A photograph stays imprinted on your mind in a way that a news story does not, said V. R. Krishna Iyer, former judge of the Supreme Court of India. He was speaking at the inauguration of ‘Kerala in The Hindu ,’ an exhibition that tells the State’s history through photographs and pages from the archives of The Hindu on Thursday .
Justice Iyer's photograph too figured in the exhibition, along with those of his colleagues who formed the first democratically elected government of the State in 1957.
For visitors to the exhibition, many of them students, the pictures on display brought to life historical and political figures they knew only through their history books.
“This is the first time I've seen a picture of Vallathol,” said Dhanya, a student, while going through the exhibition. An article on the “Dance dramas of Kerala” written by the great poet, translated by his son, and published in The Hindu is part of the exhibition.
The rare photographs on display give visitors a quick tour of the early chapters of the formation of the State. “Someone who doesn't know much about the history of Kerala can get an overview of the events surrounding its formation,” said Neelima Namboodiri, a journalism student visiting the show.
Prem Kumar, another student, was fascinated by a photograph of Kerala's first Chief Minister E. M. S. Namboodiripad taking part in a procession of Communist Party workers, along with his family. The picture was taken in August 1959, soon after his government was dismissed from power by the Union government.
A page of The Hindu from 1963 tells how “India entered the Space Age” with the launch of a Nike-Apache two-stage sounding rocket from Thumba rocket launching station near Thiruvananthapuram, later renamed as Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre.
For those of the older generation visiting the exhibition, the images brought back memories of chapters from their own lives.
The exhibition will be open at the auditorium of Maharaja's College till Friday 7.30 p.m.
