In his late thirties, Mukesh Khugsal is a name to reckon with. Straddling his Canon 5D and 6D around his neck, you will bump into him at any cultural event on or about Uttarakhand, his home-state be it home or abroad clicking pictures.
With his ancestral roots in Pauri, Mukesh’s parents moved to the plains of Delhi where his father, Surendar Khugsal was in a government job and his mother Godavari a home-maker.
Like any inquisitive teenager, Mukesh picked up his cousin’s camera, Vijay Naithani an accomplished photographer himself. At the age of 16 Mukesh was smitten by the world of photography and made it his passion.
An Art’s graduate from Delhi University, Mukesh tells us, ‘with over 15 years of experience behind the lens, I believe in creating photos rather taking them. I love Photography. I love capturing real emotions and the memories that people hold on to forever.’
Today he has come a long way as far as technology is concerned from his first roll camera being a Pentax to now the top-of-the-line Canon equipment.
“I am a self-taught photographer,’ he tells me, ‘this profession of mine has changed the way I perceive the world around me. I am more of an explorer in pursuit of nature’s abundant brilliance or a common man’s portrait caught in that single moment by the shutter bug.’
A complete package, Mukesh has not limited himself to his first love of landscapes, wildlife and monumental photography. He has dived into the world of portfolios, industrial, corporate, wedding, fashion shows and live-shows as well.
One of his pictures from “Nanda Devi Raaj Jaat” was selected and exhibited in Paris at the third Global Landscapes Forum-Dec-2015. His body of work under, “forest from where we get food for our animals so that we can survive” was highly appreciated in 2nd Indian Mountain Initiative summit in Gangtok 2012.
Mukesh has held marathon exhibits of his work at Mussoorie Writers Mountain Festival 2015; Nanda Devi – a story of Himalayan goddess – Virasat Dehradoon 2015; Delhi Photo Festival 2015, Colors of Uttarakhand – Mumbai (Kauthig) 2014 and 2015; Shades of Delhi – India Habitat Center with his latest being Exhibited in Auckland, New Zealand on 16th April – Baduli 2017.
Mukesh Khugsal has perfected the art of writing with light and trained his eye to capture that fleeting moment, in his shutter-bug for eternity for generations to come.
Ridhim Thapar adds, “In the past few months, over a hundred people have walked through these doors, at a basic fee for various facilities being provided, we are also weighing various start-up options for financially backing.’
Now what would Harry Potter/Quidditch have in common with the Garhwal Himalayas and its habitants? Many would wonder. Well, here is a story of how 27 year old Freelancer Photographer, Education Trainer Anshu Agarwal, recreated the game and its magic for children of Kalap, a village in Tons Valley some two years ago.
Taking about the shoot Anshu tells us how, “It was while i was teaching English to my students that I showed them the movie Harry Potter. The children were so mesmerised by the movie that they asked me to recreate the magic for them, a request i could not turn down and thus, the shoot happened.”
Anshu remembers, “Their wish was my command! Simple. I set about recreating the magic for the young enthusiastic children, who worked on war-footing to arrange for a broomsticks, a one meter long wooden bench and a volleyball, and of course more than willing young children with colourful capes and caps to be my models and actors.”
