Tamil Nadu: This physician discovered his calling in images within the Himalayan terrain

At the age of 72, Dr. Srinivasan Periathiruvadi has simply returned from one more devoted trek by way of the Himalayan area photographing the consuming wilderness. And his love for images predates his medical profession by years. It started in 1964 in Thoothukudi the place he had spent his lengthy evenings in a photograph studio of a good friend’s father after college, attentively watching the artwork of movie growing.

It was momentarily paused when Dr. Srinivasan was pulled in direction of drugs. “Medicine took every minute of my time as an MBBS student at Kilpauk Medical College in Chennai, and I just didn’t have the money for photography,” he remembers. Only whereas pursuing MD in drugs, a stipend made him choose the digicam once more, albeit briefly.

From 1985 to 2005, images receded to the background, the place his profession took him from CSI Rainy Hospital in 1981 to a brief stint within the U.Ok., and finally again to Chennai the place he absolutely immersed himself in laboratory drugs, founding Lister laboratory (now Lister Metropolis) and the not-for-profit, Jeevan Blood financial institution the place he was balancing the 2 worlds of being a doctor and photographer.

“Only around 2009, I returned to photography with intention, and never looked back,” he says. The Himalayas reclaimed him as he really discovered his ardour for images on the high-altitude solitude.

At the images exhibition at Folly, Amethyst in Chennai on November 21, 2025
| Photo Credit:
R. Ravindran

At his fourth images exhibition at Folly, Amethyst, Dr. Srinivasan displayed a monochrome assortment of Himalayan pictures alongside his good friend Jayanand Govindaraj who exhibited summary pictures final month. Dr. Srinivasan’s sequence opened with a picture of a mountain lady strolling round, which additionally occurred to be an extended wait to seize. “When I saw her emerge from behind a bend, I stood waiting nearly an hour for her to enter the frame,” provides the medical skilled.

Over the final 4 years, the doctor-photographer has travelled extensively throughout Kashmir for his subsequent exhibition, deliberate for 2026, and had additionally printed two books that doc his journeys simply by way of pictures.

“In the medical field, many feel worn down, and they don’t develop any other hobby. Every professional should have an hobby, be it serious or casual, but it is essential to find your inner self and expression, and step away from the pressures of the professional world. Without that, it gets difficult as we age,” says Dr. Srinivasan, who additionally had his stint with wildlife images.

Dr. Srinivasan Periathiruvadi, throughout his images exhibition at Folly, Amethyst in Chennai
| Photo Credit:
R. Ravindran

For many years, six days every week belonged to drugs and someday for images, however the ratio reversed little by little with time. Now, he says, he has taken a aware determination to indulge extra in images. In the previous few years, he has moved away from color to largely monochrome work. “When colour is absent, our eyes mostly start noticing the form, tone, contrast, and distractions fall away,” he says.

Dr. Srinivasan is up at 4.45 am and cycles 20 kilometres a day, however he says going to the excessive altitude areas needn’t solely bodily endurance however psychological power. “Mountains test your mind first. Anyone planning to go to high terrains must acclimatise both mentally and physically,” he says. His photograph exhibition Mountains and Mugil proven at Folly is now accessible as a 3D digital gallery too at