About

At the peak of his career, as the CEO of a listed company, Nripjit Singh (Noni) Chawla decided to quit full-time work “to do all the things I did not have time for when I was working for someone else”, as he puts it. Since then he has travelled extensively to off-the-beaten- track places such as Burma, Borneo, Uzbekistan, Sudan, Afghanistan and Ladakh, to name just a few. Twice a year he goes off fishing. He is an avid reader and reads anything from crime fiction to philosophy, from history to management.

During his corporate career, being involved in marketing and advertising, Noni observed some of India’s best photographers at work. This rekindled his long dormant interest in photography. But it wasn’t until he quit full-time work that he was able to spend quality time on pursuing photography.

While he shoots widely, his real interest lies in shooting performing arts, documentary photography and people. Talking about shooting the performing arts he says, “To catch that fleeting moment when a performer is in a state of flow, in that moment of unity when nothing else in the world matters to him or her, is to witness ecstasy, to capture eternity”. On documentary work, he feels, “Documentary photography can be a powerful force to depict what is often not obvious. The vast majority of people live in their own narrow spheres. Documentary photography takes the viewer into alien worlds, into other people’s lives and leads to empathy, understanding and often, welcome change in attitudes”.

Noni is married to Nilima, a former communication consultant and script writer. She is presently actively involved in the social sector. Their two grown-up children live in London.