Bapi da is lonely man living in the pilgrim town of Tarakeswar in West Bengal District, India. He has no close relatives, no close friend. He is an just another ordinary beggar. But that’s not how I found him when I met him in the bus stand in Tarakeswar. He was then flocked by people, greeting him, smiling and talking, asking for his blessings and offering him food or money.

The reason was very simple. He was dressed up like Goddess Kali and in that attire in a pilgrim town like Tarakeswar where hundreds of people flock every day to worship God Shiva and Goddess Kali, it’s not difficult to build up a considerable fan followings. Its amused me to realize that people offered all kinds of help and alms as Bapi da walked down the temple road, dressed up like Goddess Kali without him asking for it while the other beggars in worn torn clothes went unheard.

Bapi da told me he was like the rest of the beggars until his fate changed when a local theater group donated him a rejected dress set of Kali. Back in home after changing to his normal cloths, he smiled and said, “When I am like this, I am nobody, but when I dress up like Kali, people respect me, try to help me, seek my blessings thinking that I am Kali, but all the while it’s the same me, a human being and they know it too.”

About Suvankar Sen

I am Suvankar Sen. I am from Kolkata, India. My life long relationship with camera began back in 2012 and slowly it became my profession. I belong from “shonar bangla” Kolkata. My professional life covers my job as a networking professional, but my personal life is dedicated entirely to photography.

Photography is not only my passion but it a part of my life. After all day hard-work and busy schedules i often go for a walk with my cam and capture the night life of the busy streets in Kolkata. I do expertise in scenic photography, capturing people with their real actions and snapping amazing stuff that common people do. I spend my weekends with my group of photographers and visit places to snap the amazing stuff that nature has for us. Apart from my hobby i also engage into photography for certain occasions like parties, receptions etc..

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All the pictures in this post are copyrighted Suvankar Sen. Their reproduction, even in part, is forbidden without the explicit approval of the rightful owners.

Some scenes reciprocate a state of mind. These scenes could be of a very mundane place or maybe grand view of Himalaya. But, not necessarily all grand views resonate a mind. In this series of black & white images, I have tried to photograph natural places, with little known and unrecognized places, with people and without people, which somehow resonate my state of mind and heart. With these images, I have tried to find a gate through which I can go further, beyond the scene into another wonderland where I can talk with myself in a deeper level, play with the silence, with my past, with all unresolved misery, and roam around with my another self. For me, images are not just to look at, but a way of life that awaken my senses, and give some sort of comfort when it resonate with my state of being, heart and soul.

Images are taken over the period of 2012 to 2015. And I will continue working on this series with more compelling and penetrative images on this theme. Thank you.

About Sudarshan Mondal

Sudarshan Mondal is passionate about image making and its creative process. His selection of subjects and approach varies based on the work and project theme he is up to and in this pursuit he works on people on streets, landscapes, nature, travel, also with abstract, equally both in color and black & white, in his personalized form. He is now more focused on short and long term non-journalistic project works, mostly personal in nature. Through his photographic endeavor, he tries to establish a sense of time, search for social theories, look outside world in a different perspective, and sometimes, very personal in nature reflecting his own state of mind.

From his early days of learning basics camera technicalities, color theories and management, processing raw files in Photoshop or Lightroom, to a trip photographing fashion in Miami, tracing fall colors in New Hampshire, driving in the mountain roads of Smoky or Yellowstone, shooting bikini babes in Puerto Rico or streets in New York City, his quest for new experience compelled him to continually evolve his thought process, while reminding him the importance of carrying a camera with humor, compassion and curiosity.

He was born and grew up in a village of West Bengal, and then he graduated in electrical engineering, and now works as a senior business analyst in a multinational software firm. And at the same time, he is fortunate enough to spend a good extent of time on his personal photo projects, traveling, and collaborating with fellow photographers. He has been privileged to work and live in cities like Kolkata, London, Dallas, and New York City, and acquainted with many people of different cultures and nationalities. He currently lives in Kolkata with family.

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All the pictures in this post are copyrighted Sudarshan Mondal. Their reproduction, even in part, is forbidden without the explicit approval of the rightful owners.

Beaches are celebrated to be a neighborhood for recreation, a place to let go of the day-to-day life and have a quiet time. It is, in most metropolitan cities, also known for its beach side properties and sea-facing villas for the affluent communities. But Mumbai, India’s economy capital differs from most cities. In this city, the beach becomes a liaison for the prosperous and the underprivileged. Residencies of both the prosperous businessmen and the deprived slum dwellers within kilometers of one another are hard to miss. The rich build high white-washed walls and fences around their villas and the underprivileged hang and dry clothes on them. The closed sea facing windows of the air conditioned rooms compliment the window-less shanties. The high walls meant to keep privacy inside the bungalows are used by couples who sit on the other side of the wall for a quick afternoon romance, seeking a piece of the privacy for themselves. In these beaches people’s resilience in co-existing and conquering the hardships of the social order become prevalent. A symbiotic relationship prevails, working and living through social discrepancy, and an act of triumph of human spirit, ignored perhaps because of their own cultural baggage. This is a long term ongoing project that takes a peek into the lives of both parties.

About Souradeep Roy

Souradeep Roy, born and brought up in Kolkata, West Bengal, is a trained photojournalist and documentary photographer. He has completed graduation in Mass Communication and Journalism from Asutosh College, Calcutta University and has been trained in photojournalism from Udaan School of Photography under world renowned photographers such as Arko Datta and Atul Loke. He has worked with several Non-governmental organizations and corporate houses as a freelancer and is currently working as a full time photojournalist in Asian Photography Magazine (India). He has been published in various national and international publications as well.

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2nd April 2016

Fly-over collapsed at the Ganesh Talkies crossing,Girish Park , claiming several lives and leaving many injured. The death toll has touched 28 and is likely to increase. Severely injured people have been rushed to Kolkata Medical College & Marwari relief society for recovery. Rescue operation is in full swing led by Indian Army , National Disaster Response Force, Kolkata Police, Disaster Management group, Fire Brigade, RSS, local people. The chances of finding more survivors are getting thinner.by the minute.

