Stories of The Wild
Pramod Sharma’s tales from India’s wilderness, shared in the form of a book with stunning images
The forest and the wild never stop fascinating us, the urban folk. While the big cats usually snatch the limelight, for a photographer who is obsessed with the beauty of the wild, no life is less alluring than the rest in the jungles. His endeavour is always to bring back stories that unfold before him, safely preserved in his frames for the less fortunate to cherish. Stories of the Wild is a coffee-table book that presents such a collection of moments weaved into an interesting tale by Pramod Sharma, a wildlife photographer and advertising professional.
The book is set in a landscape format, being 42 cm long and under 27 cm in height. With a prowling leopard on the cover, the book opens with a beautiful image of an Asian Paradise Flycatcher. This is a self-published book, and it is evident in the irst few pages. We would have wished a gradual building up of the mood, but that is not the case here. Two pages ahead, the reader inds himself in the middle of a story. The same leopard that adorns the cover appears with a background story from the author, followed by a shot of Noor, the hunting machine of Ranthambore. A few pages of tigers and again, we see the captivating image of a lone leopard, with an interesting note about the filmy names of halana’s leopards. The next two spreads are for the canines — a group of wild dogs and their background story, followed by two images of a desert fox photographed at the Little Rann of Kutch. Then the stories of mammals end just as abruptly as it began.
Enter the birds, and we realise the real reason behind this book, and the genre that defines Pramod as a photographer. From here on, the images take us through an ethereal world of imagery, a testament to the dedication, patience and passion of the photographer. The subjects are sharp and detailed with their beautiful backgrounds and environment, captured with all the glory that they deserve. Pramod has managed to include as many varieties of birds as possible.
This book has been printed at Multiple Images, Mumbai, and the print quality is second to none. Priced at Rs.1200, this is easily one of the most affordable coffeetable books worth your time.