Winged Life

I I captured this photograph in Dharur, Maharashtra, a place that has become very special to me over the past year. My focus has been on documenting the fascinating lives of Indian Flying Foxes, commonly known as fox bats. Among the many images I’ve taken, this particular frame stands out as one of my favorites. It was a cloudy morning, with the towering mountains of the region forming a dramatic backdrop. As the sun slowly rose from behind the peaks, it bathed the sky and landscape in a golden glow. The light filtered through the clouds and cast a delicate radiance over everything, transforming an ordinary moment into something extraordinary. Fox bats follow a daily rhythm. At night, they leave their roosts to forage, while in the early mornings and evenings, they return to the trees that house them. This location is rich with bat activity, and as they gather, bees too are drawn to the trees, where large beehives cling to the branches. The air becomes alive with movement—the hum of bees mingling with the wingbeats of countless bats. Observing their flight patterns is an experience in itself. At times, they soar high above, their silhouettes stark against the sky; at other moments, they sweep low, gliding close enough that I could sense their presence yet never disturbing them. On this morning, I positioned myself carefully, lying between trees in a sugarcane field. From that vantage point, I waited patiently, hoping for just the right combination of light and movement. My patience was rewarded. As I fired a series of continuous shots, the morning sun illuminated the wings of the bats in mesmerizing ways. What struck me most was the variation: while some had wings that appeared dark and opaque, others displayed wings ranging from delicately translucent to nearly transparent. The golden light transformed these variations into a spectacle, highlighting their intricate beauty.