31st March 2016

It started just like another day in a metropolitan. Blaring horns, busy streets, commotion all around and several people on road heading to their daily routine. Few were going to office, few were just having a gossip at xing , students of primary school were returning home from school in pool car, having fun as they always do. In a fraction of second the whole buzz became silent for a moment and then turned the whole scenario into a nightmare never dreamt of. At around 12:15 PM, the sky fell apart on them with thundering noise, tremors and echoes continued to haunt the eye witnesses. Ritesh Jain, a local shop keeper of the Ganesh Talkies xing says, “The sound of the collapsing flyover was like bomb blast and the vibration was next to an earthquake”.The city of joy faced the most catastrophic ‘man-made’ disaster bringing it in the spotlight.

Locals took time to settle down and measure the enormity of the incident which shattered so many lives in just mere 6 seconds. The locals started rescue operations immediately, but due to lack of experience and equipment the pace of the operation was very sloth. Yosuf, a local youth says,” I was horrified by the incident , The voice of the people who were stuck under the concrete slabs mainly disturbed me badly, May Allah save all the survivors”. Locals were seen clearing the concrete slabs and aiding the survivors. Local people numbering no less than hundred rushed to the spot and gave their very best in rescuing people. Later on Kolkata Police joined in the operation with Disaster Management group. After getting orders from the Election Commissioner of West Bengal, the CISF and CRPF jawans joined the rescue operation. Heavy duty cranes joined the operation from 3 sides of the crossing which gave vital boost to the rescue operation. At around 3 PM Indian Army troops marched down to the crisis spot and initiated the operation on full swing, but it took a long 2.5 hours to arrange the necessary instruments which will prove to be useful in such situations.

This showcases the administrative failure of the state government and points out how ill-prepared our city is when faced with such disasters. In the evening Mamata Banerji, Chief Minister of West Bengal rushed to the spot to monitor the rescue operation, she cancelled her election campaign in Kharagpur and came back to Kolkata immediately after receiving the news. She has ordered a investigation probe and assured punishment to the people who are involved. She has also announced compensation of Rs.5 Lakh INR to the family of the deceased and 3 Lakh INR to the severely injured and Rs. 1 Lakh to the people who are less injured. Opposition party leaders also joined in later to continue the game of politics on the very field where several innocents died and many still buried in concrete’s and steel jungle. Social volunteer clubs are playing very active role in rescue operation. There were no survivor found after the sunset, The body of the deceased were unidentifiable, Twisted, broken and burnt to ashes. Several gas cutters were involved in the operation to cut into the large sized steel beams and girders. SFI and DYFI initiated the blood donation camp where several active youths were on the first line to donate blood. Local NGO’s were very active giving food to the service men who were rescuing people since noon.

The kings part of the broken segment of the flyover has been almost fully cleared off but another huge part is still posing a threat, since it is lying on the shoulders of two heavy loader trucks on both the sides. Civil Engineers are discussing methods to clear of the flyover safely, They have launched a notice to the dwellers of the nearby buildings to evacuate their houses.

In the Spot light

The accident has raised several questions to the callousness of the KMDA (Kolkata Municipal Development Authority) and ruling party leaders are faced with several burning questions, few of which they are able to answer. Chief Minister Mamata Banerji after reaching the troubled area started her speech by blaming the previous government as it was sanctioned in their tenure. The fact provides a clear perspective that the main process of construction was initiated under the government lead by Mamata Banerji. Recent speech of Mr. Sudip Banerji has made the situation more uneasy for them, he says ” I was informed that the construction has technical drawbacks when the 70% of the flyover was built. It is not likely to stop work procedures considering the investment that state government made already.” Such lame statement has raised questions on the valuation and safety of citizens life under the current state government. Joint Opposition leader Mr. Adhir Chowdhury demanded to arrest Urban Development minister of the state, Mr. Firad Hakim. The chaotic situation of Kokata is lit up with fumes of cold melodramatic war of political parties to serve their own ends

IVRCL,The construction company who were in charge of the construction of the “Vivekananda Setu”. received this project under JNNURM from the left front government in 2009. The office of IVRCL in Anandapur was sealed off by Kolkata Police as no one was found there.4 associates of the IVRCL have been detained for further queries.According to police, a team of detectives have started off for Hyderabad to find the high officials of the agency. The company is charged with murder. Earlier, a case was filed against the company, IVRCL, under section 304 of the Indian Penal Code, which refers to negligence not amounting to murder, but the charge has been converted to section 302. Five employees have been detained in Kolkata and two in Hyderabad.

The Hyderabad based construction agency does not have a pleasing past. It faced investigation appealed by the Hyderabad Corporation due to issue regarding workers safety and is among black listed construction agencies according to railways for their lack of quality of their products. Public Interest Litigation has been filed against the organisation at Kolkata high Court.

The Flyover was meant to connect Girish Park with Howrah Bridge stretching 2.2 Km. It was scheduled to be inaugurated by August 2011 but it started to fail deadline one after another. In recent times the agency was not in good shape to carry construction procedures , so it was stopped for 6 long months. Neither any monitoring nor quality checks were carried by the agency during this gap. In a recent campaign, CM of West Bengal had promised to inaugurate the flyover before elections. For that the agency was rushing to finish the work. But instead the callousness and negligency claimed several lives which can not be compensated for. The flyovers supposed to save time actually stopped the life clock of the deceased . Several families are broken into pieces for this. This accident could have been avoided if through proper administration the construction process was monitored.

Rescue operation has been running for 50+ hours. Youths of the city expressed their grieve by attending candle light procession in solidarity of the deceased on Saturday evening.

As hours pass, unheard stories of the survivors or last minute touching conversations are coming out. Lets pray for the deceased persons and the injured, lets pay solidarity to the affected innocent people who lost their lives or lost their kith and keens . Blood Donation camps are operating in full swing.If you are aware of people with (-)ve blood group, please do bring him\her to Medical College.

About Sagnik Datta

Sagnik Datta is a 18 years young , photo enthusiast hailing from kolkata, Having interest in human life documentation and photo journalism. A keen learner of aspects of street photography.

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The story that I am presenting is of an Ashram in West Bengal which teaches the Vedas. Vedas, in Hinduism, are considered to be revelations. The students admitted here are specifically Pure Brahmins coming from various parts of West Bengal. These pictures depict their unique Life style.

1) Prat-Jagaron: The Morning Rituals. Raising Early, their day starts with watching the rising Sun. Sun is considered to be the source of Life & Energy which they imbibe in their life.

2) Prat-Karam: The Morning Duty. Every student has been allotted a different job that they have to do in the morning. This teaches them to do any kind of work with dedication and brings discipline in their life.

