Pradip Krishen, an
IndiaIndia, officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the south, the Arabian Sea on the west, and the Bay of Bengal...
n film director, directed some well-known films,
Massey Sahib, and
In Which Annie Gives It Those OnesIn Which Annie Gives it Those Ones is a 1989 Indian TV film. Screenplay by Arundhati Roy , directed by Pradip Krishen, and starring Arjun Raina as the title character, along with Roshan Seth...
in 1985, based on the Award wining screenplay by
Arundhati RoySuzanna Arundhati Roy is an Indian writer and activist who won the Booker Prize in 1997 for her novel, The God of Small Things, and in 2002, the Lannan Cultural Freedom Prize. She is also a writer of two screenplays and a number of collections of essays...
, in later years, the film acquired a cult film status in India . After 1995, he became a
naturalistNaturalist may refer to:* A scholar or student of natural history, the science of the natural world; see also natural science. It may also refer to a Wildlife enthusiast or a Conservationist....
and eco-botanist and environmentalist.
Biography
Born in 1949,
New DelhiNew Delhi is the capital of India. It is situated within the metropolis of Delhi and serves as the seat of the Government of India and the Government of the National Capital Territory of Delhi....
, he started his career as a lecturer in History, before moving into documentary films and a 21 episode TV series for
DoordarshanDoordarshan is the public television broadcaster of India and a division of Prasar Bharati, a public service broadcaster nominated by the Government of India. It is one of the largest broadcasting organizations in the world in terms of the infrastructure of studios and transmitters...
called
The Banyan Tree . Finally he ventured into feature films, where he made acclaimed films like,
Massey Sahib (1985),
In Which Annie Gives It Those OnesIn Which Annie Gives it Those Ones is a 1989 Indian TV film. Screenplay by Arundhati Roy , directed by Pradip Krishen, and starring Arjun Raina as the title character, along with Roshan Seth...
(1989) and
Electric Moon (1992) .
After this, since 1995 he geared his interest towards a different field he started studying trees , started taking nature walks in the jungles of Panchmarhi in Madhya Pradesh, with the help of a forester friend . Soon he taught himself field botany and began the project of identifying and photographing Delhi's tree flora, walking extensively throughout the city. He has led numerous public tree walks on Sunday mornings and is also a keen ecological gardener. He has created "native-plant" gardens in Delhi, west Rajasthan, and Garhwal. He is currently working on a large planting scheme for
NagaurNagaur is a city in the state of Rajasthan in India. It is the administrative headquarters of Nagaur District. The Nagaur city lies about midway between Jodhpur and Bikaner. It was founded by the Naga Kshatriyas. It is also known as the village "Khatwan"....
in Rajasthan, and
KhajurahoKhajuraho is a village in the Indian state of Madhya Pradesh, located in Chhatarpur District, about 385 miles southeast of Delhi, the capital city of India. One of the most popular tourist destinations in India, Khajuraho has the largest group of medieval Hindu and Jain temples, famous for their...
, in Madhya Pradesh.
His book
Trees of Delhi: A Field Guide, for INTACH, published by DK/Penguin in association with Delhi Tourism, was released in 2006, to much acclaim, and a stay at the local Best seller's list .
Personal life
Pradip Krishen is a Vaishnavite Hindu, and married to the Booker prize winning novelist
Arundhati RoySuzanna Arundhati Roy is an Indian writer and activist who won the Booker Prize in 1997 for her novel, The God of Small Things, and in 2002, the Lannan Cultural Freedom Prize. She is also a writer of two screenplays and a number of collections of essays...
. He also has a daughter Pia Krishen from a previous marriage.
Works
- Trees of Delhi: A Field Guide, by Pradip Krishen, Delhi Tourism, Indian National Trust for Art and Cultural Heritage (INTACH). Published by Dorling Kindersley (India), 2006. ISBN 0144000709.