To celebrate the birth centenary of India’s first woman Prime Minister, a collection of 300 unseen photographs will be exhibited as a comprehensive guide to Indira Gandhi’s life. Palak Sharma walks through the gallery
Indira Gandhi’s sense of politics and exceptional skills catapulted her to a power position in Indian politics. But slipping through her iron-like clasp were stray emotions, indulgent, gleeful, solitary and candid, which we can now experience through a series of photographs at the Indira Gandhi Memorial Museum.
Born in colonial India and into a politically influential dynasty and growing up in an intensely political atmosphere, Gandhi had learnt the art of survival and the painful cost it entailed quite early in her life.
Marking her 100th birth anniversary, the Indira Gandhi Memorial Trust (IGMT) will unveil her imperceptible side at 1, Safdarjung Road, her erstwhile residence while she was serving as the Minister of Information and Broadcasting in the year 1964. The exhibition will showcase a collection of 300 photographs chosen from a range of 90,000.
Curators Deepthi Sasidharan and Pramod Kumar KG worked on the documentation and digitisation of the prints for the past four years. The exhibition is divided into five significant parts that highlight her journey as an individual, a daughter, a wife, a political leader and the timeline of years close to her death.
The key aspect that is highlighted through these photographs proves how involved she was with her subordinates and how she always remained a people’s person engaging at different levels. From the sarees she wore during Shimla Pact in 1972 to the ones she had adorned while addressing people in Odisha before her death, along with the video of her wedding shot on a 80 mm film, several personal items will be on display. The wedding video is 4 minutes and 30 seconds.
Sheila Dikshit, former Chief Minister of Delhi, who currently serves as a Trustee and Secretary to the IGMT, said, “This exhibition will unfold various facets from her timeline for the current generation who is yet to explore her life. This project took four years to gather and our intent is to show her dedication, courage and zeal towards the people of this country which is evident from the fact that she was an inspiration not only when she was alive but even today.”
The exhibition will be open to the public from November 21.