Rajib Roy on Vishma Kumar Thapa, formerly of The Shillong Times group who won a global photography contest in May
HE BEGAN his career in 1994 with Salatini Janera, a Garo daily from The Shillong Times stable. Photojournalist Vishma Kumar Thapa has now broken into the big league by becoming a top 20 winner of the India-Africa Photography Contest 2012-13.
A resident of Goalpara in western Assam, Vishma moved on from Janera to work with various Garo publications before freelancing for Garo Hills-based dailies and periodicals, Assam-based news agencies and publications and international newspapers, magazines and websites.
Vishma has special interest in sports, wildlife and culture and has covered many events across Northeast and mainland India. He has been documenting various festival of the region for the last two decades. They include Wangala, Behdeinkhlam, Nongkrem, Goa Carnival, Kut of Mizoram and Hornbill Festival of Nagaland.
The photo that made Vishma a top 20 winner in the India-Africa contest was that of an injured elephant caught in a quagmire in Goalpara district. He had covered the unsuccessful three-day rescue operation by wildlife workers and domesticated elephants from Manas National Park.
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