This website is essentially a formal presentation of informal photographs taken at different places in Rajasthan. The world wide web gave us an opportunity to publish our photographs, so here they are! Having said that, we have spent a great deal of time and effort making the photographs and presenting them here along with bits of related information (and personal experiences) and we hope you'll enjoy them.
The name of this website implies a sense of proudness in been born in Rajasthan and also suggests 'personal' perspective of seeing or portraying Rajasthan. The name is short, should be easy to remember :-) and is not meant to convey "ownership" in any way. This website is also a result of the thought that for all one 'takes' from the internet, one should also 'give' and so here is our small contribution. This website does not have any profit / commercial motive.
Born and brought up in Jaipur, I studied at the St. Xavier's School there and went on to graduate as a graphic designer from the Faculty of Fine Arts, M.S. University, Vadodara (Gujarat). I settled for a lower-profile career of a freelance graphic designer after a 5 year stint with one of India's top advertising agencies in New Delhi. Photography is one of my serious hobbies and I have a strong interest in nature.
My "official" website is here, my fine art / nature photographs are here, my PhotoBlog celebrating ordinary or mundane life in and around Jaipur is here, some of my wildlife photographs are here and my portfolio of graphics on contemporary issues
(in the form of a blog) is here.
I was born and brought up in Jaipur. After finishing high school (from St. Xavier's, Jaipur), I studied architecture at the Malviya Institute of Technology, Jaipur. I run an Architecture / Design firm and am on my way to becoming a naturalist. Bird photography is my main hobby.
Some of my nature photographs are here and my blog on birding trip reports is here.
Even a website as insignificant as this cannot be done without receiving generous help from others. We would like to thank the following individuals / organisations for their kindness, support, guidance and encouragament directly related to this website. They are:
Our late grandparents Mrs. Sheetal Kumari Bhatnagar and Prof. B.S. Bhatnagar, Dr. Tara Mathur and Mr. C.B.L. Mathur, our parents Mrs. Rekha and Prof. P.S. Bhatnagar, Megha Bhatnagar, Dr. Savita Verma, Mr. Harkirat Singh Sangha, Dr. Reena Mathur, Dr. Meena Mathur, Dr. Beena Mathur, Mr. Nihal Mathur, Dr. Mrs. Renu Consul, Dr. Sidharth Consul, Mr. and Mrs. S.L. Mathur, Mrs. Devika Bhatnagar, Mr. Parmeshwar Swaroop Bhatnagar, Dr. Pramod Bhatnagar, Mr. Ajay Verma, Mr. Manish Consul, Department of Forests (Government of Rajasthan), Mr. Shail Choyal, Prof. Clive Southey, Late Mr. S.K. Sengupta, Mr. Nikhil Devasar, Mr. Suresh Sharma, Dr. Sumit Dookia, Mrs. Meenakshi Arya, Mr. Dhirendra Devarshi, Mr. Sumit Sen, Mr. Akesh Bhatnagar, Mr. Nemi Chand, Mr. Brij Daan Chaaran, Thakur Digvijay Singh Dhamotar, Mr. Lalit Kumar Mahto, Mr. Gahri Singh, Square Deal Travels and many others including forest guards, taxi drivers and rickshaw pullers whose names we've forgotten but whose help we gratefully acknowledge. We are extremely thankful to God almighty for giving us the opportunity to explore Rajasthan and make this website.
While gathering information for this website, some of the significant books and websites we referred to are as follows:
B o o k s :
Ali, Salim; The Book of Indian Birds. Bombay Natural History Society, 1996 edition
Arya, Dr. R.P.; Arya, Jitender; Arya, Dr. Gayathri; Arya, Anshuman; Explore Rajasthan—Tourist Guide and Map. Indian Map Service, 2005
Bhandari, M.M.; Flora of the Indian Desert. MPS Repros, Jodhpur, 1990 edition
Daniel, J.C.; The Book of Indian Reptiles and Amphibians. BNHS, Oxford University Press, 2002
Grimmett, Richard; Inskipp, Carol; Inskipp, Tim; Pocket Guide to the Birds of the Indian Subcontinent. Oxford University Press, 1999
Illustrated Guide to India. Reader's Digest, Penguin India, 2002
Kanwar, Dharmendra; Rajasthan. Prakash Book Depot, 1997
Kazmierczak, Krys; Singh, Raj; A Birdwatchers' Guide to India. Oxford University Press, 2001
Kehimkar, Isaac; Common Indian Wild Flowers; Bombay Natural History Society, 2000
Monga, Sunjoy; Wildlife Reserves of India. India Book House Pvt. Ltd., 2002
Prater, S.H. The Book of Indian Animals. BNHS, Oxford University Press, 1998 edition
W e b s i t e s :
Acacia World : http://www.acacia-world.net
Birdlife International Red Data Book (Threatened Birds of Asia) : http://www.rdb.or.id
eFloras : http://www.efloras.org
KolkataBirds : http://www.kolkatabirds.com
Madras Naturalists' Society : http://www.blackbuck.org
Ministry of Water Resources, Government of India : http://www.wrmin.nic.in
Oriental Bird Club Image Database : http://www.orientalbirdimages.org
PinkCity.Net : Pinkcity.net
Rain Water Harvesting (by CSE) : http://www.rainwaterharvesting.org
Rajasthan Forest Department : http://rajforest.nic.in
Raj Tourism : http://www.rajtourism.com
Rajasthan Travel Guide : http://www.rajasthantravelguide.com
UNEP World Conservation Monitoring Centre : http://www.unep-wcmc.org
Vedic Lifesciences Pvt. Ltd. : http://www.ayuherbal.com
Wikipedia : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Main_Page
Water Resources Department, Govt. of Rajasthan : http://www.rajirrigation.gov.in
