I was born on 23 November 1972 in Nenmenikunnu, a tiny village nestling close to the verdant reserve forest belonging to the Nilgiris biosphere, in Kerala’s Wayanad district. Photography had always been a passion for me from the time I could hold a camera. So I didn’t have to think twice about a career after my education in Sultan Bathery, the nearest town, and Kozhikode, the nearest city.

My father, the late Niravath Prabhakaran was one of Wayanad’s pioneering settler-farmers who, with my mother Pankajakshi, braved great odds to give us a comfortable upbringing in that rustic and often hostile milieu. My brother, N P Vijayan is a painter who combines farming with his artistic pursuits in Wayanad. My wife Sheena works in Bangalore, and is a great mother to Prakriti, my little daughter.

I had joined the Indian Express as a staff news photographer in 1998, after a brief stint of three years with the Madhyamam Daily. I am still with this great newspaper, at Bangalore, but have been contributing photographs to some of India’s leading newspapers and magazines.

Even as I love training my camera on life and times as a photojournalist, there is nothing I love more than being in the company of nature. Not surprising, perhaps, for someone who was born in and grew up near a virgin, unspoilt forest teeming with wild animals — they still amble in and out of our little home’s courtyard, on occasions!

I had been fortunate to win a slew of laurels and recognitions for my work. These include:

• The Government of India’s Photo Division National Award twice, in 2000 and 2004
• The Sanctuary Asia Magazine’s International Wildlife Photography Award
• The Government of Kerala’s Manaveeyam Award
• The State Bank of Travancore–National Sports Photography Award
• The Green Vision 2003 Award
• I was also adjudged the Photographer of the year, 2001.

A particularly cherished achievement was doing the cover photographs for eminent Indo-anglian poet Anita Nair’s collection of poems, `Malabar Mind’ two years go. I had also worked as a still photographer for several documentary filmmakers of note, including O K Johnny, K K Chandran and Sreedevi Pillai.

Among my most disturbing professional memories so far remain covering the riots and communal disturbances in the Malabar region for the past eight years.