3) Snanadhi: Preparing for Class after Bath. This picture shows a beautiful relationship of the children with sunlight. The child seems like basking in the sun & the sunlight gifting him a friend – his own shadow. There is a feeling of freshness in this picture.

4) Prat-Smaran: The procedure of seeking forgiveness for the sins that we commit unknowingly. This starts with the worship of Lord Vishnu followed by pouring water from one bowl to another. This act is repeated 3 times as per the ritual. The students are taught this basic ritual to eliminate any sin they commit (like killing any living thing in air while breathing or talking) or any wrong doings which they do not realize then.

5) Ved-Paath: After Prat-Smaran they start their Veda Classes. They are taught the 4 Vedas – Rig Veda, Sama Veda, Yajur Veda, Atharva Veda – the oldest scriptures of Hinduism. They devotedly follow the teachings of the Vedas, which makes them disciplined, happy & teaches them to respect each other. For them the Vedas is the ultimate thing.

6) Vojan: Lunch. After Classes they have their lunch. They are served pure vegetarian food and they have it with contentment.

7) Aapna-Karam: Here we can see that the child is washing his own dish. This is what is taught here, i.e. to take responsibility of your own things. This is something that we never did when we were kids. But now these kids teach us a lesson. If they can do at such a young age, we should too learn to take responsibility of ourselves.

8) Krira: Play-time. Was there any such day, as kids, when we were not allowed to play? I guess, no. But these kids are allowed only 2 days to play in a whole week. In spite of that these kids manage to put up a smile on their faces, which you will see in my next picture.

9) Ved Jeevan Aur Muskaan: Look at the smile on their faces. Now think what tough routine they follow, with no connection with the outer world, living so far away from their parents, how do they survive? They survive on the teachings of the Vedas. They have accepted Vedas as the soul of their life. They lead a life of peace, discipline & honesty. This honest smile is a therapy for them. Smile is their answer to all problems of life.

About Utpal Roy

I am Utpal Roy, born in Kolkata, West Bengal, and work in a private organization. I started photography from 2012. Initially I started off with Nikon coolpix and then upgraded to Dslr Nikon D3200. Photography helps me express the way I feel about things. I always try to convey a message through my photographs which can be useful in other people’s life. I love street, travel, people & documentary photography. I hit the streets with my camera whenever I get the chance & try to do it with utmost dedication. I am still learning and I think this learning process will never stop.

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All the pictures in this post are copyrighted Utpal Roy. Their reproduction, even in part, is forbidden without the explicit approval of the rightful owners.

Clever, progressive, decisive and this guy wants to show something different from the mass of street photographers. Meet Soumyendra Saha from Kolkata, whose pictures are refreshing in this casual yet compelling genre of photography. His words are clear as his vision and his love for new found passion is quiet evident in his portfolio. I definitely find there is a masterful vision with the way he nails those geometry and adds meanings within them.

Could you introduce yourself?

Hello, I am Soumyendra Saha currently based in Kolkata, India. I hail from a small town in the suburbs of Kolkata, Konnagar. I moved to the city 5 years back mainly for job and my daughter’s education. Professionally, I was a software engineer writing code for networking companies, but not anymore. Now I frequently go out to shoot on the streets of Kolkata with or without some fellow street photographers and try to capture and tell interesting stories of the streets, while still trying to figure out if I should join the job again or just do what I am doing.

What first drew you to photography and how did you discover it?

As I said, I took a leap of faith and left the cubicle in early 2014, after working for 12 long years in India and the US. Then with some free time in my hands, Street Photography chose me instead of me choosing it. Like many photography hobbyists, I always had a camera, be it film or digital, tucked away somewhere, to go out someday. But that someday would never happen. I was doing landscape photography about once a year but for that I had to go on costly treks and come back with photos I thought anyone can take with the right equipment. So, one fine day, I just went out with the camera to Chowringhee in Kolkata and took some shots. When I came back, I was looking at something new! What I saw on the monitor was not what I saw on the street. Definitely I had seen and felt something at the moment of clicking but the frozen moment was something more. There was a magic working somewhere, the untold story of the streets. That magic was Street Photography and it was already working. I was hooked !

What makes Street Photography so special for you?

It is very special because what I see through my own eyes and even through the viewfinder is not what I find in the actual photo. Or let me put it this way, I get to see only a fraction through the viewfinder. There is a distilled, abstracted reality,a story in the moment one captures. Every picture tells a story. That story is what is special to me. And when I am walking on the streets, these stories don’t yell out to me. You have to anticipate the making of one fleeting moment of a story , listen to the silent whisper of some storyteller in the middle of a crowd, press the shutter and lift the moment. And then, it is gone !

I am always trying to strike a balance between the abstract and the real. Anyway it is a nice game I am willing to play for as long as I can

What difference does photography create in your life?

Creativity of any sort, liberates the mind. Art of any form does that. Freedom is the opium for all artists. So with me. It gives me a lot of freedom to think differently about things and be kinder to people. It has made me more objective and tolerant. I get to meet people of all walks of life on the streets and I get a sense of the real throbbing, marching life out there. What eventually factors out is that amidst a grueling struggle to live, compassion, tolerance, warm-heartedness are what people fall back on to stay happy. This lesson is the biggest takeaway for me.

On another note, a photograph with a great story has the capacity to move many, if not masses. On those lines, photographs move me too. A lot.

Please choose one picture from your portfolio and share the story behind the making?

This picture I took on a day just after Saraswati Puja in the suburbs. Every year I make it a point to visit our house there to fly kites. A day after the holiday, I decided to walk into the mill-side quarters, a slum area that has grown after the factories shut down decades ago. After not getting anything worth while I was walking back when I heard a loudspeaker emanating frantic beats from a lane. I walked in and saw just this old woman sitting in the sun. Festivities were to happen in the evening . I took some shots as the light was making nice lines complementing the lines of the pandal. I try to make sure geometry plays a central role in most of my shots. Then I lose control. As I was adjusting to get parallel to frame ,I saw a child was being cuddled further inside. The colors complimented the story well. I positioned myself to frame this story of a life just begun and one fading and took 3-4 shots. This one with the old woman looking away from the camera, probably after getting bored, was the best.

Your gear?

I go out with a Sony RX100M1 with me these days after using a couple of consumer level DSLRs from Canon and Nikon. The DSLRs are all gathering dust now. At the same time, one should never forget : The camera you have is the best camera in the world.

