Shooting the Streets

As he prowls around the boulevards of the US with his camera,Karna Basu knows that he must be three things to excel as a street photographer — discreet,unabashed and keen-eyed. His first major exhibition ‘Accidental Encounters’ at India International Centre in Delhi,proves that he is successful most of the time.

The display of street photographs by Basu covers a wide geographical arc,travelling from major metros to the interiors of small towns and villages across the world. One image taken in New York several years ago shows an old rabbi hugging his holy book as he walks down a crowded street. In the backdrop,a man is being handcuffed by the police. Equally layered with meaning is a black-and-white shot taken in Rome. At the first glance,it resembles a classical painting; only on closer observation does one see the interesting parallel between a painting and the people gathered below it.

Basu says that 15 years ago,he wasn’t even aware of his passion for the camera. “Photography was an interest that developed only when I moved to the US to study in Yale,” says the 33-year-old. He began to take photography lessons at Yale alongside his Maths and Economics majors. Now,a professor of Economics at Hunter College,New York,he carries his camera when he travels for academic research.

Though the exhibition is not unified by a subject,Basu does have a few themes in mind for his subsequent exhibitions. “I have a whole series of ‘Father and Child’ photographs,” he explains,pointing to an image of a father wheeling his two children on a perambulator.