Journalism of Courage
A new exhibition titled 'Kailash Mansarovar - A Photographic Journey by Milan Moudgill' follows in the footsteps of Sven Hedin and Swami Pranavananda to revisit how this sacred region in Tibet was brought into geographical knowledge – including the discovery of the sources of the Brahmaputra, Sutlej and the Indus (Source: PR Handout)
A glimpse of the mighty mountain located in Tibet. (Source: PR Handout)
The exhibition, on till August 9, 2022 at Visual Arts Gallery and Open Palm Court Gallery, India Habitat Centre, New Delhi, explores the history of Tibet when it was considered "off-limits to outsiders" which forbid its geography "zealously guarded". According to the press statement, this proved an irresistible challenge to the enterprising Swedish explorer Sven Hedin, who slipped into Tibet in 1906 determined to unlock the plateau’s secrets (Source: PR Handout)
Interestingly, he arrived at the Kailash-Manasarovar area in south-west Tibet, a region sacred to the Hindus, Jains, Buddhists and the Bon. When he emerged two years later, Sven Hedin had discovered the sources of the Brahmaputra, Sutlej and Indus, and became the ‘first white man’ to circumambulate Kailash, sailed on the holy lake Manasarovar, and mapped its bed. Three decades after him, Indian ascetic Swami Pranavananda (1936-50) arrived in the area and travelled extensively, overlapping with Sven Hedin’s explorations. He challenged, with merit, the Swede’s ‘discoveries’, specially the sources of the Brahmaputra, Sutlej and Indus (Source: PR Handout)
The photo project encapsulates both journeys, and through an interplay of archival material, contemporary pictures, and an in-depth examination of the debates that arose, traces the story of how our modern understanding of this area came to be. (Source: PR Handout)
According to Moudgill, the project is rooted in travelogue-photography, but uses archival material of these two visitors, to juxtapose the ‘now’ against the ‘then’, bringing to life the colourful story of the history of geography of the Kailash-Manasarovar area. While most writing on the area examines religiosity, this project looks at the history of exploration and the emergence through that exploration of modern knowledge of the geography of south-west Tibet (Source: PR Handout)
The press note also mentions that through stunning large-format pictures, supplemented with archival images and material, and supplementary text, much of the never-seen-before aspects of the Kailash region are presented. At the same time a fascinating story of grit, courage, fortitude of the two visitors emerges, to serve as a storyline which threads the project, placing the scholarship of their exploration in the foreground. (Source: PR Handout)
Notably, as part of the exhibition, 54 high quality art prints, mostly 5ft wide, are on display. Three panoramas are being exhibited, the largest being 4x20ft. These panoramas preserve coffee-table-book detail and sharpness. The project has been shot exclusively on transparency film (Source: PR Handout)
Photography for the Kailash-Manasarovar project was undertaken between 2002 and 2007. It is Moudgill's first exhibition. (Source: PR Handout)
A rare look at the area in winter – when both the lakes completely freeze up. This allowed walking on the lake surface and visiting the islands in Rakshas Tal, recreating Swami Pranavananda’s journey of 1936 in pictures. (Source: PR Handout)
The exhibition brings views of all the four sides of Kailash – from unique perspectives (Source: PR Handout)
Interestingly, with photography moving to digital, this exhibition may represent one of the last few solo travel exhibitions shot on film. (Source: PR Handout)
