In 2004, I was awarded the first prize in a competition organized by The Office of International Education, University of Colorado, Boulder (www.colorado.edu/OIE).   The topic of the contest was to depict an intercultural experience and what we international students bring to the United States.  My photograph, titled Pride of India , was awarded the first prize out of 200 entries.  The photograph uses Pagdis (Indian traditional headgear) to capture the cultural diversity of India.  Pagdis are the symbols of different kinds of faith in India. They also connote pride and dignity.  The first two Pagdis from the right (as the eye sees it) show traditional headgears worn by followers of Islam and Sikh religions. Next we see a Gandhi cap, which represents the principles of non-violence preached by Gandhi. The fourth Pagdi from the right is a traditional Hindu Pagdi worn in western India (Rajasthan.) To complete the picture of young, cosmopolitan India today, I added the � I LUV NY � cap that symbolizes western influence in India and her fascination with the United States. What binds all these sentiments together is the feeling of brotherhood.

In 2006, I was featured as an outdoor photographer in the popular TV show - Colorado Outdoors: Outdoor Photography. It appeared in Douglas County (CO) Channel 8 during June 2006.