Never did I know North East India has so many amateur photography clubs! A walk through an exhibition of art and photography at Mati Ghar in IGNCA, New Delhi, as part of the just-concluded North East Festival, certainly threw up this reality at the visitor, and a pleasant one at that for the sheer gamut of subjects they covered. While the focus of the exhibition, admittedly by festival organiser Shyamkanu Mahanta, was more on showcasing the region from the tourism point of view, it also gave a sneak peep at the works of some of the unsung artists and photographers from far flung areas.
Take Henba Tensuba and Sanajaoba Tensuba from Manipur, Janmoni Deori, Debananda Ulup and Subhankar Laskar of Assam. Laskar’s untitled abstract work on acrylic was easily one of the impressive images I took back from the three-day show. Its white and grey haze would surely take you in. Deori, a professor at Santiniketan, showed her talent through a set of framed tapestry. Abanta Borah’s Nature series, Pradip Chandra Dey’s Save Rhino were thought provoking too. So was Ratan Kumar Ray Hajong’s for showcasing to the outside world the traditional marriage painting of the Hajong community. The untitled acrylic and ink on paper painting of a nightly scene of a north-eastern town by Lalthanchhwala was yet another impressive image. Henba’s untitled work portraying a gunman alongside a woman and a child ill at ease, was powerful for the message it conveyed from an insurgency hit area to people in the National Capital.
As many as 30 artists from the region put up their work and each had a striking feature about them.
Another section of the exhibition was a display of 13 folk paintings from the Janapada Sampada archives of Manipur. Tiger and shield as symbols, the play of white in the dresses of the people portrayed, their hairdos, etc. give a good insight into Manipuri way of life and thinking.
Also, the photography clubs had put together some of the most striking shots apart from the usual suspects, like the flora and the fauna. Particularly of the rivers like Serlui in Mizoram and Dawki in Meghalaya. So was a shot of children dowsing a wild fire in Meghalaya. Also a picture of karigars making Assamese jewellery. A still of the imposing Ujjayanta Palace of Tripura by a lake side was as impressive for its shades as it was for its imposing character.
One suggestion to the organisers though: Next time, do ask for more explanatory captions, particularly of the photographs. More so when the idea is to present the region from the tourism point of view to people not too familiar with North East.
