Glimpses of India

Right now, I have an exhibition of photographs at the Alliance Français here in Chennnai, I am quite thrilled about this. In that exhibition, I narrowed down my selection of images to pictures only from Jharkhand and Kasi.

Most of my photos are from my travels. I love travelling. My travels have taken me to places where I hope to find out more about myself. It is amazing to be a citizen of a country yet still find many of its regions to be completely different from my own, places unique in terms of language and ideas. There is a spiritual connection between any people and their land. Sometimes, in remote regions and in places of religious importance. I find the spiritual connection to be very strong and moving.

I take photos for many reasons: to record something, to reinforce memory, to see beauty in things, to make a statement…

Children of Jharkhand:

It was quite an experience to be in a place where there is no electricity for miles around, and the where only light at night comes from thousands of fireflies in the trees.

It is a thrilling experience to photograph people who have never been photographed before. When I first pointed the camera at a group of Santali children near Katikund in the Dhumka District, they ran away, but when they saw the image instantly appear on the digital camera screen, they were curious and then everybody wanted their picture taken.

People respond to the camera and photographer in different ways, and photographing Maltos and Santali people was such a pleasure, because their relationship to the camera was different from all the other people I have photographed. Their look is more open and free.

The Children I met were beautiful, intelligent, full of curiosity and very strong.

Malto people live in hills and mountains in the Rajputa region in the Pakur District. They must have very strong legs. To reach some villages we had to walk for four hours through the hills, and something remarkable I noticed in one village was a bicycle. I can’t imagine how anybody got it there or what they do with it. To walk there is difficult but to bicycle there is something beyond my imagining.

Malaria is a serious problem throughout these rural districts. Everywhere we went we heard stories of deaths due to Malaria, and inadequate medical attention is the cause. I could not find a medical centre when I fell ill there. Chloroquine, a drug which is very cheap, taken in proper dosage can cure malaria, but not taking a proper dosage, or worse and too common, the unavailability of this drug result in many deaths. These regions need but often don’t get serious medical attention. Lots of towns here have no electricity and the roads are terrible making it difficult to go from one place to another.

Kasi: “the Luminous One”.

Walking along the banks of the Ganga in Kasi is an experience unlike any other. There is so much going on there that one is bewildered. There are people bathing, people burning, devotees taking a dip. Many buildings are from a bygone era: Hindu temples, a Nepali temple, a mosque, and among these is a mixture of people, tourists, the faithful and those who are simply wandering.

Most of my photographs were taken on the banks of the Ganga. Kasi has been a favourite hunting ground for photographers. Perhaps it is that of some of the fascinating things that one sees there, both the beautiful old buildings and the life that goes on around them and on the banks of the river. Yet one gets a feeling that this place and its life is fading away, so there is a need to capture what may be a final glimpse of the vitality that is this fascinating place.