Name: Oriental garden lizard
Scientific name: Calotes versicolor
Location: Jambughoda Wildlife Sanctuary, Vadodara
Photographer: Sanjay Pandita

It was the thick of summer and the sun was beating down on our heads. It must have been over 45℃. A few of my friends and I had set out for Jambughoda that morning, equipped with our lenses, but expecting nothing.  

We walked around the forest, trying to be as quiet as possible. Then, in the absolute silence, I heard a rustle in the bushes. I peered into the cluster and tried to focus. There, camouflaged among the leaves, I saw it. 

Photography in the wild builds character – and patience! I spent about a half-hour photographing this beautiful creature. It was very aware of my presence, but allowed me to photograph it, nonetheless.

The garden lizard, as its name suggests, is the most commonly found agamid of India, but I wanted to click it in a way that was very different – make people see the garden lizard for the extraordinary creature it still is. 

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