Is it possible to feel alienated in a country whose colonial history resembles the narrative that was once being played out in your homeland? What happens when the colour of the skin becomes a deciding factor in building certain perceptions about an entire community? How does one cope up with the sense of loss and insecurity when clouds of misinformed stereotypes and presumptions loom over one's head, every time one steps out into the streets?
Questions like these cloud the mind when one looks at the photographic series — The African Portraits by Mahesh Shantaram. Devoid of any unnecessary drama, props, and embellishments, the series documents the lives of Africans living in India and poignantly captures their inner dilemma, fear and loneliness, after a series of brutal assaults and attacks on Africans took place in several Indian cities like Bangalore and Delhi.
A photography by Mahesh Shantaram
For Mahesh, an established name in photography, the trigger for this series was the horrifying attack on a female Tanzania student and her friends, an event that exposed the ugly side of a cosmopolitan city like Bangalore in 2016. While the undercurrent of the social bias Indians had harboured against Africans was slightly visible on the surface, this incident made the Bangalore-based photographer took notice of the stock of the situation. The initial inquiry was to look at subjects in his home city and then over the period, he travelled across several Indian cities to document their lives, especially students.
A picture by Mahesh Shantaram
The ongoing series, which features close to 25 photographs, and was recently presented in the capital by Tasveer and Exhibit 320, springs a surprise when it comes to the choice of presentation and execution. Shot mostly at night, open surrounding — terraces, balconies, gardens, open restaurants and parking lots have turned into open studios and in some, he takes us inside their living and bedrooms. Looking away from the camera, their bodies are mostly taut; however, it is the stoic expressions that reveal undisclosed emotions of their loneliness. The discrimination that the community has been subjected to doesn’t come out directly in these frames, but the portraits leave behind a haunting trail of emotions that the viewer feels compelled to resolve. The usage of light — both natural and artificial — contributes immensely in lending character to each subject’s portrait. Coming from varied sources like poles, fairy lights, and even moonlight the effect seeks a moment of introspection from the viewer.
A poignant photograph by Mahesh Shantaram
These intimate portraits feature, men, women, couples and even families and those who remember the 2016 incident when a Congolese national, Masonda Ketanda Olivier, was beaten to death by three men in south Delhi will find his brother, Michel, standing against a wall with a photograph of his late brother placed next to him. In another frame, a man called Wandoh, is seen lying next to his two children on a bed and against the magnificent backdrop of what looks like Amer Fort, Abdul Kareem is sitting on a mat, about to say his prayers. Mahesh has added variety in what could have easily become another monotonous exhibition.
Another interesting aspect of this series is that Mahesh has featured subjects from different African nations like Chad, Nigeria, Congo, Jamaica, Tanzania and Zambia, informing people about several nationalities that exist under the umbrella term — Africa. Ignorance is a primary factor when it comes to understanding the nature and culture of different African nationalities, whose identity for most Indians is limited to being African or Nigerian. This limited understanding is invariably bridged if one closely looks at the captions of these works.
The project successfully draws attention to the individuality and humanity of these subjects and urges the viewer to look beyond stereotypes and forge stronger and deeper bonds with them.
