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In a single body of fireplace and religion, Ramya Sriram has ensured that an historical ritual from Kerala now burns vibrant on the world stage.
Burnt, Pushed, Virtually Stopped: How This Photographer Gained A Nat Geo Award With One Shot
For years, international awards have regarded to Indian cinema for spectacle and storytelling. Now, the highlight has shifted, from the film set to the ritual floor, due to a girl. A picture of Kerala’s historical Kandanar Kelan Theyyam ritual, shot by photographer Ramya Sriram, has gained the Nat Geo India Worldwide Contest, putting South India’s dwelling cultural traditions on the worldwide stage.
The profitable {photograph} is being featured in Nationwide Geographic’s 2026 calendar, a coveted platform that celebrates distinctive visible storytelling from internationally.
What Is Theyyam?
The Kandanar Kelan Theyyam, carried out primarily within the Kannur and Kasaragod districts, is a part of a centuries-old custom that mixes mythology, efficiency artwork and intense religious perception. For Ramya, this was not a one-off encounter. As per reviews, over the previous 4 years, she has travelled extensively throughout Kerala, documenting totally different types of Theyyam as a part of a private venture to protect India’s intangible cultural heritage.
Her award-winning picture captures the uncooked, electrifying depth of the Kandanar Kelan Theyyam, the place the performer is believed to embody a deity. Flames leap, the gang surges and the boundary between devotion and hazard blurs. It’s this charged environment that units the {photograph} aside, incomes reward for each its technical brilliance and emotional power.
For Ramya, the honour is deeply private. Reacting to the win, she described being recognised by Nationwide Geographic because the “Holy Grail” for photographers (an achievement she likened to profitable an Oscar). “No phrases can clarify this second of happiness. It validates my years of labor and provides international recognition,” she mentioned.
Eight Hours Of Ready, Seconds Of Chaos
In an interview, she described how the {photograph} was taken inside a small temple in northern Kerala within the early hours of the morning. Ramya had waited practically eight hours via the night time for the ritual to start, a typical actuality for photographers documenting Theyyam, the place timings are fluid and devotion dictates the tempo.
When the ritual lastly commenced, the calm dissolved immediately. Devotees and photographers crowded the house as fireplace soared increased. “Everybody was pushing and pulling. There was chaos and the hearth was too excessive,” Ramya recalled. Moments later, she was pushed dangerously near the flames, struggling burns on her hand, digital camera and garments. She managed to take simply 5 pictures earlier than being compelled to cease. Out of these 5 frames, three had been out of focus, two had been usable, and the one in your display screen would go on to win a global award.
February 10, 2026, 21:12 IST
