Chikki, with a side of photography

You may have seen them behind the counter dishing out the famous Rajasthani hospitality as they manage their family businessmdashA1 Chikki in Lonavala But very few who deal with the eversmiling brothers know that these two work wonders with equal ease behind a camera as wellMeet Aditya and Rajveer Vyas Rajpurohit the thirdgeneration owners of the famous chikki business in the hill station started by their grandfather 80 years ago When theyrsquore not coming up with new strategies to keep their clients happy theyrsquore merrily clicking away with their cameras capturing the beauty of Lonavala and nearby areas for their Instagram pageldquoI picked up photography in 2010 when I was doing my Masterrsquos in Advertising and Sales at Leeds United Kingdomrdquo 35yearold Aditya tells midday ldquoOur father too is fond of photography and used to toy around with the oldfashioned cameras By the time I picked it up as a hobby digital cameras had arrived I got so addicted to it that my professors would joke with me saying that I had picked the wrong fieldrdquoAditya continued hisjourney from digital cameras to DSLRs freezing moments of breathtaking beauty from the hills of his hometown in every spare moment he had This included silhouettes or profiles of human beings temples and monuments or simply a shot of the valley with all its natural colours His moment of reckoning came in 2014 when he participated in a photography reality show and earned countrywide acclaim His photos were so popular that he was called back to the show in 2016 as a special entry in the third seasonSmall wonder then that Rajveer followed in his brotherrsquos footstepsldquoThere was plenty of inspiration at homerdquo the reserved 29yearold chuckles recalling how their father would take pictures with the reelbased camera when they were younger ldquoI started off as Adityarsquos assistant and my love for photography deepenedrdquoToday it is a common practice for the two brothers to finish work and get into one of their many carsmdashtheir father is a car lovermdashand drive to select locations in Lonavala that they know are less crowded Once there they whip out their cameras and unleash their creativity They mostly focus on nature photography as Lonavala offers options in abundance and have moved on from still cameras to drone cameras Their albums include pictures of the hills mountaineers scaling impossibly steep cliffsides tourists festive processions men and women captured in silhouette against bright lights or simply themselves with their pets or their carsldquoPhotography has changed due to technology Earlier you had scant options to edit your photos after they were clicked and hence had to focus a lot on getting the perfect picture in terms of composition and light before you pressed the shutter Today any mobile phone lets you edit a picture into a piece of art The trick is to make the most of everything you have at our disposal and come up with photos that you are proud ofrdquo says AdityaRajveer adds ldquoWe donrsquot restrict ourselves to any one category and capture whatever catches our eye With drones we are now experimenting with newer angles and it is a fun process And we upload everything to our Instagram account The objective is to promote our skills and at the same time give the viewer a peek into the unseen beauty around us Itrsquos a great experiencerdquoThe brothers describe their journey from digicams to DSLRs to drone as one of curiosityldquoAdvancements kept coming in photography and we kept experimenting with a single thought why not We wanted to see if we would do as good with the new form of photography as we were doing with the older one It is only curiosity that has kept us goingrdquo says AdityaTheir hobby though isnrsquot a passive one but a passionate one The brothers have also made sure that they are keeping up with the times With Reels being the current rage on Instagram they are now making more videos where the drone cameras are very useful around the same themes they used to capture as stills earlierTheir unceasing hardwork has not gone unnoticed eitherldquoA lot of bloggers call us up to ask if they can use our pictures and all we say is lsquobindaasrsquo We love it when someone likes our work enough to want to use itrdquo Aditya says Lately the brothers also find themselves receiving offers for wedding photography or other such professional jobs And so they have their hands fullThe mention of their chikki businessmdashwhich boasts of clients among the rich and the famous of Mumbai and Maharashtra including actors politicians and business tycoonsmdashstrikes a serious chord ldquoIt is easy to say that we were handed the business on a platter but no business can survive if one does not keep innovating to ensure that the consumer is happy We constantly keep coming out with better offerings so that we get to keep our places in the hearts of our guestsmdashwe refuse to call them customersrdquo says AdityaBut the brothers assert photography will continue to be a passion And neither of them can wait to get their hands on the next technological innovation in the field so that they can do even better