The 20-year-old photographer from Kolkata won the award for his photograph, No Escape from Reality
In the past two years, not a day has passed in Pubarun Basu’s life without him working on his photography skills. “I would either click or process pictures. It not only kept me engaged during the pandemic but also kept me sane.” The 20-year-old photographer from Kolkata recently won the Youth Photographer of the Year 2021 at the Sony World Photography Awards. “There were 3,30,000 entries from around 220 countries. I am the first Indian to win this title. I am humbled by the recognition,” he says.
The process
Pubarun submitted his award-winning photograph, No Escape from Reality, in July 2020. “It was during the lockdown and I had to find something from my surroundings for the competition. One evening, I was in my parents’ bedroom when I noticed the bright sunlight seeping through the window. The shadows of the iron bars fell on the curtain, and it made an…