DON'T MISS: Pictures worth a thousand words

Travel photographer Mithun Basak shares with us these breathtakingly beautiful pictures he shot as part of his travels around the world.

In the last ten years, Mithun Basak has travelled to more than a 100 places across 24 countries and shot some enchanting photographs. For a boy who sold old books to purchase his first camera and then taught himself to use it, Basak has come a long way.

From August 27 to September 1, Mithun Basak will host his first solo photography exhibition titled Thousand Words at Kolkata's Birla Academy of Arts and Culture.

We bring you an exclusive peek into some of the pictures that will be shown at the exhibition:

To begin, we have this picture of a blackbuck taken in Orissa. The blackbuck has been classified as a 'near threatened' specie by International Union for Conservation of Nature or IUCN since 2003.

Thousand Words will run from August 27 to September 1 at Birla Academy of Arts and Culture, 108, Southern Avenue, Beside Lake Kali Temple, Kolkata 700029.

Next up is this photograph of white tulips against the pristine blue sky in Norway.

Pictured here is the TakTsang Monastery (Tiger's Nest) in Paro, Bhutan is perched on a cliff at 2700 feet above the Paro Valley.

Follow this link to know more about travelling in Bhutan.

The temple at Panchalingeswar in Orissa gets its name from the five Shivalingas that are enshrined here. It is believed that the lingas were enshrined here by Sita while she was in exile with Lord Rama. One of the features of this place is a stream that flows at all times washing the shivlingas all year round.

Panchalingeswar however is also a scenic travel destination located a little less than 300km from Kolkata and is a popular weekend getaway.

This next photograph has been shot at the International Flower Show in Sikkim. According to the show's website, the beautiful northeast Indian state is home to around '5,000 species of flowering plants, 515 rare orchids, 60 primula species, 36 rhododendron species, 11 oak varieties, 23 bamboo varieties, 16 conifer species, 362 types of ferns and ferns allies, 8 tree ferns, and over 424 medicinal plants'.

The sunflower greets the sun somewhere in West Bengal.

Next up is this photograph of the Rock Agama in Simlipal Range, Orissa.

Indian Pitta during his summer visit, Simlipal range, Orissa shot by Mithun Basak.

Next up is this photograph of the Black-winged Stilt shot at Chilka.

The common Kingfisher waits patiently for his catch.

Next up is this photograph of the Little Swallow.

The Maasai are a semi-nomadic tribe located in Kenya and northern Tanzania. While there have been programmes instituted by the governments of the two countries to encourage the tribes to abandon their nomadic lifestyle, most people have preferred to continue their way of life.

Best known for their customs and dresses and their unique traditional dance, the Maasai are often open to welcoming visitors to watch and experience their culture, traditions, and lifestyle.

Mithun Basak shot this picture of the Dancing Maasais in Kenya.

The Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque of Abu Dhabi is the largest mosque in the UAE and one of the primary places for Muslims to worship. Construction of this mosque was initiated by the late President of the UAE, HH Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan sees more than 40,000 people during Eid prayers. 

We close with this picture of Ritsha Village in Punakha, Bhutan. The Punakha Valley is best known for rice farming and Ritsha (which roughly translates to the base of a hill) is the perfect example of a village in the valley where houses are no taller than two stories high, have rice fields and gardens surrounding it. In the recent years, agriculture has seen some amount of modernisation as machines are slowly giving way to traditional forms of farming.

Thousand Words will run from August 27 to September 1 at Birla Academy of Arts and Culture, 108, Southern Avenue, Beside Lake Kali Temple, Kolkata 700029.