Award-winning Italian photographer Gianni Berengo Gardin looks back, as his images of Indian villages from the ’70s are displayed in London. When award-winning Italian photographer Gianni Berengo Gardin thought of travelling to India in the late ’70s, it was with a specific purpose — to document rural life of the country. Armed with his Leica camera, Gardin travelled from Milan to the rural parts of central India to document what he believed was the “real India” as he read in Mahatma Gandhi’s autobiography. Between 1977 and 79, Gardin visited India several times. The result was a documentation of villages that is devoid of chaos or glamourisation of poverty. Gardin, 85, recipient of the 1963 World Press Photo award, is showing around 25 images from his India series at Prahlad Bubbar Gallery, London, in an exhibition titled “Sense of a Moment: Gianni Berengo Gardin”. The black-and-white images are dedicated to rural India of the ’70s. Another set of images represents Italy in the ’60s. Over email, Gardin looks back at India and its uncanny resemblance to Italy: What prompted you to display these works now? I wanted to show the photographic record of life in the villages as I had witnessed it. These photos were shown earlier at two exhibitions in Italy and France. They also appeared in a book, published in 1980, titled India Dei Villaggi (India of the Villages). Your photographs have a sense of space and openness. Was that your impression about rural India as well? Yes, I was struck by the openness of the places I visited. I did not have any pre-conceived notions in my head before visiting. One day, I had a discussion with Antonio Monroy, an expert on India, at an exhibition in Milan. I was interested in the countryside because I had read in one of Mahatma Gandhi’s books that we Westerners, when visiting India, always go to Bombay, Calcutta and New Delhi, whereas the true India is found in villages. What intrigued you about rural Indian life? Were there many similarities that you could draw with rural life in Italy? I was surprised by the similarities with rural Italy, especially the post-war era. I did not find many differences though. At that time, work in the fields was not yet mechanised in Italy either. Which parts of India did you travel to? On what basis did you narrow down on those places? I visited the regions around Indore because I was a guest of a friend of a friend — Virender Bubbar (father of Prahlad Bubbar, whose gallery is hosting the exhibition in London) — who was living there at the time. We chose to work on a small area in order to get an in-depth understanding of it. What kind of research went into preparing you for rural India? I read books on Gandhi but I also learnt from the people who accompanied Monroy and who knew Indian culture well. I like everything about India. The culture is so different, with a less hectic way of life, closer to nature. That was certainly the case when I visited. Most of your subjects in the portraits look relaxed and unflustered by the camera. Did you encounter any reservation from them during the shoots? Nobody objected. On the contrary, as they were all appreciative of our project, they cooperated with us. Your images are devoid of the chaos, lack of hygiene and commotion, which is commonly associated with India. I tried to be as objective as possible. I certainly did not see any chaos in those villages. There was a lot of life in the villages. I was impressed by the order and cleanliness; I had not expected that. This was your first photographic assignment outside Italy. Since these images were going to be seen in Europe, were you trying to depict rural India from a western perspective? I did what I thought was right and natural. This was not my first assignment abroad; I had already worked in many parts of Europe and the US. Though it was my first major work in Asia. Have you recently visited India or plan to visit after the series? I have not been able to visit the villages again, but I imagine they must have changed as much as the Italian villages have.