Which photographers inspire you?

Photographs of Henri Cartier-Bresson, Elliott Erwitt, and the cinematography of Satyajit Ray movies inspired me a lot. I learned a good bit about composition from Ray and Theo Angelopoulous movies. Cinema taught me that in a well composed frame when subjects move around, some expressive and animated moments stand apart. Then last but not least, Peter Kool is someone whose photographs I admire a lot. Also a photographer from Ukraine, Kirill Kovalenko, whose works are very close to painting. I learned a lot about minimalism and abstraction by studying his photos.

Any final thoughts for our readers?

Keep your mind free and look at the world through the eyes of the child in you. Good photographs will follow. To that end a relevant thing that I would like to bring up here is – complexity. Complexity tends to creep into taking photos and photos itself. So learn to keep things deliberately simple. Because if you are trying to show something of beauty, in form, color, or story, it has to be simple first. Quoting an ending line from a poetry by Tagore, “Ihai bujhilam, jahai sohoj, tahai sundor” (This I understood, that what is simple, is beautiful).

Thanks for reading !

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All the pictures in this post are copyrighted Soumyendra Saha. Their reproduction, even in part, is forbidden without the explicit approval of the rightful owners.

Gajan is a Hindu festival celebrated mostly in the Rural part of West Bengal. Gajan spans around a week, starting at the last week of Chaitra continuing till the end of the Bengali year. It ends with Charak Puja Participants of this festival is known as Sannyasi or Devotee. Persons of any gender can be a participant. The complete history of the festival is not known. The central theme of this festival is deriving satisfaction through non-sexual pain, devotion and sacrifice.

The word Gajan is considered a combination of parts of two words – Ga is from the word gram meaning village and jan is from the word janasadharan meaning folk. In this sense Gajan is a festival of village folk. Some of the myth said Gajan means Gar+Jan = A Bengali Word which reveals the call of the sannyasi or Bhokta to their lord Shiva. Ofthen in this festival Sannyasi or Bhokta are murmuring with the name of Lord Shiva on daily basis 108 times & together they cry with pain: Debadi Dev Mahadev .. Hara Gauri .. Joy Shiv. They often believe its such a powerful chants that keep them cool and help to overcome all the pain related to their painful process of devotion.

Hindus celebrate the festival mainly on the last two days of the month of Chaitra. This period is known as Chaitra Sankranti when Sun will enter Pisces sign. Chaitra Sankranti begins on 14th March of every year. People observe fast during this period devoting themselves to their God. Gajan is actually linked to persons who are related to agricultural community, directly or indirectly. They pray for the rains and better harvest. Lord Shiva is said to be closely related to this community. It may be worth noting here that Dharmathakur is actually considered to be the God of Fertility.

Charak & Gajan has 2 separate part of Festival according to the Rituals. Gajan used to happen on 2 days before the Month end of Chaitra, the Last Bengali Month (Middle of March as per English Calendar). In different part of West Bengal these Rituals are being celebrated with different dangerous Traditional Play like Playing with Dead Bodies, Human Skull. This year we went to a Remote village of Bardhaman to observe this dangerous Practice. According to villagers, this practice has been going on for more than a hundred years. Police and district administration do very little to stop the ugly and unhygienic practices. According to one of the Devotees, they collect the bodies from different burial grounds. Those who could not burn the dead bodies due to financial reasons, bury those bodies in the graveyard. Sometimes the relatives of dead children do not burn the bodies and bury them instead.Some of the villages are using these skulls for 2 – 3 years and some of the village use to cut the skulls before 1 – 2 month of this Ritual from different graveyard. These skulls are used to hide in some secret places near by of the villages, people were co-operative enough to shoot us these dangerous photos but they stopped us to enter those secret places where they have hidden these skulls or dead bodies.

Observing this Dangerous Ritual may create Visual disturbance but this Ritual still live for 100 more years in rural part of Bengal, India.

About Avishek Das

Avishek Das is an Indian born Photographer. Over the past 5 years he has been actively associated with this field of photography. He is the Chairman of Creative Art Solution – A Registered Photography Club of India under Federation of Indian Photography & Liason Officer of Master of Light Photographic Association for Asia & India. His photographs and writings have already been published in different Websites & Photo competition in national & International level (Italy, France, Argentina, Serbia, Romania, Wales, Greece, Canada, China, Bosnia, Malaysia, Bulgaria, Macedonia, Turkey, UK, Bangladesh, Slovakia, UAE, Indonesia), National Geography US Edition, 1X .com, Vogue, Dodo Magazine, Asian Photography, Better Photography, 121 Clicks and many more.

He bagged more than 110 Awards including Silver &Gold Medal from Royal Photographic Society, Photographic Society of America, International Association of Photographers, United Photographers International, FIAP for his Photographic works. In 2015 his significant achievement like – Grand Winner of Ariano Film Festival – Italy, ICICI Bank Privilege Moments Zonal Category Winner, Asian Photography Artistique Special Mention, Metropolis Asia Runner Up. He has been Appointed as Jury Member from Russia, Bosnia for different International Photography Competitions. For his Photographic development & achievement he has been Awarded with Distinction AFIAP from Fédération Internationale de l’Art Photographique (France) .

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Copyrights:
All the pictures in this post are copyrighted Avishek Das. Their reproduction, even in part, is forbidden without the explicit approval of the rightful owners.

Most countries have traditional style of Wrestling. In India, Wrestling takes place in a clay or dirt pit. This ancient sports use to hold great importance in Indian societies of the past, its popularity over the recent years however it is diminishing gradually. In India, there are some places where Kushti still exists. Even in those places the future of the sport is uncertain.

The soil mixed with ghee and other things and is tended to before each practice. Wrestlers belong to gyms called akharas, where wrestlers live under strict rules. Wrestler’s diets consits of milk, almonds, ghee, eggs and chapattis and each wrestler has a job to do in preparing meals. They believe the game started since the Earth exists. In ancient Indian Sanskrit epics, Hanuman is considered as Pelhwan (Kushti Wrestler), Bhim (Kushti Wrestler) and many others.

The sport is on the decline stage, but there are still many akharas left where the government gives no importance which is quite alarming for the Kushti Wrestlers as the wrestlers do come from a very high class society and some dedicated pehlwan continuing the Kushti Akhara by there own cost which is very nominal to keep this ancient part of Indian culture alive. Kushti wrestler is also restricted to Sex, Wine, Tobacco and Drugs.

