Tryst with colonial India

Have you ever been to a part of the country and imagined how it looked like decades ago? We, as Indians, always find ourselves stalking history - to smile at the glorious days and cringe at the vicious episodes. The Alkazi Foundation for the Arts and Indira Gandhi National Centre for the Arts (IGNCA) are trying to revive the glorious and not-so-good days of India and its neighbouring countries (Burma, Sri Lanka and Nepal) through a meticulously collated photo exhibition, exploring landscape and studio photography that thrived during the mid-19th and early 20th century.

"It is an attempt to look at how photography across South Asia had many similarities despite the differences. There was also a cultural exchange with the West as many of the photographers during that time were foreigners," says Rahaab Allana, who is curating the show along with Beth Citron (Rubin Museum) and Davy Depelchin (Fine Arts Museum, Brussels).

'Drawn from Light: Early Photography and the Indian Subcontinent', as the exhibition is named, has on display early wax paper negatives, albumen prints and postcards. Unlike other shows, this one boasts of original photographs by Raja Deen Dayal. Along with the pioneer Indian photographer are other names like Felice Beato, Bourne & Shepherd, Johnston & Hoffman, Gobind Ram & Oodey Ram, Darogah Abbas Ali and Shahpur Bhedwar.

One of the first clicked photographs of Taj Mahal by John Murray (1858-62). Photo: The Alkazi collection of photography.

This show might just create an entirely new perspective of studio photography. Apparently, studio photography was practised by many Maharajas as a means of leisure, mostly using their courtesans as subjects. The Ravi Varma Studios of Calcutta and Gobind Ram-Oodey Ram Studio in Jaipur are just two examples. "Early surgeons who had access to chemicals also practised photography. Also, during the 1860s, photographs began to get published in newspapers. Interesting is the fact that many among the elite class began to exchange photography equipment to enjoy the art. There was also a wide influence of painting in photography," says Allana.

But what seals the deal are the landscape photographers - John Murray's photographs of Taj Mahal and the surroundings in Agra are the first-ever photographs of the monument, with an aesthetic eye that had been adopted from earlier landscape painters. You stare at it, trying to figure what has now replaced the thick foliage and the gurgling river. Samuel Bourne's Great Eastern Hotel and Old Court House Street of Calcutta will be perfect for a postcard, with vintage cars and labourers dressed up impeccably. The streets yell grandeur and you wish you could time travel. Alexander Greenlaw was one of the first photographers to document the ruins of the Vijayanagara empire (known as Hampi today). His photographs will tell you that the Irish shutterbug was mesmerised by the intricacy of Indian architecture.

The general view of the palace in Amber by Lala Deen Dayal, circa 1884. Photo: The Alkazi collection of photography.

You cannot talk of beauty without the vices. And so, as one scans the walls of the gallery, it will be difficult not to stop by the poignant frames of the aftermath of the 1857 mutiny that were painstakingly shot by Felice Beato, one of the first war photographers from Italy, who visited India soon after the rebellion. Add to this the work of W.W. Hooper, who had photographed disturbing visuals of the Madras famine.

And as the 100-something photographs and albums end, colonial India becomes more lucid. And your hunger for history gets more or less satiated.

'Drawn From Light: Early Photography and the Indian Sub- Continent' is on till Sep 30, at Indira Gandhi National Centre for the Arts, Twin Galleries, C.V. Mess, Janpath

IMPERIALISM INSIDE OUT
by Srijani Ganguly

In some ways, the era of the British Raj began in Calcutta, where East India Company established its headquarters in the second half of the 18th century, and ended in Bombay, where the last of British troops left the country through the Gateway of India.

Sixty-eight years into Independence, the most visible reminders of the imperial times are the structures that they built. Many of them are now part of the modern Indian cityscape while others have withered away. Those buildings that do remain, their facade is for all to see. But the real beauty, as British photographer Christopher Taylor's pictures reveal, lies inside of it.

Kenesseth Eliyahoo Synagogue, Kala Ghoda, Bombay, 2004. Photo: Christopher Taylor / courtesy Tasveer & Vacheron Constantin.

In 'Christopher Taylor - Institutions', organised by Tasveer in partnership with Vacheron Constantin, the ace photographer looks within administrative institutions to capture the essence of colonialism. "The idea initially came about after reading a book by Sven Lindqvist about colonialism in Africa - and it was around the time of the invasion of Iraq. This led my thoughts back to time I had spent in Kolkata and the very visible legacy there of the British Raj. It seemed to me that this period was rather overly romanticised in British culture, and I became curious to see what remained. Previous visits to Kolkata and Mumbai had given me surprising flashbacks of London, and I wanted to try and look behind the facade and document interiors," says Taylor.

He decided to start photographing the two cities in 2003, a project which has since "snowballed" into a decadelong enterprise. He says, "Over 10 years I have gradually built an archive of the historically built environment, particularly of Kolkata. I have photographed much of the older areas, but little of the new towns that have sprung up on the urban periphery, though I did touch on this too for a recent book collaboration on Mumbai."

And so, in the 31 images on display, we get glimpses of the Freemason's Hall in Mumbai, the Mackinon Mackenzie building in Kolkata, the Royal Insurance building in Kolkata and several other buildings.

Initially, he says, there were hurdles regarding accessibility in both the cities. "I had to work through the bureaucracy but that changed, particularly in Kolkata where I have recently been given many introductions, and access to private spaces," reveals Taylor.

When asked to describe his subject cities, Taylor says, "These two cities have very different characters. It depends where you are in the city at any given time, because this character also changes in the course of a day, or season, or even a room. This flux is largely the fascination."

"My first visit to India was in 1986, and I arrived in Mumbai. At first, I was overwhelmed by the density of crowds everywhere, it was a shock." But now, he finds them stimulating.

'Christopher Taylor - Institutions' is on display at Exhibit320, Lado Sarai till August 31.