Of the Lost Sheen

A photograph from the exhibition.

The intricately woven carpet and palatial chandelier speak of the grand past of the room that now has seeping walls and dilapidated doors. The fireplace that had royalty gathered around it once upon a time has been covered for decades. Karam K Puri identifies the room as one belonging to a palace in Uttar Pradesh. He prefers not to divulge the details. “I would like to maintain anonymity. The exhibition is more about spaces and not the families,” says Puri, 38, about his exhibition “EP: Extended Play”, on display in Delhi.

He has spent the last six years hunting for old havelis, once opulent houses and palaces. “These spaces, homes of the nawabs and rajas, now find themselves victims of their own lust for an opulence that once was. The rulers have lost many of their privileges and power,” says the Delhi-based actor/photographer who has four published books to his credit, apart from several photo exhibitions in India and the US.

The series on lost palaces follows his solo on travel photography “A Million Voices”, held five years ago. In this, he refrains from the better-known palaces, several of which have been converted into luxury hotels. The focus, instead, is on the majestic homes that have lost their grandeur. The search took him to West Bengal, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand.

The exhibition documents this journey through 26 frames. There are empty chairs in a room decorated with deer taxidermy, dust is settled on vintage cars and an erstwhile royal couple are framed in silver, among others. “The rooms yearn for people to come back; for the music to play; for the scandals to unfold; for courtesans to dance and for the finest wines to be uncorked again,” notes Puri.

The exhibition at Gallery Espace, 16, New Friends Colony, Delhi, is on till August 8. Contact: 26326267