Born into a family that ran photography studios in Colombo, Sri Lanka; and the Indian towns of Coimbatore in Tamil Nadu state and Trichur in Kerala, the fine art of photography came natural to me. My cousins and I toddled inside studio rooms where the elders captured images under the sunlight (electricity was never heard of in those days). While other kids enjoyed throwing mud at each other, we built castles with 50mm film spools and all things waste from the dark room, including the opac anti-halation papers protecting the film. Besides the love for words, the smell of the studio dark room is still intoxicating.
- Â Photographer of the Year award from Minolta in 1996.
- Photographer of the Year award from Minolta in 1998.
- Merit prize in the 1997 BMW Middle East Press Photo competition.
- First prize in the indoor category and second prize in the outdoor category of the photo contests conducted by Twin Towers, Dubai, which won me a free trip to Singapore.
- First runner-up in the Dubai International Arts Centre photo exhibition-cum-competition held in 1997.
- Second runner-up in the 2000 Dubai International Arts Centre photo exhibition-cum-competition.
- Second prize in the cultural photo contest conducted as part of the 1999 Dubai Summer Surprises Festival.
- Merit prizes in the 1996 and 1998 photo contests held by the UAE Federal Environmental Agency, Abu Dhabi.
- Awarded certificate of honour by the UAE Government for my contribution to the environmental cause.
- Awarded certificate of honour by the UAE Government’s Cultural Foundation for my contribution.
- Awarded prize by the office of General Shaikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, for my photographic contribution during the 1997 Dubai Shopping Festival.
- Merit prize in the 2000 Life is Great photo competition conducted by Great Eastern company in Singapore.
