The Terai's Tigers Come Alive In A Walk On The Wild Side

It&rsquos easy to hate on Neel Soni, the 18-year-old budding conservationist who&rsquos come out with A Walk on the Wild Side. Making it as a wildlife photographer&mdashor any photographer&mdashis hard in India, and here&rsquos this young man who&rsquos published a photo book on tigers that has an impeccably quirky look (props to designer Nitin Srivastava), is printed on Kraft and Rendezvous paper and is set in an arena as stunning as Corbett National Park. But once you sit and have a good think, the envy slowly dies out, only to be replaced by begrudging admiration.

Soni has put his exposure to the wild from a young age to good use to deliver a natural history narrative that is pointed, personal and aimed for posterity. With A Walk on the Wild Side, readers are led into &lsquohis&rsquo Corbett, where Soni juxtaposes a soft spot for the Terai&rsquos big cats&mdashin the form of closeups, fine art-style shots and stealthy inclusions into sweeping vistas&mdash with the area&rsquos socio-environmental conditions. The wwwsection dedicated to &lsquoKaka&rsquo, Soni&rsquos guide and driver into, makes us feel warm and fuzzy.

It&rsquos unusual for a photo book, but we almost preferred Soni&rsquos writing to his photography. His unwavering empathy is commendable, and his insider&rsquos gaze insightful. The young lensman&rsquos ability to recognise and remember Corbett&rsquos tigers is also surprising, since he&rsquos photographed them from so far away, and at so many different points of time. But the images, albeit composed and lit well, could have benefited with more attention towards curation, as their ordering, themes and the sheer number don&rsquot combine cohesively. For example, Soni speaks of the sudden demise of Shakti, a grand old tigress, with sensitivity and respectful adoration. But much too soon, there&rsquos an irrelevant picture of a bird that disrupts the emotional impact.

Soni&rsquos portfolio, weathered since before he even passed his 10th-grade exams, has varied moods that need their own breathing room to avoid feeling like a confused potpourri. In terms of translating his confident integrity into an awe-inspiring photo book, we feel he&rsquos not quite there yet. But if this is just the beginning of his professional journey, we&rsquore excited at the thought of his absolute best.