The ongoing photo exhibit ‘Prabuddha Dasgupta: A Journey' at the National Gallery of Modern Art is a window into the late photographer's absorbing world in both monochrome and colour. By Rupinder Kaur
Behind the fluttering red velvet curtain, one can see numerous journeys undertaken by those captured through the lens of Prabuddha Dasgupta. They now sit framed on the light grey walls of the National Gallery of Modern Art. One enters and on the right is a screen playing a video of the late ace photographer and a few empty chairs in front. The sound isn’t audible, yet his voice lingers in the corridors along with a music score playing in the background. You would, for a second at least, try to decipher what he was trying to say but then finally let the pictures do the talking.
Dasgupta, born in Kolkata in 1956 to artistic parents, spent his formative years in the premises of the Gallery since his father Pradosh Das Gupta was the director. After pursuing his masters degree from the University of Delhi, he began his career as a copywriter in an advertising agency and got his first photoshoot assignment in the late 80s.
He was also synonymous with controversy because of his ad campaigns in 90s for brand like Tuff shoes featuring Milind Soman and Madhu Sapre, et al. He went on to work with leading fashion magazines and published photograph books — Women, a collection of portraits and nudes of Indian urban women, ladakh and Edge of Faith (with writer and historian William Dalrymple). He passed away in 2012 while he was in process of publishing a collection titled longing.
We take a few steps towards the longing panels and discover the slight motion in those stills. With her head tilted backwards, is a woman in midst of a moan maybe out of passion or agony. Followed by silhouettes of two kids hiding behind gossamer curtains on a sunny day, a luggage bag stands in one corner right next to a pedestal fan. Framed next is a pack of cigarettes and a lighter next to worn out bellies and a plate of what seem like half-eaten chopped fruits. A bus travels to a faraway land with luggage on top through what seems like a road less traversed.
Our eyes drift to the other side of the wall and when we say hello to Celine Nazreth and Gertrude Paes, who could also be mistaken for twins. Clicked in 2006 in Moira, Goa, the two women dressed in identical clothes sit behind a round table with a near-blank stare. On the side are the studio-clicked photographs of family members and on the wall above is a crochet wall hanging which reads God Bless Our Home. A few images of various chapels and cathedrals in Goa and his fashion shots in both colour and black and white take over. Model in a pink satin flowy gown walks away on a beach where the sea meets the sky and water darkens the hue of the brilliant tanned sand.
Walk along or rather get lost in the images of flatlands in ladakh or in the magnificent ruins of Hampi or the sensuousness of his subjects. End it with the master’s quote on the wall, “Photography, for me, is not about itself. It’s about everything else. It’s about who we are, our experiences, our influences, our connections with people, with things, with music, with family, with life, with everything. I like the idea that my life can be not just one thing, but it can be many things.”
(The exhibition is on till November 22)