE BEAUTY O
Exploring one of the still unexplored and insanely beautiful stretches of the Indian Himalayas with landscapes and high snowy peaks stretching up to the sky, Hyderabad-based photographer Sathyaprasad Yachendra treks thousands of feet to try and capture perfect pictures of the glorious beauty. The former Ranji Trophy cricketer and the current zonal head of Andhra Cricket Association, took to travelling and photography in 2004 after his trip to Mansarovar with his friends. The then-casual trip turned out to be lifechanging for Sathyaprasad, who was awestruck by the scenic beauty of the mountains. Since then he has travelled to various parts of the Himalayas every year.
Though Sathyaprasad was passionate about photography since childhood, his cricketing career kept him too busy to take it seriously. “My first camera — a Click III — was gifted by dad when I was ten years old. It was priced just at `5 back then,” reminisces Sathyaprasad with a smile, and adds, “My uncle and father were both into photography and I used to click the landscapes at Tirupati with them. But after I got into college, photography took a backseat as I got selected in the Ranji Trophy team.”
The 2004 trip to Mansarovar changed it all for him. “One day I was looking at the sun rays on a mountain there, it had this beautiful golden glow. I wished I had a camera with me then. After I came back to Hyderabad, I started pursuing photography at the Andhra Pradesh Photography Society. I interacted with many great photographers such as Ansel Adams and Galen Rowell and it has been an amazing giv journey. I fell in love with the H Himalayas and have made 26 trips to Je the place so far. Other than the scenic ha beauty, I also love the people Hy there. Life is very harsh for oth them and they are still so pla welcoming and happy with en what they have. I’ve stayed re at many homestays there Pr and learnt a lot about “P life,” says Sathyaprasad, tra who is the current presi- un dent of the Telangana T State Photography Society. fac After 26 trips to the place, no isn’t the photographer tired of lan clicking the same place? “My love pr for the Himalayas will never fade. I’m to totally focused on clicking more pic- ve tures of the place. I’ve been to Ladakh, tan Lahaul, Kinnaur, Arunachal Pradesh, ve Tibet and Meghalaya among other lig places. Last October I went to North H Sikkim and clicked the mountains in ph the backdrop of the Gurudongmar th Lake. I was one of the first photogra- th phers to do so. I started at 4.30 am in lea the morning and it was freezing at yo minus 15 degrees Celsius. I can never en