I had visited Malvan recently for photography. It is a village which is a part of the Sindhudurg district with a beautiful sea shore and is famous for its fish market. I had been there for a day at a time when I wasn’t in the best of my health, but I did not want to waste the opportunity of a good trip to Malvan virtue of a one-day holiday from normal life. I had a few friends come along with me as well.

As I entered the fish market, the pungent odour of the fish on sale really stopped me in my tracks and worsened my resolve to photograph the market. I am a vegetarian since birth and so, even the smell of any kind of meat is enough to make me queasy. The smell of this market in particular made me sick a couple times as well. Regardless, I had to photograph the market by any means. In the midst of the pandemic, I continued to shoot pictures in the ever-increasing crowd present there. The odour along with the constant spraying of water on the fish to keep them fresh meant that my clothes were starting to pick up this smell as well.

After I finally got out of the market after two hours, I felt a sense of relief. However, my clothes smelled of the same odour from the market there so it stayed that way till I reached our hotel room to wash off all the smells and feel fresh again.

As a passionate photographer, you have to face some difficult situations and this is what makes you stronger.

You get the best photographs when you are completely devoted to the craft despite all the odds you are facing.

This is something that I learnt from my teacher.