Profile of Shrikrishna Paranjpe , Freelance Photo Journalist & President of Balmudra Development & Research Centre Pune

  • I found passion for photography when i was a student of Architecture at the age of 22 .Since then I had worked as a freelance photo journalist for over 12 years with reputed publications such as Times of India , Indian Express , Maharashtra Herald , Hindustan Times , Sakal etc. I am known for endeavors in child photography through my unique exhibition titled ‘Balmudra ‘ since Sixteen years and has been helping parents capture beautiful moments of their child in a studio spread over 2000sq .ft and equipped with advanced technology in Pune , Maharashtra .
  • About 8 years before i was inspired by an anthropologist from Pune to travel several remote areas across the country and capture the livelihood of tribal community. I have travelled extensively in the tribal area of Maharashtra , Madhya Pradesh , Jharkhand , Chhattisgarh , Nagaland , Arunachal Pradesh ,Andhra Pradesh , Odisha and other states. I have captured more than 200 tribes in over 7 Lakh images. Over the years I had successfully organized more than 20 exhibitions of tribal photography in cities such as Pune ,Mumbai ,Nashik ,Hydrabad ,Raipur, Vishakhapattnam , etc .
  • https://www.tribal.nic.in/DivisionsFiles/tribalFaces.pdf .

  • I have done detailed photo documentation including livelihood , settlement patterns , faces ,festivals , rituals etc for all the tribes and has more than 8 lakh images of the tribals . All the pictures have been shot with 35 megapixels high resolution camera . Also did video documentation of some tribes with sony Hd Handycam .
  • “Tribal Faces of India “ A notebook / dairy was launched on 27 th Oct 2016 in New Delhi ( During Vanaj Tribal Festival ) Government of India Ministry of Tribal Affairs & UNDP in India has published this dairy .
  • Tribal Welfare department ( TCR & TM )of Andhra Pradesh had used my tribal photographs for their wall calendar this year .
  • In 2015-16 Chhattisgarh Tribal Research Institute appointed me to do a photo documentation of 5 Particularly Vulnerable ( Primate ) Tribal Groups namely Baiga , Abhuj Maria , Pahadi Korba , Kamar and Birhor .
  • Last year in 2017-18,I was appointed by Tribal Welfare department ( TCR & TM )of Andhra Pradesh to do a photo documentation of 7 Particularly Vulnerable ( Primate ) Tribal Groups namely Gutob Gadaba, Bodo Gadaba, Dongria Khond, Kutia Khond,Bondo Porja.
  • I had hugely contributed to Pune‘s Tribal Research & Training Institute (TRTI)Museum by providing them more than 100 frames of 25 tribes from Maharashtra.All the Frames are displayed in PuneTribal Museum .
  • I had also provided photo frames for permanent display at Pune University‘s Anthropology Museum .
  • Several photo features and articles had been published in Tribal Heritage Magazines.
  • Currently I am working on more than 16 Coffee table books based on the art ,culture & livelihood of the Indian tribal community .
  • Some of my tribal photo frames of tribal regions and people are at a permanent display at Rashtrapati Bhavan in New Delhi.
  • After spending substantial time in the tribal areas and befriending them, I realized their plight and understood their needs. In the wake of helping tribes and tribal children I along with my wife Poorva and few friends have founded a Trust (NGO) named Balmudra Development & Research Centre Pune. The aim of this documentation is to preserve and protect a record of tribal culture and history in the face of modernization and integration. The Ngo is Registered and having 80 g certification.
  • Tribal India - A photographic journey is a unique photo exhibition on tribal life style and culture. The exhibition is not about displaying photographs but also introducing the lifestyle, livelihood, rituals, festivals, art forms ,music, dance and markets of the different tribal community in India.
  • To accomplish all this ,my wife Poorva Paranjpe is playing a pivotal role . She has not only accompanying me on some of the trips but helping me in compiling and editing various fragments of writing and also selecting photographs . My present interest in tribal and travel photography , I have also photographed dance,nature and children .
  • TRIBAL PHOTOGRAPHY - https://www.facebook.com/The-Tribal-India-A-Photographic-Journey-1488792678026043/