Did you have any formal education in photography? How would you describe your photography to someone who has never seen it? Comment

Till the time I joined Sudhir Ramchandran and Rafique Sayed to assist them for very short periods of time, I was a self-taught photographer. I strongly wished for years that instead of having graduated with specialisations in Economics, Political Science and Sociology, I should have done a degree in art. But I also realised that had I done that, I would have probably been irreparably influenced and would have been an art-school clone. As things have a way of working out, I am happier that I didn’t attend any art institution since I had the freedom to develop my signature. My photography in essence is old fashioned, even though others may think differently. My priority has always been and will always be to keep making sincere efforts in my work and to keep experimenting. Visually, and at heart, I believe I am an abstractionist and a minimalist. My images are meant to question, and not to provide answers. I usually like to do bodies of work that I consider to be whole stories rather than odd pieces of work.

What does surrealism mean to you, and what is your idea about harnessing light to create a desired mood in your brand of imagery?

Photography being a particularly realistic art form has an advantage of being instantly relatable to the layman. But that need not be its only disposition. In the hands of an artist who has something meaningful to say, and one who chooses to do so in a manner that is not entirely rational, the artist can only elevate photography to its rightful place as a true art form. Since all art forms are perceptions and therefore interpretations of reality, it is more essential for photography to be practiced while constantly pushing boundaries, creatively and in technique. Light is the pulse of any photograph, and I say this with conviction, lighting cannot be taught. You have to be able to recognise it. As such, in photography where lighting is noticed as one of the very last appreciative elements simply because one has been so entranced with the mood that light has created, would typically be an example of great lighting. In my case, I have consciously stayed away from being known for a distinctive style, and that