Capturing the essence and diversity of the continent, a collection of Ajit Rana’s works aptly titled “Diverse Asia” is being exhibited on India International Center’s website

Taking the road less travelled and following your heart – these are two philosophies artist Ajit Rana lives by.

From the tropical luxuriance of Myanmar to the sparse landscapes of the high plateau of Central Asia, from the modern skyscrapers of Hong Kong to Hanoi’s narrow frontage buildings, Rana has captured it all. His recent works are put together in an online exhibition, aptly titled ‘Diverse Asia’.

The show is a kaleidoscopic journey across Bali, Hong Kong, Kyrgyzstan, Myanmar, Thailand and Vietnam presenting the diverse landscapes, textures and people of Asia. One is faced with shifts of shape, colour and people.

The photos capture the diversity of lives in Asia’s landscapes, cities, natural habitat and most of all its people. Each culture has an ancient history and traditions that stem from an authentic heritage.

“The aim of this exhibition is to give a flavour of the diversity of Asia without any pretence at capturing all of its rich diversity because no one exhibition or collection can do justice to any country’s richness, let alone what is arguably the world’s most varied continent,” adds the curator.

With a passion for adventure, outdoors, cooking and travel, Rana has never followed the traditional path, and from a young age, has shaped his life through his passions. This is reflected in his photography, which is driven by his passion for nature, food, human emotions and different cultures.

Introduced to photography by his father at the age of 12, Rana took his learnings on both the art and science behind photography from him and tailored it to his own style. From capturing for posterity intimate emotions of family members to the joy in the eyes of a village child, to the scars of life in the face of an elder, the artist lives his experiences through his camera.

Rana believes that one is able to see things through the lens that cannot be seen with the naked eye simply because one looks for detail in everything and while framing a shot that has movement, a story, emotion that is unique every single time.

The present exhibition of photographs is an example of Ajit’s travels over the last couple of years in Asia.

The exhibition can be viewed at the website of India International Centre till 23 August