About Indranil Aditya

A freelance photographer based in Kolkata (India) and owner of Indranil Aditya Photography, experienced in the field of photography for the last 8 years. I shoot Streets, Documentary Photography, Corporate Events, Interior Decor, Festivals, Candid Wedding Photography, Travel and Tourism, Magazine Shoot, Advertisement Shoot, Fashion Shoot, Branding and Promotion, Industrial Shoot, Portfolio Shoot, Product Shoot.

My photographs published in National Geographic Daily Dozen, also got featured amongst 35 Fantastic Indian Black and White Street Photographs of India, www.121clicks.com, Femina Magazine India, Stadtheatre Organisation Yearbook 2014-2015 (Klagenfurt, Austria); Published in Global Mirror, Dodho Magazine (Barcelona),. I also worked under different organisations like ORF, Asian Paints Sarad Samman, Morphous Planners, Splash Events and Concern, worked on Fashion Products for one of the fashion designer. Also enlisted in the Street Photography collection run by a German Photographer Bernd Hartenberger. A regular contributing photographer in Alamy (UK Based Photo-Agency) and Pacific Press (Philippines).

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Copyrights:
All the pictures in this post are copyrighted Indranil Aditya. Their reproduction, even in part, is forbidden without the explicit approval of the rightful owners.

Like most people from Bengal, Fish is something close to my heart or stomach for that matter. But have you ever thought what goes on from when a fish is caught till it appears in your local market? A lot actually, as I found out during some of my visits to the Malabar coast, more specifically the South Karnataka coast.

This stretch of the Arabian Sea coast is rich in marine life. From time immemorial people of this region have been venturing out into the sea and bringing back a rich haul of fish, Sardines and Mackerels being the most popular variety.

The coast is dotted with small to large fishing harbours, usually situated in river estuaries. These harbours also double up as fish auction houses where each morning traders converge to buy huge lots in open auctions. The fish is then packed in iced crates and transported to distant places. These harbours are interesting places buzzing with activities. and people from different parts of India, speaking in different languages all at the same time. Retail stalls are also set up on the harbour itself where locals can buy the fresh catch in small quantities.

However, all these changes in the non fishing season. From the beginning of June till the middle of August, none of the mechanised fishing vessels are allowed to venture out to the sea. This is when a different set of people have the busiest time of the season. These are the people who repair the boats or the ones who make the nets.

Fresh from the boats, ready for the market.

Boats and trawlers of all sizes, wait in the tranquil waters of a harbour.

Time to get the nets ready.

The haul has come in, it is time to unload.

From the trawler to the crates.

Sorting stalls, according to type and size.

The ice and the crates, getting ready for the long haul transportation,

Local buyers like the one here get the first preference.

King Fish, the king of all fishes on display.

Crabs too are a popular catch.

When there is fish, can the cat be far away?

Ice, an important ingredient to keep the fish as fresh as possible.

Early mornings are busy time at the auction hall.

Fish traders do their maths after the auction.

Onto the ice crate.

Sorted, sold, packed and ready to go.

As the fishing embargo sets in, it is time to knit new nets for the next season.

Dry season for fishing is time for the dry docks.

Trawlers being repaired in the shipping yard.

A large trawler being hauled in to the dry dock.

About Lopamudra Talukdar

Lopamudra Talukdar, a Masters in Zoology from the University of Kolkata, was fascinated by the world of photography ever since she was a kid but never thought of taking it up seriously until she was gifted a Canon 5D Mark II as recently as 2010.

It changed the world around her…. She started looking at the world through a different set of eyes and with accolades and exhibition opportunities coming her way, it also changed how the world looked at her. It helped that she travels around a lot, both inside and outside India but she is particularly fascinated by the diversity of Indian culture and how different it can be from Nagaland to Nagpur! She is currently doing assignment based photo stories for a number of leading magazines including National Geographic Traveller and Femina.

You can find Lopamudra Talukdar on the Web :

• Flickr
• 500px
• Facebook
• 121Clicks Interview

Copyrights:
All the pictures in this post are copyrighted Lopamudra Talukdar. Their reproduction, even in part, is forbidden without the explicit approval of the rightful owners.

I discovered that the horse is life itself, a metaphor but also an example of life’s mystery and unpredictability, of life’s generosity and beauty, a worthy object of repeated and ever changing contemplation. – Jane Smiley

To me, horses resemble strength, grace, freedom, and equally love and intimacy.

When I was in engineering college, in a campus interview for job, the interviewer asked me “what would be the animal you think you would love to relate with and why?” I said – a horse. I can’t remember anymore what were the reasons I cited at that time. But since then my love for horses has intensified.

This one is for strength, beauty, love and intimacy.

About Sudarshan Mondal

Sudarshan Mondal is passionate about image making and its creative process. His selection of subjects and approach varies based on the work and project theme he is up to and in this pursuit he works on people on streets, landscapes, nature, travel, also with abstract, equally both in color and black & white, in his personalized form. He is now more focused on short and long term non-journalistic project works, mostly personal in nature. Through his photographic endeavor, he tries to establish a sense of time, search for social theories, look outside world in a different perspective, and sometimes, very personal in nature reflecting his own state of mind.

From his early days of learning basics camera technicalities, color theories and management, processing raw files in Photoshop or Lightroom, to a trip photographing fashion in Miami, tracing fall colors in New Hampshire, driving in the mountain roads of Smoky or Yellowstone, shooting bikini babes in Puerto Rico or streets in New York City, his quest for new experience compelled him to continually evolve his thought process, while reminding him the importance of carrying a camera with humor, compassion and curiosity.

He was born and grew up in a village of West Bengal, and then he graduated in electrical engineering, and now works as a senior business analyst in a multinational software firm. And at the same time, he is fortunate enough to spend a good extent of time on his personal photo projects, traveling, and collaborating with fellow photographers. He has been privileged to work and live in cities like Kolkata, London, Dallas, and New York City, and acquainted with many people of different cultures and nationalities. He currently lives in Kolkata with family.

You can find Sudarshan Mondal on the web:

• Website
• Blog
• Facebook
• 500px
• Flickr
• Instagram
• Pinterest

Copyrights:
All the pictures in this post are copyrighted Sudarshan Mondal. Their reproduction, even in part, is forbidden without the explicit approval of the rightful owners.

