Inside Outside

An exhibition documents a first-person account of the slew of protests surrounding the December 16 gang rape

On the fateful night of December 16,2012 near Mehrauli,award-winning photographer Chandan Gomes and his friend were headed to a get-together,ironically,in a deserted,white line bus,unaware of what would follow the next day. He woke up to news about the gang rape. I did what anyone in my place would have done. I headed to the protests,and carried my camera with me. I wasnt a photojournalist then. I was the frustrated and disappointed common man. I felt I had a narrow escape, says Gomes.

Over the next six months,Gomes followed almost every protest held around this issue. From the much-publicised rallies at Jantar Mantar,Rashtrapati Bhavan and India Gate to the silent protests at Jawaharlal Nehru University on New Years eve,to smaller protests that continued months later,in small neighbourhoods and slums. The photographs give you an insiders perspective,as someone who spent his Christmas and his New Year out on the streets raising his voice for justice,equality,and freedom, he says. There are close to 82 black-and-white photographs shot on film.

What stands out about the pictures is Gomes sliver of optimism. But did he grapple with cynicism,given the rapes that followed,especially the recent Mumbai gang rape? Rape has its origin in a deep-rooted sense of violence. The change has to be internal. I felt the December protests needed to be documented because of the way people came together. We managed to put the system under pressure, says Gomes.

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He holds a few pictures close to his heart. From a faded out,misty capture of the Rashtrapati Bhavan which serves as a backdrop to a rally,a picture of a pole with a noose tied around it,with running protestors in the background to a candid click of a woman standing alone with a We Want Justice poster,each photograph talks of the collective frustration of the nation. I also call the collection a perspective of the Unknown Citizen. Every face in the pictures is replaceable. I havent concentrated on individuals. I wanted to convey our fight for hope amid the chaos, he says.

The exhibition will be held at The Press Club of India till August 31. Contact: 9899751031

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