A Colourful Anklet Wins an Action Photography Award

The winning image titled Bannada Gejje is an exploration of colour and movement. Photograph/Dayanand Kukkaje

“All I wanted to do is represent the beauty of the performance through my photograph.”-Dayanand Kukkaje

Dayanand Kukkaje, a Mangalore based photojournalist with Dajiworld Media, won an award for the Best Action Photograph at a state-level contest organised by Sagar Photographic Society in the city of Shimoga, Karnataka. The contest included participants from 15 districts from Karnataka. Noted photographer Jinaraja Hegde judged the entries, out of which 124 pictures were chosen to be exhibited.

Dayanand’s winning image was shot at a cultural festival called Alva’s Virasat at the town of Moodabidri, Karnataka. “I was trying to capture the graceful dance of the two dancers who were on the stage, when I noticed the manner in which their clothes seemed like streaks of colour flowing around them. As I watched them, I realised that their dance and the movement of their colourful costumes was in perfect harmony. All I wanted to do is represent the beauty of their performance through my photograph.”

The winning image is titled Bannada Gejje. Explaining the phrase, Dayanand says, “It is a Kannada word that means colourful anklet. I felt that the phrase suited the image as the colours and the anklets of the dancers play an important role in the image.”

— Aditya Nair