An old piano stands in the middle of a living room covered in dust, its notes at one time were perhaps the life of the party. French-made chandeliers still hang from the roof, but a single bulb in the chandelier illuminates the room. A room is filled with photographs from better times and prized trophies from hunting expeditions hang on walls, with plaster peeling off discretely and antique furniture that is crying for want of reupholstery.
It is elements like these from a bygone-era that still stand today that have been captured by photographer Karam K. Puri in his exhibition titled “Extended Play & Other Stories”.
The photographer has, over six years, visited homes of erstwhile Indian royals in Central India. Unlike the grandeur of palaces in Rajastan, these buildings lie in a dilapidated state. However, glimpses of what life once was can still be seen in these properties, almost frozen in a time. It is the remaining bits of a lavish lifestyle that Karam has documented through his frames.
The photographs make use of natural light streaming into the empty rooms, often filtered through stain-glass windows. Every print has an antique feel to it, almost like an old document fished out from the bottom of a drawer that had been left there forgotten but is still prized.
Devoid of people, the photographs let their presence be felt in the rooms. In fact, once can easily imagine how different the picture would have been if taken during more glorious times.
Karam says he deliberately left out the names of the places and the family the homes belonged to as he did not want the story to be about a particular person or place but about the remains of a lifestyle.
“The rooms yearn for people to come back, for the music to play, for the scandals to unfold, for courtesans to dance and for the finest wines to be uncorked again. Through my photographs, I aimed to capture, explore and expose this sense of lost grandeur. Not through the stories of the people, but through the stories told by the rooms themselves,” he says.
The photographer adds it was a task to get the owners of these majestic homes to trust him and let him photograph. He says the maharajas and nawabs who lost their privileges and power are still given the utmost respect by their subjects, but unfortunately cannot afford the lives they once did. Although they still stay in their palaces, they occupy only two or three rooms with time taking a toll on the rest of the building.
Like the palaces that stood frozen in time as the world around them changed and their owners could not keep up with their once-opulent lifestyle, Karam also tells the story of Kolkata in his series “Calcutta Chronicles”.
The images are from modern day Kolkata but of objects from the past. Old British-era buildings that have not been maintained, perspective shots of empty trams, hand-pulled rickshaws and cassettes being swept away set the mood for a bit of nostalgia.
And like the palaces, it captures the passing of time through objects. A series of abstract photographs also forms a part of the show.
The exhibition is on at The Art Gallery, Kamaladevi Complex, The India International Centre till October 15.
The rooms yearn for people to come back, for the music to play, for the scandals to unfold, for courtesans to dance and for the finest wines to be uncorked again. Through my photographs, I aimed to capture, explore and expose this sense of lost grandeur
