“Stories are Everywhere” - Arati Kumar Rao

Arati Kumar-Rao has taken a path less trodden; one that takes her across the South Asian continent, meandering her way through the fringes of society documenting the slow violence of ecological degradation. An independent environmental photographer, a writer, and an artist, Arati uses her passion for art as a medium to bring to attention and chronicle the various environmental issues that plague the changing landscapes and climate of the continent while adversely impacting mankind and biodiversity. Arati has not only won awards for her compelling environmental photojournalism but also has contributed to plethora of noteworthy organizations as an environmental activist. We talked to her about her journey into photography and art and how she has been using her voice to advocate for the rights of the planet. Excerpts:

- NITYAPRIYA KALIYATH

How did your journey of environmental photography begin?

This journey likely began very early in my childhood. Growing up in Bombay (now Mumbai) in India, I was privy to raucous debates between my father who is an environmentalist, and an uncle who worked at the World Bank, on the nature of large dams. My father also read to me from the works of Masanobu Fukuoka and Wendell Berry — both farmers close to nature. As a family, we would go for treks into the forested hills of Mumbai and we were fortunate to live in a wooded area of the metropolis. Nature, therefore, and natural systems were a big part of my early education. My mother taught me the importance of communicating well. It is from her that I got my love for writing and communication.

Moreover, every month a yellow-bordered magazine, the National Geographic, would come home and I would pore over the stories in it, imagining myself walking across landscapes, shooting and writing their stories. It was always my dream to explore ecosystems and document them. It would, however take a lot of wandering before I developed the conviction in myself to follow that dream.

Currently, the world is gripped with a host of environmental issues - whether it’s climate change, environmental migration, degradation of ecosystems or even issues we overlook often at times such as noise pollution. How do you decide which ones you want to focus on?