Thanjavur Nateshachary Ayyamperumal is a doyen of wildlife photography in India. It may not be farfetched to christen him the father of Indian wildlife photography. Born in 1932, TNA Perumal, as he is known to many, began serious bird photography in 1960. He became a member of the Mysore Photographic Society in Bangalore in 1961 and the Federation of Indian Photography in 1962. He was awarded the Artiste FIAP in Nature Photography in 1963 and the Excellence FIAP in 1968. He has more than 1500 acceptances in National and International Salons and more than 200 awards and Certificates of Merit to his credit. He received the National Press Council Award for Industrial Photography in 1975 and the Karnataka Lalit Kala Academy Award for Nature Photography in 1995. He is also the recipient of many national and international honours that include: The Associateship of the Royal Photographic Society of United Kingdom (ARPS - 1977) and Fellowship of the Royal Photographic Society of United Kingdom (FRPS - 1978) in Nature Photography, Master Photographer of the French Federation de l’ Art Photographique (1983) in Nature Photography, Fellowship of the Society of Nature Photographers New Delhi, Honorary Membership of the Youth Photographic Society Bangalore, Honorary Fellowship of the India International Photographic Council New Delhi - (1993), Honorary Fellowship of Pakistan Salon Group and Certificate of appreciation for contribution to wildlife photography by Sanctuary Asia in 2008.

With such national and international recognition for his work and style, not to mention his pioneering contributions to Indian wildlife photography and his expertise with his art and its tools, we have great pleasure in using the seasoned experience of TNA Perumal to select and comment upon the contributions to the LIFESCAPES forum of our web site. We are sure that you will benefit from the presence of TNA Perumal on our panel as much as we are privileged to have a veteran of his stature be associated with us.

Finally, we would like to remind you, lest he be remembered more for his past achievements, that Mr.Perumal still “shoots”. His preferred camera today is a Nikon D-200 DSLR with a 70-300 VR zoom lens. He is a consummate reader of wildlife literature, nature and ornithology. He reveals to us that his all time favorites are “With a camera in Tiger land“ by F.W. Champion and “Jungle Lore” by Jim Corbett.