Life in desert

Ajit Rana tells what drives him into the heartland of Rajasthan

August 29, 2016 01:56 pm | Updated 01:56 pm IST

MYRIAD HUES Photographs on display at the exhibition

MYRIAD HUES Photographs on display at the exhibition

Deserts of India have now been explored in a way that they bring a fresh perspective on how we see it. Rather than the barren landscape, cracks on surfaces it is the creases on countenances of men and women, who lead harsh lives in inhospitable conditions, which have been depicted through black and white and colour images. Meet Ajit Rana, who keeps revisiting Thar Desert as he finds the rural life, rustic ambience and the pastoral communities more fascinating than urban hubs.

Life has virtually come to a standstill in Ajit’s pictures. Rather than the undulating sand dunes, it is the inhabitants who are the focus of his attention. Fascination for village life is apparent in the pictures. Men waiting for an opium ceremony, children chanting morning prayers at a school in a nondescript village, a Raika shepherd and monastery perched on a mountain in Ladakh have been depicted in a way to transport the discerning to these remote places. It is a different world altogether as Ajit gives us a glimpse into difficulties faced by the locals who due to lack of economic activities lead tough lives.

An aged Bishnoi women, whose countenance, once beautiful, is now riddled with lines manifest the hard life of the rural community. Bright festivities, where men and women wear their well preserved traditional attires and jewellery which have old world charm, have been framed for posterity.

“This subject is personal; close to my heart. I like depicting faces, portraits. My endeavour is to tell the entire story of a person through one picture. Words are not be required to tell their stories. In desert there is flora, fauna but what I find fascinating is communities living there like the Bishnois. This exhibition is about people and their lives; not the landscape.”

It is the cheerfulness of the natives, whose faces still cross a smile when they see an outsider in their midst and celebrate their age-old festival and customs with great gusto. “They wear bright costumes, jewellery. Festivals in desert beautifully depict liveliness in the desert.”

Harshness of life also seeps through in the images. “With no irrigation, they have once a year crop. Monsoon is dismal. Bajra or millet is grown in these remote regions of Gujarat and Rajasthan. They survive on bajre ki roti and k er sangri .”

Not a professional photographer, Ajit has taken the trouble of going into the interiors, where pastoral people live a quiet, secluded life, cut off from modern amenities. These are not the places where tourists flock to. His pictures are pride of place at India International Centre Annexe where an exhibition of black and white and colour pictures is currently on.

“As people in rural areas of Rajasthan have primarily been the subject I had to go deep into heartland, wilderness and villages where rural life can best be experienced not only by me but also by others.”

While exploring high altitude desert of Ladakh, which too is part of the exhibition, Ajit faced a life threatening experience. “Three years ago we were crossing Bara-lacha la Pass. It was on the same day when the floods had destroyed Kedarnath. So we faced a heavy snowstorm and were stuck at over 16,000 feet for three hours. This was at high altitude with less oxygen. Breathing became difficult for me because I was then a chain smoker. The entire night I was in and out of consciousness. Good thing about this nightmarish experience was that I quit smoking.”

A globetrotter, Ajit has been mixing work with pleasure. “When I began taking pictures it was not for an exhibition. I have taken pictures in Africa, Scotland, China, Hong Kong, all over the world.”

All the men in images are nattily dressed in traditional dresses. Their bright colour pugarees are a style statement. Similarly bejeweled women look like they need to be on the ramp. So costumes do play a role? “The objective is to showcase their culture. Traditional outfits come alive in festivals. Turbans and jewellery look very interesting. In fact, different communities can be identified by their jewellery. Children have given up traditional dresses and wear T shirts and pants. I have not chosen not to ignore them; they are also captured in modern attire.”

Life in desert of Gujarat, which shares border with the desert State, has also been explored. “I went to Rann of Kutch in May when people do not go there at that time. But this month was ideal for appreciating the beauty of tribal costumes. Lot of richness in their embroideries, colours. Then I also encountered monks in Ladakh who wear traditional ropes. These are simplistic but symbolizes life in monasteries.”

And Ajit has focused on tribals ofi Rann of Kutch. “These are all Muslims who have been living there before the Partition. A boy in a horse Pathan suit is in a black and white picture. All the men wear blue colour suits. Women are shy, conservative and don’t like to come before the camera.”

High altitude desert of Ladakh was new for Ajit. “It is a good tourist destination but it is open only for four months. So many tourists travel to Khardung La, world’s highest peak. Just imagine people can get stuck there for four hours not because of snow but so many people going there. You can go via Manali and then come back by Kargil, Dras, Sringar and Jammu. It can be a whole circuit; so it can be an adventure.”

Entire trip was for 13 days. “Three days it takes to reach Ladakh by road. We had four cars. At Nubra Valley there are sand dunes and Pangong Lake, which 3 Idiots had shown. I have captured that. Then there are monasteries. I have captured male blue bulls engaged in long blood fight, herd of male blue bull.”

Fascination for deserts began in Ajit at a young age. “My father is from Saurashtra in Gujarat and my mother is from Rajasthan. I have seen deserts my whole life although I grew up all over the world as my father was in foreign service. However, I visited Rajasthan every holiday. Memories of our village where the entire family used to gather and we used to have celebrations for weddings and festivals are still alive. The impact of rural life was also very strong on me and in spite of living in cities, I felt just as much at home in a rural environment.”

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