Hyderabad is home to some of the most spectacular natural rock formations. You can drive from any direction in or out of the city and you are bound to come across at least some of them. On seeing them, we will be left wondering how they came into existence?

Geologists estimate that they were formed around 2.5 billion years ago. Most of these formations are igneous and granite rocks, basically liquid magma, pushed from the center of the earth upward in to the crust where they solidified slowly to form huge intrusive basoliths or stocks. Millions of years of exposure to wind and water eroded the surrounding crust, and the exposed granite weathers slowly along its horizontal and vertical cracks, resulting in these unique formations.

These majestic rockscapes of Hyderabad-Deccan are facing obliteration after millions of years of peaceful existence.

Hyderabad as a global investment destination,coupled with urbanisation, globalisation and the resulting demand for real estate is the immediate threat to these enchanting monuments of cosmic creation.

However some activist groups and individuals have been trying to increase awareness and reduce their destruction. Since 1992, under the aegis of the Society to Save the Rocks, Narendra Luther its Chairman and Frauke Quader its Secretary have been passionately advocating for preserving this exceptional masterpieces of nature. The society has been organizing photo exhibitions; artist camps; rock walks and rock concerts, and producing a lot of rock memorabilia in the form of greeting cards and T-shirts to raise public awareness.

What inspired you to choose rocks as your subject?
My photography project stems from the realisation that the future generations will be deprived of this nature’s work of art. I feel that it doesn’t require a genius to train one’s camera on such natural masterpieces. I did this just that, because, I thought, “I should put my camera to better use than just clicking away at family get-togethers and friends”. More than that, “I believe these natural stone monuments are spectacular”. To cap it all I love trekking, this gave me a chance to wander into the Deccan hillocks and the shrub jungles. Trekking through the mountainous Deccan shrub jungles in search of these exotic rock formations was an immense pleasure to me. It was also a therapy for my displaced rustic heart, which still finds it difficult to engage and survive with the claustrophobic living and work environments of the metropolis. The solo adventurous treks over the past two years, into the hillocks around Hyderabad, with my amateur digital camera will be among my best lifetime reminiscences.

Did you find anything unique about the rockscapes of Hyderabad?
The amazing rock formations in and around Hyderabad are interesting in the first place because of their anthropomorphic forms (they look like various living and inanimate objects) we are acquainted with, in our visual culture. Besides being formations, which are interesting perceptions of human eye, the rockscapes have their own existence and history. They are blended into the geography, history, political, social and religious life of their habitats. Human interaction with these natural formations is very interesting and you can see these facets captured in my photographs.

Alliance Francaise, Hyderabad and Society to Save Rocks supported this Photographer’s exhibition at Sate Art Gallery, Madhapur recently