People nominee

Kushti is an ancient Indian martial arts form and Kolhapur, Maharashtra, India, is said to be the birthplace of it. Young men join an ascetic life at the "Akharas" where they train and practice under strict rules of discipline. The wrestlers cover their bodies with gee and throw red clay on them, from the pit.
After long preparation and research, I visited various Akharas in Kolhapur studying the light conditions and the best time to shoot, gained permission from the authorities and proceeded photographing during the early hours of the day when there was the morning training sessions going on.

Although a Civil Engineer by profession, I turned out as an amateur travel photographer having traveled to numerous countries around the world such as Ethiopia, India, Burkina Faso, Indonesia, Cote d'Ivoire, China, Peru, Bolivia, Brazil, Papua New Guinea, Mali, Benin, Haiti, Cuba etc. My main goal is to capture the uniqueness of the local cultures and the life of the people in the most remote places of our world. My pictures have been awarded multiple awards in many prestigious photo competitions and have been published in many books and magazines. Currently studying Anthropology of Religions at UCLA.

AWARDS:
1ST PLACE, IPA AWARDS
FINALIST FOR "DISCOVERY OF THE YEAR", IPA AWARDS
1ST PLACE, CHROMATIC AWARDS
BEST SINGLE IMAGE, JUDGE'S CHOICE, TRAVEL PHOTOGRAPHER OF THE YEAR
MORE THAN 50 HONORABLE MENTIONS, IPA AWARDS
HONORABLE MENTIONS, EXPOSURE, ONE LIFE
NOMINEE, MASTER'S CUP and many more.

EXHIBITION:
NATIONAL GALLERY, LAMIA, GREECE (under the auspices of the Embassy of Indonesia, the Consulate of Ivory Coast and the Consulate of Ethiopia).