Remembering macro photographer K Jayaram on his first death anniversary

The butterflies, sunbirds, and dragonflies that regularly visit 6A, VMC Colony, are sure to miss their friend, photographer K Jayaram. It has been a year since the veteran Nature and macro photographer passed away — his first death anniversary was on July 2. Nothing has changed in the cream-white building in which Jayaram lived for over four decades with his sisters and brother, and yet, everything has changed.

Nymph ‘shield bugs’ (Pentatomidae) feeding on tortoise beetle. | Photo Credit: K JAYARAM

ARK Arun, Jayaram’s brother, an expert on marine invertebrate fossils, takes me on a walk through the garden surrounding the building, where every plant and tree was planted and meticulously cared for by Jayaram for as long as he was physically able. The garden has plenty of flowering plants and trees: a closer look reveals how the photographer picked varieties that would attract life, be it in the form of bees, butterflies, birds, or bugs.

“He would come for a stroll through the garden in the mornings and evenings with his camera every day,” recalls Arun. He adds that he would often join his brother during this ritual. Arun says that Jayaram would point out little things: such as the colour of a new leaf or the shape of a flower. “He recorded five types of honey bees and 43 butterfly species here,” says the 60-year-old.

Jayaram mentored several photographers, who basked in his wealth of knowledge and experience. Most would say his home was a “temple.” In the hall adjoining his room on the first floor, are shelves filled with books on Nature and photography, which Jayaram shared with many of his friends and fellow photographers. There are several pieces of art that he brought home from his travels. On a table by a window, is his framed photo.

A file photo of Jayaram | Photo Credit: Special arrangement

“He planned the garden such that there was a tree outside every window,” says Arun, adding that many sunbirds visited the fiddlewood tree in the front. “A purple-rumped sunbird would peck on the window in the mornings,” he says.

As a photographer of Nature, Jayaram spent a large part of his life in forests, peering into mist-filled landscapes and blades of grass on mountain slopes through his camera. When he was at home, he trained his lenses on his garden. The wild lemon tree, dove orchids, elephant ear plants, elephant foot tree, red anthuriums…have all witnessed him in action or have caught him studying their various stages of growth.

A storeroom behind Jayaram’s office bears boxes of prints and framed photos of his work: pieces that Arun is hoping to sell to those who will truly appreciate their worth. “I have over four lakh slides, and 10,000 prints,” he says.

From the series Moody Landscapes by K Jayaram | Photo Credit: PERIASAMY M

In his lifetime, Jayaram had insects and amphibians named after him including the Raorchestes jayarami frogand the Myrmarachne jayaramani spider. This is why Jayaram’s loved ones would like to believe that he lives on through the many plants, bugs, and butterflies that he shadowed all his life.   

Arun has several precious memories of his brother, but there is one thing he will never forget. “After his death, minutes before being shifted to the ambulance to be cremated, something extraordinary happened,” he says. Jayaram’s mortal remains were placed in front of the house, some distance from his wild lemon tree. A butterfly, the common crow to be precise, fluttered by, briefly settling on his chest before taking off.   

To buy Jayaram’s photos and prints, email arkarun@gmail.com.