The First Ladies

Documentaries based on the lives of Homai Vyarawalla and Ramila will be screened today

Homai Vyarawalla’s pseudonym was Dalda 13. India’s first female press photographer, who captured the country’s transition from the colonial rule into its Independence, was quoted saying that 1913 was her birth year, and 13, was the age she met her husband and also the number-plate of her car. More delightful details about the photojournalist’s life, will be revealed through a documentary, Homai Vyarawalla, to be screened in the city.

The screening is organised by Sound & Picture Archives for Research on Women (SPARROW) today at SNDT Women’s University, 4.30 pm onwards. The archive is among the largest in the country with more than 5,000 books in 11 languages, 500 oral and video documentaries.

Along with Homai Vyarawalla, the documentary, Pramila, based on the life of model and actor Pramila, will also be screened. Pramila, or Esther Victoria Abraham, became famous for being the first winner of the Miss India pageant in 1947. The film will be based on the visual history workshop held by SPARROW with the actress in 1997.

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