For all of us border means partition which lies between two countries or states. But what i had seen,i did not feel that bookish meaning of border. India and Nepal are two adjacent countries as our government maintains a friendship with Nepal. So for us the Indians we don’t need any passport for travelling to Nepal. Just we need to provide the Voter Id card no. There is always A fragrance of friendship flows between the citizens of both the countries.

When i went to Sandakphu for trekking. we started our journey from Manebhanjan .Manebhanjan is a small town, in the Darjeeling district of West Bengal,India and it lies between India and Nepal.

After reaching at Manebhanjan the very first experience was that all our mobile networks turned to NCEll, a Nepali mobile service provider.

The two countries are separated by just a small culvert, which was really a very interesting experience for me. i have an interest to know about different cultures.

The very first person i met during my travel was a very pretty girl, named Meghma and with her friends.

She reads in class 10. I am really thankful to my little friend Meghma. She is a Nepali but her school is in Darjeeling. She came to her house for Christmas holidays. Meghma took me and showed her society which had maximum of 20 to 25 houses.

Our hotel owner, named Jibon Chetry, famous in his locality as ‘Masterji’. Masterji was very polite and decent in nature.

He is a teacher at the Government school of Manebhanjan. 30% students of him is Nepali And another interesting thing is that Every evening he goes for his Adda (Chitchat) with his friend’s house which is located at India but the sewerage system was at Nepal.We all went there with Masterji for our evening snacks.We all ordered thuppa, but for masterji a special local drink came. I asked masterji “what is the name of this drink?”He laughed and replied “Same to Rum”.

The whole route of sandakphu is via Manebhanjan. Sometimes you have to cross Nepal, sometimes India. But one will never feel that he/she is crossing the geographic lines.

Though there does not have so much facility but still they live very happily with each other.

They all are very pure by heart as beauty of nature.

and I can bet you that they will easily make you as one of their own just like a family member and u will forget that you are a tourist.

I really wish, one day all partitions of the world will be vanished and people will live like one huge neighbourhood where they don’t have to maintain any geographical barrier or fall prey to any riot or terrorist attack.

About Dipanwita Saha

Myself, Dipanwita Saha, is an Indian freelance documentary photographer based out of Kolkata, India.Though i am a Software Engineer by profession, but my strong passion for documentary photography & photojournalism made me travel to various places.i strongly believe that as a documentary photographer, it is my responsibility to showcase the social changes and its impact on human race and i am committed to leverage photography as the most powerful tool to capture the social changes & behaviors across the globe over the years. My photographic vision is not only to depict social, political and financial issues & conflicts but also to portray surreal beauty and the enduring power of the human spirit.

You can find Dipanwita Saha on the web:

• Facebook
• Flickr
• Instagram

Copyrights:
All the pictures in this post are copyrighted Dipanwita Saha. Their reproduction, even in part, is forbidden without the explicit approval of the rightful owners.

From the very beginning of my photographic journey, I was mesmerized by the patterns & layers nature offered and in the process of growing up, I realized that, these intricate patterns/layers can be captured most effectively when I shot in absence of colors, otherwise the burst of colors in the frames takes precedence over them.

As I grown up in an urban landscape, for me the touch of nature always comes by being alone in a secluded corner of the nearby lakes or parks or sitting under a tree of Maidan (The largest urban park of Kolkata famously known as ‘Lungs of Kolkata’) and being there I wondered about the beauty and the calmness of surrounding. For this series, I tried to capture these patterns of the nature across all the seasons, intertwined with the human-nature interactions.

About Jit Rakshit

I am Jit Rakshit, a Kolkata based professional wedding photographer. My passion is street photography , documentation & photojournalism. I fell in love with the intricacies of light and shadows long back in my school years but I have seriously started to study and learn the art of photography around 5/6 years back. I currently use Nikon D7000 and love to capture actions of people and special moments of interest.

You can find Jit Rakshit on the Web :

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Copyrights:
All the pictures in this post are copyrighted Jit Rakshit. Their reproduction, even in part, is forbidden without the explicit approval of the rightful owners.

West Bengal is the state of fairs and festivals. A large number of festivities take place in this state throughout the year. Amongst them, one of the most famous fests is the Gangasagar Mela. It is held in the month of January-February, on the Ganga Sagar Island, at the mouth of the river Hooghly in Bengal. It is attended by thousands of pilgrims every year. A dip in the water at this place, during Gangasagar Mela, is considered to be extremely sacred. On the day of Makar Sankranti (January 14), when the sun makes a transition to Capricorn from Sagittarius, it is said that the bath becomes a holy source of salvation.

About Suvankar Sen

I am Suvankar Sen. I am from Kolkata, India. My life long relationship with camera began back in 2012 and slowly it became my profession. I belong from “shonar bangla” Kolkata. My professional life covers my job as a networking professional, but my personal life is dedicated entirely to photography.

Photography is not only my passion but it a part of my life. After all day hard-work and busy schedules i often go for a walk with my cam and capture the night life of the busy streets in Kolkata. I do expertise in scenic photography, capturing people with their real actions and snapping amazing stuff that common people do. I spend my weekends with my group of photographers and visit places to snap the amazing stuff that nature has for us. Apart from my hobby i also engage into photography for certain occasions like parties, receptions etc..

You can find Suvankar Sen on the Web :

• Flickr
• Facebook
• Blog
• 121 Clicks Interview

Copyrights:
All the pictures in this post are copyrighted Suvankar Sen. Their reproduction, even in part, is forbidden without the explicit approval of the rightful owners.

To take God’s name & die in Varanasi – this is interpreted by Hindus in India as liberation of the soul, release from constant cycle of rebirth and reach the ultimate destination called “Moksha”. Kashi Labh MUKTI BHAVAN (“liberation house”) is one such place in Varanasi where people check-in to die because they believe dying a good death in Varanasi forgives bad karma (culmination of deeds).

People from all across India, from diverse cultures of Hinduism come to this sacred hospice with their loved ones to celebrate their death, rather their “Mukti” (release of soul). Every moment after checking in to this hospice, they pray to God for death, they start counting the days. They all want the death to happen as soon as possible so that the remains of the body can be offered to River Ganga in Varanasi and soul will get holy escape from rebirth cycle. All the boarders have pious last 15 days of their lives to stay in this Bhavan which would lead them to the doors of heaven. Otherwise they have to return back to their home, the stairway to heaven would be closed down forever.

