“My exhibition is a portrait of daily life of remote tribes in the North East that has rarely or never been documented. It portrays only a fraction of the tribes living there,” says Shyamal Datta, while describing his ongoing exhibition “Fire to Fire from Dawn to Dusk: North East India’s Vanishing Way of Life” at India International Centre.
Shyamal Datta, a specialist who covers indigenous cultures and endangered flora and fauna of North East, has captured tribal life that seeks to bridge the widening gap between those staying in metros and those living in harmony with nature unaffected by technology. The images showcase the rich cultural heritage of the region and a way of life unfamiliar to the rest of the world.
Interestingly, Shyamal Datta’s first encounter with tribal communities of North East was in the early 1960s while his father was driving vintage black English Morris Minor through the forests of Assam. “At the age of six, my father was driving us from Digboi to Duliajan – both oil towns. At first, I thought it was eerie because I had a premonition that we were being watched. On turning right towards the forest, I saw a row of bare-bodied warrior tribesmen with spears and shotguns watching us impassively. It sent a shiver down my spine,” he recounts.
Shyamal Datta
Almost half a century later, he came from the US to photograph the same Nishi tribe in their remote village. “The village headman welcomed me as an honorary member of the tribe. Through my long and sustained experiences with the tribes of the eight states of the North East, I have realised two realities. First, North East presents a bewildering and astonishing picture of anthropological diversity, unique in the planet. Second, the breathtaking lack of awareness and misunderstanding about the people and culture of the North East in the rest of India is sadly staggering.”
Excerpts:
On his fascination with tribal communities of the North East?
There is no easy answer to this. I was born and raised in the North East and typically when this happens a familiarity of the milieu of this region or any region, breeds a sense of deja vu, a sense of undervalued indifference. It was only after 25 years of travelling and photographing all over the world that an awakening came to me about desperately wanting to know what was in my backyard. And so I started a series of reconnaissance trips from abroad to my region of birth with my camera. That was the tip of the providential iceberg.
The deep sense of fascination was not born in a day or a single trip. It evolved and grew like a snowball, when I could see the staggering diversity of subtle differences of each tribe or community living in close geo-spatial boundaries. Within a few kilometres, tribes which almost looked the same had intricate differences of food habits, dances and festivals, languages and traditions. This, say scholars, is unprecedented in the anthropological history of the world. This fascinated me. And I had to do something with my camera.
On the challenges he faced while working with indigenous inhabitants who are isolated from rest of the world
The first thing that comes to my mind is physical accessibility of remote locations. Murderous road conditions mostly weather dependent, if at all they exist. If roads are non-existent or non-drivable then trekking to villages with my team, or on mule back is the only alternative. Sometimes a few hundred kilometres can take a full day to reach. This takes a toll on the mind and body.
The most significant challenge is social. I work with small remote tribes and it is not appropriate nor courteous to land in their midst and start a photo session. In fact, it is disrespectful to them. So, a given trip is preceded by months of pre-planning and liaison work with guides and translators who connect with tribe elders and obtain their blessings for me to go and visit and stay with them. The photography comes much later.
My work would be impossible without the goodwill, blessings and the warm affection of the tribal elders, held in respect by the community. My images are a reflection of this directly. Therefore, respectfulness and adherence to each tribes’ traditions are mandatory for this kind of creative photography.
On the meaning of photography
Photography is just a tool for me, not just to express my feelings about people and nature but also to bond with them. There are many instances where my shooting trip was not productive but it yielded a wonderful relationship with a community.
On striking a balance between presenting an authentic depiction of tribals and making the image look like a work of art
If I am creating a scene with human beings in the set, I see art in them and in the scene built in. But yes, I will admit that sometimes, rarely, I do conjure up an ambience where I perceive it slightly enhanced from what the sensor tells me. If there is a scene where I can strongly see a water colour or an oil on canvas I do use tools to produce my impression. This is the same way a painter produces an impressionistic view of his mind with his paint or charcoal or pencil. This is switching media – much like old debate of the age of realism in the 18th century and the age of impressionism in early 19th Century.
The exhibition concludes this Friday.
