Four months ago, in the Capital, Abhishek Baxi, a techie with Microsoft, was surfing through various photowalking sites and realised it was a fad waiting to take off in India. An amateur photographer himself, Baxi formed an online group of enthusiasts through social networking sites like Orkut and Facebook, and the first photowalking initiative took off in the Capital with the formation of the online forum www.photowalking.info in September. “Photowalking essentially means random perspectives in an open space. India has a rich cultural and geographical heritage, so there are that many options to explore. Delhi, in particular, has so many places that are both historical and urban milestones,” says the 24-year-old.

The India chapter of photowalking had its first formal outing at the Red Fort and Jama Masjid where six members turned up for a trip through the serpentine by-lanes of the old city. As you go through the images that came out of the walk, you get an insight into the pulse of the place — the reflection of the stately Jama Masjid in a pool of water, an old man in one of Chandni Chowk’s pulsating bazaars, his tanned face breaking out into a wrinkled smile. There have been four walks since — to the India Gate, the Qutub Minar, the Delhi Bird Sanctuary and the Basant Lok market complex. Members not only share their snaps on sites like Flickr, but also blog about their experiences in the forum.

“We usually have a young crowd, but of late we have had a lot of expats signing up,” says Baxi. So far, the maximum number of people on a walk has been seven. Not everyone is a pro at taking photos though, but the whole purpose of these outings is to let people discover a city for themselves.