“While the rest of the world celebrates a new life when a child is born, similarly we celebrate death,” said Bhairav Nath Shukla, the manager of 12 room free hospice MuktiBhawan, opening death register of last 100+ years of this hospice where more than 15000 names are listed who have died here. He believes that people are not dying here, otherwise it would be a haunted house. It is the last stop for them before the salvation from the cycle of reincarnation.

About Debiprasad Mukherjee

Debiprasad is an Indian freelance documentary photographer based out of Kolkata, India. He strongly believes that as a documentary photographer, it is his responsibility to showcase the social changes and its impact on human race and he is committed to leverage photography as the most powerful tool to capture the social changes & behaviors across the globe over the years. His photographic vision is not only to depict social, political and financial issues & conflicts but also to portray surreal beauty and the enduring power of the human spirit. That is why, while photographing Debi always asks himself what changes his photos can bring to the lives of his “subjects” suffering in the darkest corners of the world.

He is a winner of Neutral Density Photography Gold Star Award, Nikon India ‎PowerYourClicks‬ Photography Contest, Monochrome Awards, United Photographers International Gold Medal, Fotoforum Award Menschen Germany, International Union of Photographers Jury’s Choice Gold Medal Hong Kong, International Association of Art Photographers Gold Medal, Photographic Society of Singapore Gold Medal, Czech Federation of Art Photography Silver Medal, Runner-up in InterAction (alliance organization in Washington, D.C. of NGOs) 14th Annual Photo Contest for “Women Empowerment”, Photographic Society of America Gold Medal, Fédération Internationale de l’Art Photographique Gold Medal, Finalist of HIPA Award, and many more from Ireland, Serbia, US, Singapore, UK, Argentina, Germany, Czech Republic, Croatia, Hong Kong, Ukrain, Slovenia, Bulgaria, Romania, Turkey, Armenia, Kyrgyzstan, Bosnia and Herzegovina & India.‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬

His photographs have been published in many international magazines/websites e.g. Vogue Italia, National Geographic, F-Stop (USA), Fotoforum (Germany), Rammajamma Images (Australia), Society of International Travel & Tourism Photographers (UK), The Telegraph, Life Force Magazine (UK), Dodho Magazine (Spain), Positive Magazine (Germany), Social Documentary Network, Private Photo Review, ViewFind (USA), Edge of Humanity, Monovisions, World Street Photography etc.

Debiprasad’s photographs were exhibited in several exhibitions globally e.g. International Exhibition of Art & Photography at Alliance Française, Indo-French Cultural Center, New Delhi, Slovenia International Photographic Exhibition, Plovdiv International Photo Festival Bulgaria, The Search for Economic Justice Exhibition at University of Wisconsin La Crosse Murphy library USA, Photography Group Exhibition “Portraiture” Serbia, PONDY-ART 2016 – DRIVING FORCE Photography Exhibition, Pondicherry, India, Asian University for Women Bangladesh, Instagram First Ever Photography Exhibition in India, Spring Photo Festival Bardaf Slovakia etc.

Debiprasad is associated with many non-profit social organizations/NGOs like Consortium for Street Children (UK), Child in Need Institute (UK/IND), InterAction (USA) etc.

You can find Debiprasad Mukherjee on the web:

• Website
• Facebook

Copyrights:
All the pictures in this post are copyrighted Debiprasad Mukherjee. Their reproduction, even in part, is forbidden without the explicit approval of the rightful owners.

Faith is not about belief. Faith in fact has very little to do with what beliefs you hold, other than that it allows you to hold them. Faith is a sacred, deep, emotionally involved kind of trust. Faith is the kind of trust that you enter into with your whole being. Faith is the kind of trust that, when it has been broken, it hurts deep inside… but faith is the kind of trust that finds a way to trust again despite the hurt.

We are all people of Faith. Faith is a basic aspect of human nature. We live in a universe that is so awe inspiring, so infinite, so grandly complicated that all of human knowledge amounts to only a tiny fraction of reality. Indeed, much of human perception about reality is pure construct… because the whole of infinity cannot be understood by finite human minds.

A Religious Faith is not a collection of people who share beliefs, but a community of people who have made the commitment to trust one another to care for each other’s spirits and souls, and who join together for a Faith filled purpose.

Blind Faith is a trust that is not examined, not understood, and of which requires only body and soul, neglecting the mind and the spirit.

Pure Faith is the kind of trust that you hold even when your rational mind says you should not. This is a two edged sword, because at times the ability to hold a pure Faith is a blessing, at other times it is simply Blind Faith in disguise.

About Nilanjan Ray

NILANJAN RAY (b. 1959) has a handful of exposed stock on “HUMAN INTEREST” and keeps stock of other people’s money in a Bank since it is his profession.

Has received wide appreciation Internationally as well as Nationally. Has received Merit Prize from National Geographic, USA & National Award from Photo Division, Govt. of India.

Solo Photography Exhibition on ‘VARANASI – AN ETERNAL CITY’ organized by OXFORD BOOKSTORE, Kolkata, NATIONAL CENTRE FOR PERFORMING ARTS, (NCPA), Mumbai and INDIA INTERNATIONAL CENTRE (IIC), New Delhi.

Solo Photography Exhibition on “FAITH – A QUAINT EMOTIONS” was organized by INDIA INTERNATIONAL CENTER, NEW DELHI from 29th Novemvber,2016 to 9th December,2016.

Other than above, my photographs are selected for exhibition at British Council, UNICEF, ACADEMY OF FINE ARTS, Calcutta, LALIT KALA ACADEMY, New Delhi etc.

Photographs are also selected for a Book” Framed City” – published at Indian Art Festival, New Delhi.
Photographs are also selected for a Book “INDIA- 5 Senses “by Roli Books.

Photographs & Articles are published regularly in leading daily Newspapers and Magazines.

Received letter of appreciation from Maitre Henri Cartier-Bresson. Paris.

You can find Nilanjan Ray on the Web :

• Facebook

Copyrights:
All the pictures in this post are copyrighted Nilanjan Ray. Their reproduction, even in part, is forbidden without the explicit approval of the rightful owners.

Some time, in between light and dark, day and night, dusk and dawn, lies an hour of serendipity when the world lies half asleep, like a snoozing monster waiting thirstily for dawn. There is a certain kind of surreal peace in the environment,as the city hides in disguise of serenity, before it has to wake up and look strenuously alive for no reason at all.

