Dakshinamurthy Pictures
Faustina Trafton
He was born on 11 November 1921 in Pedakallepalli, Krishna District of present-day Andhra Pradesh, India to Krishnabrahma Sastry, who was a musician and teacher and Smt. Annapurnamma. He graduated with an arts degree in classical music, and became a proportional violinist at the age of nine.[1][2] He subsequently worked as Harmonium player for the label His Master's Voice in 1938. He then worked for All India Radio as A-grade artist in the late 1930s, and became the Director for South Indian region.[2][3][4]
He then moved to cinema and conducted music alongside C. R. Subburaman. He made Lata Mangeshkar sing the ever popular song Nidurapora Thammuda, in his movie Santhanam (1955). Samsaram (1950) movie was a musical hit film with ever popular song Samsaram Samsaram by Ghantasala and A. M. Rajah in Telugu and Tamil languages respectively.[1] He then ventured into Hollywood, and became a re-recordist, and conductor for works such as Jungle Moon Men (1955), and several others by Columbia pictures.[1][2]
Murthi developed Diabetic retinopathy and lost vision in one eye in 1972 and the other in 1987. Murthi died at his residence in Chennai on 9 Feb 2012. He expressed difficulty in breathing when an ambulance was called in. That was only 5 minutes before his death when he said that he did not want to be taken to the hospital. Just as he had wanted he died at 9.30 PM when the ambulance reached at 9.35 PM.[3][4][5]
Trees are a constant source of fascination and inspiration to me. Childhood memories of playing under the huge mango tree at my home town, brings a special feel which words fail to describe. Trees at my school, where I had regular classes under the trees adds to my initial connect with nature. Being a student of botany, my link with the world of trees started enriching many folds. Travel and intensive fieldwork exploring trees and people gave opportunities to get lost into the aesthetics and natural history.
Trees are beautiful poems written on the earth. The human associations with the trees are so much profound and our survival depends on the survival of the trees. Every civilization and culture has its deep roots with trees. Apart from ecological roles, the trees are part of social life of human beings. Trees are being worshipped around the world and are symbolically represented in rock art forms a testimonial of our rich cultural heritage.
The symmetry, patterns in branching, arrangement of leaves, raw form of abstracts, aroma of the flowers and the interaction of various life forms with a tree is an interesting cinema. I spend hours together to stand and stare at the trees. At times, I take an extra mile to go much away from the trees to see its connections in a wider perspective. In my recent travel during peak summer, I documented diversified human interactions with trees across the rural landscapes. For some people a tree is everything. Some Families live under trees, whereas some people pay to camp under trees or stay on tree tops. From the cradle to the grave, humans have intrinsic connections with trees and its products.
Every one of us is aware about the importance of trees, but what are we doing to our trees? Why are we failing to protect them? Trees are being cut down rapidly, urbanization and infra-structural developments are eliminating many of the tree resources in many parts of the world.
An ethnobotanist, presently working as a communications specialist with an international research institute based in New Delhi. He started documenting plants as a part of his doctoral research, exploring the interactions of Paliyan tribal communities with plants in the Western Ghats. His passion for photography drives him and he enjoys his journeys with different genres of photography. Working with different nature-based institutions have given him opportunities to explore the world of trees and human life. He loves minimalism and practices simple living.
Copyrights:
All the pictures in this post are copyrighted to Dakshina Murthy. Their reproduction, even in part, is forbidden without the explicit approval of the rightful owners.
Dear sir,
your love towards the trees are amazing. The photographs are speaking with some truthful meaning. Wish everyone takes care like you with their existence of needful. In a way I am also lover of nature and promoting the habit of planting and taking care of the plants with the help of Chandra Didi. Thank you for sharing you interest with us.