“I am fortunate; I have spent the most glorious years of my life in Arunachal Pradesh, the Land of Rising Sun. Personally this incredible land has bestowed so much that I will always remain in obligation. My devotion for this legendry land is spontaneous. I am always trying to contribute in my own little ways to unveil the shroud from this unexplored and mysterious land, by providing the world the glimpses of amazing Arunachal Pradesh through the lenses of honest confederate. The view of ageless beauty, the sight of rich blue mountains, the naïve tribal people, the fabulous traditional folk dances, the extraordinary customs and cultures of hilly people, the colorful birds, the elegant butterflies, the rare and untamed animals, the wild orchids, the life saving medicinal plants, the mysterious bugs and many more strange flora and fauna……I am out of words to express the unbelievable things about this land of divine dawn.”
~Arif Siddiqui
A picture can speak a thousand words. This certainly holds true for all lovers of photography and practicing photographers till date. From the traditional pinhole camera to the sassy digital cameras of today, photography has witnessed a metamorphosis in terms of equipments used and in the style of approach to obtain a good picture.
When you really try to think of some of the most famous photographers from the yesteryears till date, you realize that there is more to photography then just freezing the right frame.
Photography could be a hobby to some, a profession to others or simply an obsession. Photography has inspired and stimulated the minds of many.
As a rule, artists are passionate about their work. Acclaimed photographer Arif Siddiqui goes a step further: He's just as ardent about the mission behind his messages as the images themselves. He traveled extensively around the globe and firmly believed that photography was all about capturing the image at the ‘right’ moment.
Diminutive in size, about 5ft 5 inches, Arif Siddiqui became a giant in the realm of photography and received the Arunachal Pradesh state awards and much recognition, for his in his twilight years, from. Having acquired his first camera Nikon D 70, he started photography as a hobby. He begun clicking, capturing and preserving the most beautiful gifts of nature. His clandestine hobby became his passion. A gadget freak since his early days, Siddiqui was always excited with computers to music system. At his young age, he was already moving against the flow, preferring to be self taught. He had great passion for classical music, being an accomplished and three times winner in North Indian classical music youth meet in Agra during his college days as Hawaiian guitar player and a ‘Sangeet Prabhkar’ in classical instrument music from Prayag Sangeet Mahavidyalaya, Allahabad yet he vacillated between music and photography in his early years.
Born on 1st November 1963, in Jhansi, Uttar Pradesh, this truly revolutionary photographer stood out amongst his peers. An absolute genius when it came to capturing candid moments, he relied on natural light and effective positioning to achieve his distinctive style. There’s no secret formula when it comes to clicking good pictures for him. His camera confines the true essence of the tribal peoples and recites the tale of the incredible Arunachal Pradesh that adorns the prestigious pages of various reputable travel journals of the world and his selfless and countless contribution for the promotion of Eco-Tourism in Changlang district in particular and the state in general has imprinted the district and the state on the atlas of the world.
Serving in the Public Works Department in a small hamlet of Nampong in Changlang district of Arunachal Pradesh, completed his 23 years pompously. He is a civil engineer by profession but of all he is an ardent nature photographer, a social activist, a lepidopterist, an environment enthusiast. Capturing the bounties of nature – it was not long before he became an avid environmentalists. His love of nature stimulated his interest, to be involved in the Namchik Valley Society for Eco Tourism and Wildlife Conservation, Jairampur (Arunachal Pradesh), and became a member coordinator of this Non Governmental Organization (NGO).
Later in 2008, to find a reason to craft a stage and to unravel the elegance of Arunachal Pradesh to the outside world he with the help of his well wishers launched a website “www.amazingarunachal.com” with a determination to emphasize the exquisiteness of this shrouded paradise through his photographs. Basically the website is a photo based website. The central concept of the website is to display the amazing things god has endowed to this emerald terrain of lively tribes through the nomadic lenses of his. Apparently, the region is benefiting from his hard work as because numerous domestic and international tourists are visiting the area at frequent intervals. Evidently, his foremost contribution to the state has been the Butterfly Conservation Area, which is first and only officially conferred butterfly conservation area in the entire North East of India. In this regard, his marvelous photographs of many uncommon species of Butterflies, not only brought Arunachal but entire North East, in the notice of lepidopterists and eventually he organized a Butterfly India Meet in 2006 to educate the local throng about the importance of environment preservation and wildlife conservation. His active involvement in various social activities is evident sign of his association for social causes. He has motivated numerous youths to toil hard and participate for the betterment of the society. His records of community services are excellent and exceptional. For his outstanding contribution for the development of local communities, promotion of eco-tourism, encouraging the youth to participate in nation building and generating global attention for the states, the Government of Arunachal Pradesh recognized and applauded his earnest attempts and awarded him with a State Silver Medal – a true tribute to a great man and creative natural photographer.
He is truly a thorough professional who keeps a distance from his subjects who refuses to be overawed to be hero-worshipping. This perhaps distinguishes him from the average photojournalist, who, given his fame and experience, would have been top willing to drop names and claim proximity with the great and the mighty. He produced his good photographs in an effortless and exquisite manner, which always reflect and radiate the ecstatic quality of his soul.
Some of his Published Works –
1. Asian Geography January 2010 issue (Cyclosa Spider: A very tiny spider also known as signature spider).
2. Arunachal Pradesh: The Hidden Land written by Mamang Dai and Published by Penguin Books with a 70% of his photograph coverage.
3. Published photographs in many Coffee table books of South India.
4. Regular photographs/article on Arunachal Tourism in New Horizon, South East Asia, Talk Himalaya, Travel magazines published from Sikkim.
5. Published work in many issues of India Today’s Travel Plus.
6. Published work in many NE based magazines like Eclectic, North East Frontier, NE Window etc.
7. For the last three years many major Governmental Departments of Arunachal Pradesh published calendars with his photographs.
8. Published his photographs in NEC’s official Calendar in the year 2008.
9. www.amazingarunachal.com website with a difference launched by him whose link is also available at www.arunachalipr.gov.in.
His Achievement –
1. Organized Butterfly India Meet in 2006, an initiative to highlight the rare butterflies of the state and because of which many people are regularly visiting Arunachal Pradesh for capturing the Butterflies in sassy digital cameras.
2. State Silver medal Awarded for promoting tourism through his photographs.
3. He has voluntarily given rights to Tourism Department, Govt. of Arunachal Pradesh to use all his work for free of cost for tourism publications in the interest of State.
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