Photography is an art of making memories tangible. When the world celebrated Photography Day on Friday, an octogenarian photographer from Shoranur was reminiscing about his six decades of dedication for the art through which he captured innumerable moments of significance for posterity.
Ramachandran Nair, aka R.C. Nair, was the photographer of Kerala Kalamandalam, a world-class centre for learning Indian performing arts, launched in 1920s by Vallathol Narayana Menon. For Shoranur and neighbouring places, Mr. Nair is still the photographer, though he hung up his cameras a couple of years ago.
Among the eminent personalities he captured through his lens were former Prime Ministers Jawaharlal Nehru, Morarji Desai and Indira Gandhi; former Presidents S. Radhakrishnan and R. Venkitaraman; former Defence Minister V.K. Krishna Menon; and the State’s Chief Ministers E.M.S. Namboodhiripad and E.K. Nayanar. As the lensman of the Kerala Kalamandalam for around 60 years, he captured almost all artistes of repute young and old.
Passing on legacy
Mr. Nair’s passion for photography is still aflame. “It is a way of feeling, touching and loving what your lens focusses on. Put your heart into each frame you compose,” he tells his son Thulasi Das, 56, who carries the legacy of his father and grandfather.
The black-and-white and colour pictures captured by Mr. Nair’s camera still enjoy an enviable niche on the walls of homes in Valluvanad. The number of photos of the Bharathapuzha that he shot are far too many. “I adore him for his photos. He is an inspiration,” said Prasad K. Shoranur, a photojournalist who specialises on the Bharathapuzha and its riparian culture.
Studio from 1910
Although the Raman Pillai Brothers Studio, set up in 1864, enjoys the credit for being the first studio in Travancore-Cochin, Mr. Nair’s father Krishnan Nair launched his iconic studio branch in Thrissur in 1910. The Krishnan Nair Studio with several branches is well-known across the State. Mr. Nair, who began taking photographs at the age 16 as his father’s assistant, is the current flag-bearer of the Krishnan Nair Studio. He started the famous studio brand in Palakkad in 1959 and in Pattambi and Shoranur in the next year.
“We had access only to tripod cameras in those days, which were heavy and cumbersome. It took up to five days for us to give a passport size photograph,” Mr. Nair chuckles. He was still photographer for several movies too, including Bharathan’s Prayanam.
He admits that he finds it hard to cope with the digital age. “Everyone may be a photographer today. But today’s pictures do not last.”
