Belagavi photojournalist chosen for award
Belagavi-based photojournalist Pundalik K. Badiger has been chosen for the Karnataka Chhaya Ratna Award. His work will be showcased at a national-level photography exhibition at
Belagavi-based photojournalist Pundalik K. Badiger has been chosen for the Karnataka Chhaya Ratna Award. His work will be showcased at a national-level photography exhibition at Tripura Vasini, Palace Grounds, in Bengaluru on Friday. Badiger has chronicled several areas, events and personalities in North Karnataka for over 25 years now. Hailing from Saundatti in Belagavi district, Mr. Badiger began as junior artist who painted nameplates for shops and offices.
This led him to draw cartoons. He soon got an opportunity to work as a cartoonist in the Nadoja newspaper. He began as a newspaper photographer through the Samyukta Karnataka daily. Later, he started working in many leading dailies in the country, including The Hindu and Udayavani, and made a unique mark as a professional photographer. Through his photo essays, he has documented issues of border areas like the Kannada-Marathi agitations and issues faced by linguistic minorities.
He has also covered routine events like political developments, elections, social struggles, religious programs, cultural festivals, accidents, disasters and every day travails of the common people. Some of his pictures of the North Karnataka floods of 2005 and 2009 have been published in national and international publications. He has also photographed wildlife and landscapes around Belagavi. He has received various awards like the District Rajyotsava Award, the Bimba-Bhav Award from Chhaya Foundation and Shristi Sangathan and Baburao Thakur Best Photographer Award.
Exhibitions of his photographs have been held in Chitrakala Parishat, Bengaluru, Dharwad and Belagavi.