It was the mid seventies. Chemistry was my only food for thought. That was the time when I dreamt of working on ‘suicidal enzymes’, at University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA).
The entire decade of the seventies has witnessed movement against violence against human rights both at the national and international level. Perhaps being a student of organic chemistry helped me to come in touch with the organism of human struggle for existence. And…For a full decade I was deeply involved with the Naxalite movement, which is dubbed as the ‘Ultra Leftist’ movement. Later, after being disillusioned & disenchanted from Naxalite politics I realized that, the least that the movement had done for me was to bring me very close to human beings. It was a turning point in my life. First I took up the pen, but soon realized that I needed something more than just the pen to bring out the voice of the common people in whatever small way I can afford. Photography was the immediate choice.
So, that was the initial quest to start off on a photographic career. Another decade of hopping from one news media house to another followed. I soon realized that photography at least in our part of the world is not appreciated as is painting. The news media uses the photographers as an illustrator or an evidential instrument. In most cases, just as a nurse is vital to a hospital, so is a photographer to a media house. But both their positions are more or less the same in our country.
Naturally, the search for an alternative path brought back the days of revolution in me.
While on an assignment I went to Bangladesh to cover the country’s 25 years of Independence I came in touch with the award winning media agency Drik .Drik is a Sanskrit word means ‘vision’ and getting acquainted with Drik helped me to change my vision.
On coming back to India, I found myself busy in experimenting and formulating a movement on photography in search of an alternative path for photography and photographers. So followed the efforts to bring the exhibition of World Press Photo to Kolkata or organizing international workshop on photography. And thus was born Drik India, the first overseas branch of the award winning media agency, Drik, Bangladesh so as to reflect the alternative voice through photography.
Personally, the regular assignments for national and international magazines or curating photography exhibitions were not enough. The food for an alternative thought & practice on photography can only by gathered through a combined effort of many. And what could better than the expansion of Drik!
The irresistible vibrancy has led us forward…
Major assignments and work :
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‘Diffused Identity’ the story of rickshaw pullers and state violence on women of Manipur, a north eastern state of India.
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Kumbh Mela, 2000 : Pollution of Religion.
# Lives across the Eastern & Southern a part of River Ganges.
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River Teesta the life line of Sikkim, India.
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Environmental Pollution in India.
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Highway Menace- Truckers & HIV/AIDS.
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The Time and Lives of Sex Workers in India – the movement of empowering themselves.
On going photo documentary project:
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‘Beyond the icon of Grieving Mother’ – the model role of women in conflicting parts of India.
Major lecture presentation:
#On Visual Literacy ‘ Making Child Rights Visible & Challenging the Literates’.
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Faces of HIV/AIDS.
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The present trends of Indian photojournalism in Cyber age.
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Copyright Act & intellectual property of photographers in the present context of India.
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Politics of Images.
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Communicative Photography –beyond the daily assignments.
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River Ganges and pollution of religion.
Other initiatives:
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Teaching photography to the children of sex workers of the red light areas in and around Calcutta.
# The project aims to visual literacy campaign.
Made 2 docu films
a) “Across the River into the Forest” on the lives of the fisher- folks in the Sundarbans, West Bengal. Got Special Jury Award in Leipzig in
1991 .The film was shot in 16mm. b) a biographical film ‘Debabrata’ on the lives and works of the late painter Debabrata Mukhapadhaya. It was shot in 35 mm
Eastman colour.
# Written a story and the script‘Neel’ (Blue) on the lost childhood of the children in the country. The story has been made into an award winning film by K.G.Das of Films Division, Govt. of India in 2002.
#Written 2 scripts for Films Division a) Portrait of a Joint Family by K.G.Das
b) Sikkim by Amar Bhattacharya
Media and ICT:
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Usage of images in behavior change communication practices related to HIV/AIDS.
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HIV/AIDS information management system.
