Some like to collect, others like to record. Record either in audio or in
pictures. Prasanna Parab enjoys taking photographs. And like people who take
them, he has very specific interests. Like many people there are several sides
to the man. By day, he is an employee of the postal system based in Margao. Not
a hint of the rather interesting side that stays bottled in him. As he sorts
all that important mail.
His story is over ten years old. A commerce graduate, he was
interested in travelling and spending time out amidst nature. He liked watching
birds through binoculars in 2006 and it was a passion that was growing. A
solitary passion, it meant walking into tracks less tracked to look at rare
birds. In 2007, he however started taking photographs of butterflies and birds.
He used a Canon. Prasanna strongly believes art is all about how one learns to
diffuse light. He would walk into forests which was three dimensional where
anything could happen and take photographs. He was and remains adamant that he
will not go where the crowds gather. He does not want to take photographs along
with thirty or forty other photographers. It always is a lot of hard work with
walks that may last three, four or even five hours. He aims at becoming one
with the landscape which means the four legged or ten legged organisms are
aware of him but pay no attention to him. His interest in photographing spiders
made him shift to Olympus brand of cameras. It should also be understood that
in the larger cosmic plan, the human race has not devoted much time recording
and understanding spiders. He is a small group of individuals doing this in
Goa. In 2008-09 he met Paresh Porob, RFO of Molem who turned out to be a
fantastic coach who with patience helped increase the knowledge of Prasanna. It
was a labour of love on the part of Paresh.
Every Sunday, he wakes up early and sometimes it is even
Saturday nights or Sunday nights and he is off to record spiders. Spiders in
India are not poisonous and the venom they posses can be mildly painful. As
Prasanna emphasises they never provoke and hence they are never hassled when
they do their job.
Asked
what his plans would be in five years, he said he would focus on spiders and
also possibly documentation of orchids in Goa and the Western ghat area. A lot
of effort was required to document spiders and he intended to devote his life
to it. And yes, he would stick to documenting nature. These days he uses a
Olympus mirrorless camera which is tiny and helps him document those tiny
creatures in the nooks and crevices. And yes, as an afterthought he added his
focus would remain Goa but he would like to document spiders in North East and
the Andaman and Nicobar Islands. It is obvious he has his plate full and a
schedule planned out for his life. Cheers to that or wait should one say ..
Smile you are on camera.
