Time flies! Time slipping past is much more evident when you see kids around you grow up year after year. The little ones that I took pictures of as babies or toddlers are a testament to that. The same babies who had a vocabulary of ten words are now having full blown conversations with me about so many interesting topics, while standing their ground with distinct defined personalities of their own. The only befitting way to measure the passage of time as a photographer was to take pictures of these cuties again holding the photographs of their baby self that was shot by Varied Reflections. Celebrating them as well as my decade in photography by creating another milestone shot.
My own personal project, a tribute to passage of time – “Time Jump with Varied Reflections”.
TimeJump : 2024-2025
Viha‘s photoshoot was one of my first assignments after leaving my previous job. Her aunt Vidya was most enthusiastic to make it happen. Viha growing up into this charming young girl is reminiscent of how far I have come. Though I had been shooting from before , that morning spent with baby V was one of my most invigorating baby photoshoots with all her extending family of maybe 10 of them, completely immersed in it. She was a calm baby, with a sweet smile and hardly complained through the morning. She is still the same. This kind young girl, who is helpful to everyone around her, independent, takes care of herself, her school work and her fun games, all by herself. She is an excellent observer of her surrounding and has some surprisingly intelligent things to add to adult conversations already. I have fun not only talking to her about the animation movies she liked but also losing to her in chess!
We celebrated Kabir‘s first birthday shoot with a cake smash outdoors and he was most excited about it. I still enjoy looking at the expressions he gave my camera as he tasted sugar for the first time ever. This slightly bigger version of Kabir takes part in national level skateboarding and he is so passionate about it. He can sit me down to tell me about which cafe or restaurant he thinks is good and how he will soon want to take pictures from his own optical lens camera. His well formed opinions surprise & amuse me all at once!
It was just a week since Atharv had learned to walk when we did his photoshoot but I had a tough time keeping up with this munchkin’s speed. All he wanted to do was use his new found skill the whole time! Flash forward to when I met him recently, he is still leaving everyone his age miles behind, he knows every trivia he has access to and every anime he can get his hands on. All this while he keeps his naivety & curiosity well balanced. It was good fun to talk about all our favourite anime characters and before I meet him again, I need to update my anime database! Doesn’t he still have the same smile?
From this tiny Sia of a few days old in the picture she holds, to Sia now, she is always dancing to her own rhythm. She is brimming with things to say and wants to add her own spin to everything, always up and about & full of energy. She is still so young but has started showing her personality vividly. She says ‘Red Hot Pepper’ describes her the best & I must agree! Makes me wonder where I will find her in a few years.
Among all the 15 month olds that I have met, Anvita has to be the most talkative little charmer with her baby talk & her cute curls. She had so many stories to tell the minute she met me on the day of her photoshoot. Cut to now, she is still the same after all these years, but armed with many more diverse topics to talk about and all you want to do is just listen to her in wonder because of how much enthusiasm she brings in. Anvita has read her whole library and even published a short story! When we did the Time Jump shots, she wanted a picture with her current favourite book, Enid Blyton’s Malory Towers. I can’t help but be excited about all the wonderful books and stories she will come across in the decades ahead.
TimeJump : 2025-2026
Kabir has grown up in front of my camera. I have had the opportunity to take Kabir’s pictures at every stage of his life and I cherish it a lot! His big eyes have stared back at me since he was a day old to now, with a sense of joy, wonder, question and naughtiness.
Now at 8 years, Kabir is full of life, rigour and uncontainable energy. He is street smart, playful and understands the dynamics of any room in walks into. He is naughty and knows how to play the adults to get what he wants. But he is also this sweet baby that will fight his mom like she is his rival and cuddle her all in the span of 30 seconds. He loves playing with lego and boasts about his new found interests like he is already a pro at it. I am sure he will never lose that sparkle in his eyes and I am seated for all his funny & exciting tales to come!
Shehan‘s pictures were taken when he was just a few months old. He was a bright, cheerful and a tall baby. It was an exciting photoshoot with a lot of props and his parents enthusiasm was effervescent in his pictures as he cooperated calmly through all of it. Look at him now trying to recreate the baby in pool picture!
Shehan is still that cheerful boy and gets his energy and enthusiasm clearly from his parents. Full of life, naughtiness and brimming with energy like any boy who is 8 years old. Yet he still has the naivety of the little kid I met 8 years ago and is very much his mama’s boy. He steps into this new chapter of life, where he is the older brother now to twins, a sister and a brother. I am sure he will be a fun elder sibling to have. I can’t wait to hear about those adventures.
The day I met Sresht all those years ago, he was calm and happy, enjoying his tricycle ride, playing with bubbles and out gazing at every plant and tree.
Now Sresht still holds onto that vibe, loves getting lost with his train set, reading his books and going to various classes that he is busy with. Nurtured by the goodness that his parents bring into his life, his path ahead is sure to be very interesting. I loved all the fun expressions he gave me with his baby prints!
The cute round munchkin from her first year grew up into this fun, talkative , pretty sweetheart. We had a lot of fun taking pictures with Krisha‘s baby prints.
Krisha, like many young 9 year old girls, loves all the pretty colorful things and we love her for that. From hairbands, Geronimo Stilton books, board games to everything unicorn make up her haul. If you are lucky you will get to hear her elaborate jokes and stories and she might bake/cook something for you wearing a chef hat. They turn out to be some very interesting recipes with her own personal twists!
By the way, She says I am her friend. So, going by that, My little friend Krisha has to be the cutest friend I have ever had in my entire life!
Can you see Avyukt still has the same head tilt and smile ? How I loved it when I saw him unconsciously give me that look, exactly like his baby picture. Avyukt is a balanced blend of innocence, clever naughtiness and discipline that his parents have honed into him from very early on. He uses all that discipline to learn his keyboard and swim for hours on end. He will earnestly listen to what people tell him and do it, while his mind juggling and eager to get out there to also do all those things he loves. I hope Avyukt’s love for cars , sports and his curiosity may always be with him while he find other interesting things in the world.
Namami gets her nickname from Chihiro of ‘Spirited Away’. I have had a small influence in Namami getting her nickname from the Studio Ghibli movie. I asked her mum to watch ‘Spirited Away’ when she was carrying Namami, she liked the character so much, that she was given the nickname Chihiro. We shot chihiro’s pictures when she was one, she looked like a doll, there is really no better way to describe this cutie. She spent the whole morning picking up every dried leaf and twig in Cubbon park.
Now Chihiro is this charming young girl of 11 who will tell me stories she has read and asks me where she can get a certain type of yarn to crochet her plushie! We got to crochet together one afternoon, how sweet is that! When she drops a call on a random day to talk to me about her books or when I get pictures of her finished crochet projects, it makes me proud. I am excited for all those new books, movies and hobbies that she will discover in the years to come. I know she will she dive into them with the same enthusiasm and diligence that I see in her now.
