Photographic exhibition at IGNCA
On days that I find myself feeling a little blue, I make myself a hot cuppa, pull out the old family albums (after all, I did choose them over gold and crystal that my grandmothers were bequeathing to us grandchildren), and wallow in misty-eyed nostalgia.
So imagine my utter joy at the chance to catch never-before-seen ’snapshots’ from the recently- discovered archives of Kulwant Roy (1914-1984), who documented the turbulent run-up to Independence and the heroes of that era — the 1930s and 1940s. Roy, who set up Associated Press Photos in Mori Gate in the 1940s, continued to shoot well into the 1960s. He left thousands and thousands of neatly labelled photographs and negatives in cardboard boxes that were bequeathed to another, much younger photographer, Aditya Arya (who co-curates the exhibition with Sabeena Gadihoke) almost 24 years after Roy’s death.
History in the Making just whets the appetite for more. On display is the kind of absolute, easy access, unimaginable in our security-driven times, that the modern paparazzi would kill for. The usually mild Mahatma Gandhi in what seems like a heated argument with Mohammad Ali Jinnah. Jawahar Lal Nehru, Indira and Rajiv, in an intimate family moment, all three pensive. In a change of mood, a beaming Nehru with the stunning Jackie Kennedy, layers of pearls adorning her neck. Photographs of Congress and Muslim League leaders meeting with Lord Mountbatten, in the dying days of the Raj.
Over 90 black-and-white beauties, including a clutch of original silver bromides, are part of round one: the curators are already at work on the rest of the boxes. Who knows what treasures lie within.
This time, I’ll be there for the opening.
History in the Making: The Visual Archives of Kulwant Roy, curated by Aditya Arya and Sabeena Gadihoke; Exhibition Hall, Indira Gandhi National Centre for the Arts, Entry from Man Singh Road ; On till Oct 21, between 10 am and 6 pm.
On days that I find myself feeling a little blue, I make myself a hot cuppa, pull out the old family albums (after all, I did choose them over gold and crystal that my grandmothers were bequeathing to us grandchildren), and wallow in misty-eyed nostalgia.
So imagine my utter joy at the chance to catch never-before-seen ’snapshots’ from the recently- discovered archives of Kulwant Roy (1914-1984), who documented the turbulent run-up to Independence and the heroes of that era — the 1930s and 1940s. Roy, who set up Associated Press Photos in Mori Gate in the 1940s, continued to shoot well into the 1960s. He left thousands and thousands of neatly labelled photographs and negatives in cardboard boxes that were bequeathed to another, much younger photographer, Aditya Arya (who co-curates the exhibition with Sabeena Gadihoke) almost 24 years after Roy’s death.
History in the Making just whets the appetite for more. On display is the kind of absolute, easy access, unimaginable in our security-driven times, that the modern paparazzi would kill for. The usually mild Mahatma Gandhi in what seems like a heated argument with Mohammad Ali Jinnah. Jawahar Lal Nehru, Indira and Rajiv, in an intimate family moment, all three pensive. In a change of mood, a beaming Nehru with the stunning Jackie Kennedy, layers of pearls adorning her neck. Photographs of Congress and Muslim League leaders meeting with Lord Mountbatten, in the dying days of the Raj.
Over 90 black-and-white beauties, including a clutch of original silver bromides, are part of round one: the curators are already at work on the rest of the boxes. Who knows what treasures lie within.
This time, I’ll be there for the opening.
History in the Making: The Visual Archives of Kulwant Roy, curated by Aditya Arya and Sabeena Gadihoke; Exhibition Hall, Indira Gandhi National Centre for the Arts, Entry from Man Singh Road ; On till Oct 21, between 10 am and 6 pm.
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