Though photojournalism can be an exciting creative profession, Saibal Das realised it had begun to feel exhausting and monotonous at some point. “Covering the everyday realities of politicians and celebrities did not interest me, and I wished instead to discover myself as an independent photographer, contributing to society through my pictorial narratives,” he says. Saibal’s independent photo journey led him to focus on ‘Circus Girls’, the story of a marginalised and gendered community and ‘Chitpur’, the timeless story of Kolkata. Now the journey brings Saibal to ‘Before the Birth of Time’, a narrative of traditional faith in India, through a series of black and white gelatin prints, currently showing at Tasveer in partnership with Vacheron Constantin. “Sharing these emotions and experiences through my photographs, has given me the sense of ultimate peace and rest,” he says.
Banaras, Vrindavan and Nabadwip introduced Saibal to people who approached life in a traditional Indian way. “It is their stories and joys, so different from our regular pleasures, that I wished to highlight,” he explains.
Leading up to his exploration of rest, Saibal has journeyed regions of unrest in North East India and later Afghanistan, during his career as a photojournalist. “My experiences in North East India in the early 90s opened my eyes to the struggle for land and existence between the Kukis and Nagas, how it is different from cultural clashes that are seen otherwise in India and that life circles the edge of limitations by necessity,” he explains. Moving to international war territory Afghanistan from here, Saibal says that being on site changed his emotive experiences of Taliban issued fatwahs and legally enforced stipulations on women.
“I found myself subconsciously comparing life there, with that at home and questioning the nature of humanity. More materially, Kabul was a museum of war. It was a life-threatening assignment to explore this country, but the immediacy of danger to humanity was life-changing,” he says. Having documented the transition from life to death and now the search of peace in the name of religion, when did Saibal’s sub-conscious mind take over its conscious counterpart? “Living with the concept of bare minimums and interacting with people who approached life in non-material terms, has me more inclined to look at life through a traditional Indian philosophical lens, using its elements as my tools of survival,” says Saibal, adding, “The challenges involved in exploring these facets, novel to my lived realities and representative of a whole category of people were numerous and intricate. But their journey has in many ways introduced me to a calmer and richer version of myself.”
Richer by words, as Saibal’s dear friend Naveen Kishore, strings poetic response to Before the Birth of Time .
Richer by people, as Saibal spends quality time with family, evenings with friend Sajal Mitra over bidis and rum at his studio, with Debashis Chakraborty for scoops on the stock exchange, serious visits to his friend and human rights activist Amitdyuti Kumar.
Richer by emotion with Before the Birth of Time .
Before the Birth of Time is showing at Tasveer till May 17.
