Every corner of north Kolkata is a photographer’s dream. The lanes and alleyways of the oldest part of the city feel frozen in time, itching to be immortalised by a lens. It is this aesthetic that the Window Photography School has tried to capture with its ongoing exhibition, From the Streets to Souls of Heritage: The Essence of Pathuriaghata & Its Neighbourhood.
Inaugurated on Mahalaya and open till Navami, the exhibition has photographs from the institute’s students and mentors adorning the walls of Hara-Kutir, a more than 330-year-old heritage building in Jorabagan. My Kolkata brings you the most enduring frames from the event.
The setting of Hara-Kutir is extremely appropriate, blending in with the old world charm of the locality, while also standing out with its architectural opulence. The walls of the house are adorned with 49 large black-and-white images that portray the Pathuriaghata neighbourhood in all its glory. Divided into six themes: Ganga, people, architecture, transportation, gods and goddesses, and streets and lanes; this encapsulates the diverse charms of north Kolkata.
The exhibition is divided into six themes that showcase north Kolkata, including (left to right) the Ganges and Architecture
Featuring contributions from 18 members and mentors of Window Photography School, there is both a coherence in the visual language of the pictures, alongside immense diversity. The shutterbugs gave their own twists to the iconic yellow cab, trams, ghats, idol-makers of Kumartuli and rajbaris.
Raj Sarkar, a mentor at the institute, showcased a snippet from Kumartuli where eyes from a car sticker peeped at the ‘pratima’ of the goddess
The event has been pioneered by the institute’s chief mentors, Rajib De and Deb Lahiri. “The idea for this event came while working on my coffee table book, Kolkata My Endless City (co-authored with Arup Ghosh). We decided to create an exhibition that could showcase the work our students are putting in, while also giving a platform to the heritage charm of this locality,” said De. “The response has been so gratifying and we’ve already received bookings for some photographs on the first day!” added Lahiri.
From playing cricket to practising yoga to washing clothes, members of Window Photography School demonstrated the different ways in which the Ganga aids life of north Kolkatans
The most interesting part of the exhibition is how it brings together people from different disciplines through photography. Bankers, consultants or screenwriters, each of them have a shutterbug within. Goutam Podder, formerly a manager at Bank of Baroda, demonstrated this with his frame of the Lohia Matri Seva Sadan. “I was always interested in photography, but as life happened and I took up a job, I had to give it up. Ever since my retirement, I have taken it up again,” he said.
Riten Chatterjee, who worked as an HR manager for a multinational, also had a similar story to share. “I have been dabbling in street photography for 10 years alongside my job. An exhibition like this is a great medium to push my skills,” he said.
The event has been conceived by the institute’s chief mentors, Rajib De and (right) Deb Lahiri
“We didn’t just want to display beautiful pictures, but carefully craft a sequence that presented this neighbourhood’s streets accurately. We want people to experience Pathuriaghata fully,” said curator and mentor Sankar Ghose.
The exhibition is open to all from 10am to 10pm, till October 12.
