In Black amp; White

Prabuddha Das Gupta on the truth behind his first ever exhibition of landscapes. Of haunting solitude behind every grain of Ladakh sand.I...

Prabuddha Das Gupta on the truth behind his first ever exhibition of landscapes. Of haunting solitude behind every grain of Ladakh sand.

I have been a seeker for things inexplicable. Right from my college days, I have been looking for something bigger than me. I would often wander off to solitary spots or temples and sit for hours, only to realise at the end that it wasn8217;t easy to feel a connection with the unseen. Ladakh, I would say, is my first step towards a personal goal. Predictably enough, my first few days at Ladakh were unnerving, almost repulsive.

I was frightened by the overwhelming visual impact of its solitude and primitive beauty. What else can you expect from a city boy, used to a life of decadent middle class comfort, suddenly confronted with the ordeal of climbing miles of rocky cliff just to see a place? I reached Delhi never to return to Ladakh.

Strangely enough, the uneasiness persisted. Something was bothering me from within. I figured it out and the obvious solution was to take the next flight back to Ladakh. I was no longer a tourist. I thrived to explore, although I couldn8217;t yet get rid of the feeling of being anoutsider. But by the time I made my third trip, I knew I was attached to the place and I was comfortable enough to pick up the camera with a purpose. I found that Buddhism as a religion, has still managed to remain free of intolerance.

That people aren8217;t slaves to consumerist glut. It brought about a change in me that is bound to change the way I see things around me, including my work as a fashion photographer. Don8217;t know how yet.

By the fourth or the fifth trip, a body of work was building up. I called up Arjun Sen in America, an old friend, who shares similar sensibilities. He is a social anthropologist and a brilliant writer, with a grasp on monastic life in Tibet and other places like Ladakh. He was in Delhi two weeks later and the project took off.

My awe and fascination with the landscapes would often remind me of Bob Taylor8217;s song:
In the fury of the moment, I can see the Master8217;s hand,
In every leaf that trembles, In every grain of sand.
Or else, Blake8217;s To see the worldin a grain of sand. Hence the title of the book.

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My approach to the images have been very minimalistic. And by that I mean stripping everything down to their basics. In fact, this idea has dominated all my work. One of the reasons why I prefer black amp; white. It is potent enough to present the essentials and at the same time, leave enough room for personal interpretation. This work is no different. I8217;ve been asked if the contrasts in the images of dark skies and whiffs of milky white clouds have been manipulated at the developing stage. Except for slight changes in hue, I8217;ve used standard films and the standard processing equipment. Such barren clarity does exist in real life.

My next project is a series of portraits 8212; of women on the margin of the mainstream. Not necessarily achievers, but who have made some difference to humanity. And probably a film too, when the time is right. I8217;m primarily a fashion photographer. That8217;s my profession. I don8217;t even see this exhibition as a shift of any kind. Ladakhwas a happy coincidence. It wasn8217;t planned. It8217;s the beginning of a personal journey that offers me glimpses of the truth.

In Every Grain of Sand8217; at the Piramal Gallery, NCPA. Till Sept 25. Time: 10:30 am to 6:30 pm.

8212; As told to Sanjukta Sharma