A sultry silence envelopes our otherwise boisterous metropolitan.Just before the hustle bustle of daily business, a carefully hidden gem of monochromatic soliloquy.

About Kanishka Mukherji

I am Kanishka Mukherji. I did my Masters in Marine Science holding a First Class 2nd rank. Presently I am working in State Bank of India. I started doing photography just 2 and a half years back with a Canon SX 160, point and shoot camera. Few months later this hobby turned into a passion. My current gear includes Nikon D5100, a Nikkor 18-105mm lens, and a Nikkor 35 mm 1.8g lens.

According to me, a photograph is a bridge between the subject and the viewer. A photograph should compel the viewers to think and be one with the subject. Each photograph should should tell a story and give a jerk to the thought process of the viewers. Despite my busy work schedule I manage to take some time out to sneak into the world and bring out the untold stories from the life of people.

Life is a quintessential element of my photography because they say, “it is more important to click with people than to click the shutter”.

You can find Kanishka Mukherji on the Web :

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Copyrights:
All the pictures in this post are copyrighted Kanishka Mukherji. Their reproduction, even in part, is forbidden without the explicit approval of the rightful owners.

As a wedding photographer, I have seen that weddings are synonymous to Bollywood now a days. Big fat Indian wedding. Larger than life. When I got the chance to shoot this wedding, set in village near Indo-Bangladesh border somehow my inner self provoked me to shoot something different. While travelling to the destination I thought of making a travel story rather than a wedding album. Simple people. Warm and hearty welcome. The arrangements done by locales not involving any event management (not even caterer for the food). The ambiance was perfect.

This wedding is quite different from other Bengali weddings. The Snake Goddess Manasa is worshipped widely which is very much understandable from the fact that the area is full of rivers, water bodies and greenery that lead to availability of snakes. The wedding rituals have a special emphasis on Manasa Puja.

That’s how I shot one of my favorite weddings till date.

About Madhabendu Hensh

I, Madhabendu Hensh, belong to the league of photographers who quit their engineering career.

As I was born and brought up in a quintessential lower middle class small town (Bankura) Begali family, I never thought of being a photographer. But somehow my subconscious mind nurtured my desire of not doing a nine to five regular job. As an adolescent kid I was very fond of movies, from dancing Govinda to serious Satyajit Ray. After school, I joined Jadavpur University for my Engg. JU was like a whole new world, an eye opener in a word. Since I was not brought up in lavish ambiance I didn’t have that scope to inherit any hobby like music or painting. JU helped me to acquire those gaps.

Photography, music , movies, friends of various background. A window for fresh air. After graduation I joined a renowned IT company in Kolkata. While doing the job I started thinking of photography seriously in 2010. The weekends became more hectic for the photowalks. I became friends with various photographers from Kolkata and other cities whom I would love to consider as my teachers. From 2012 I started wedding photography and in 2014 after a lot of emotional atyachar I quit my job and became a full time photographer. So that’s my journey.

I’m a wedding photographer based in Kolkata. Travel photography is like oxygen for me. Still in the process of learning new things every day.

You can find Madhabendu Hensh on the Web:

• Facebook Profile
• FB Page (Travel)
• Flickr
• Instagram

Copyrights:
All the pictures in this post are copyrighted Madhabendu Hensh. Their reproduction, even in part, is forbidden without the explicit approval of the rightful owners.

Education plays a very important role in building a strong foundation of our society. India being first as under developed country and now as developing country, keep a strong focus on education system. Apart from the general education system, Government put a special emphasis on adult and child education system. Still the entire system couldn’t achieve the desire result. The main threatening is the poverty. The poverty line in India, is still around 22%, and this lead to the major issue like child labour.

Hence, Government put a major focus on this issue and not only trying to build up schools in each and every block or village, also trying to generate interest on education through block development projects. Already mid-day meal has started by the government for students, especially in the villages and economically backward areas, free of cost, so the school going children can get their desire food, without affecting the cost of their family. Now people are sending their children to school for education. As a result, the countries social foundation is building up with knowledge and good values.

About Ranita Roy

I always wanted to live A CREATIVE LIFE. Born and brought up in Andul, a small town under Howrah District in West Bengal, India, grew up with a great interest in Art. My goal is to show the different moments and moods of life. I focus on place with regular people in exaggerated situations that highlight an aspect of who they are. I look for a sense of defiance and fortitude in my work. Above all, I photograph to reproduce the feeling of the moment.

You can find Ranita Roy on the Web :

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Copyrights:
All the pictures in this post are copyrighted Ranita Roy. Their reproduction, even in part, is forbidden without the explicit approval of the rightful owners.

In spite of all business in life something imaginations and intuition always works in our mind simultaneously. When I pour My-self in shooting then this imaginations and intuitions work on my mind and heart also. All pictures have a words but few of them have thousands words, when instant intuition and stored imagination on mind connect with each other, I think then only a image can say a story, This is my feelings only !. In my every picture, I wanted to show different types of feelings of different people surrounding me and to show social and economic life of my home town Siliguri and its adjacent area through my Street and Documentary Photography.

About Arup Biswas

I am a Passionate Street and Travel Photographer from Siliguri, West Bengal. A Computer Teacher by profession. My interest in photography developed at very small age while toying around with a small film camera and Compact Digital Camera. I bought my First DSLR Camera in 2010 and started taking picture on street and different type of Landscape. Unaware of the concept of photography. I am a self taught photographer. I worked on my skills through images of famous photographers in street and travel photography genre.

I strongly believes that an image is a success when the viewer can connect with the subject in the photograph. I like capturing people in their natural behaviour and surrounding beauty and thinks that every situation has a story to tell. I am to show reality on my image as well as natural occurrences on street.

Some of my memorable achievements was winning some POTD , some publications in Smart Photography Magazine, Asian Photography, I have also received good placements and reviews in some competitions and my work has been published in various print and online magazines and blogs. I am also a contributor to Getty Images. But as a great success I consider recognition of people in social networks that follow and appreciate my work regular. Though a teacher by profession, I will always be a student when it comes to photography.

You can find Arup Biswas on the Web :

• Flickr
• Facebook

Copyrights:
All the pictures in this post are copyrighted Arup Biswas. Their reproduction, even in part, is forbidden without the explicit approval of the rightful owners.

Everything in this world is fleeting. People, events and problems come and go. We are apt to get wrapped up in the small problems of our daily life. Yet, it sometimes is helpful to remember a sense of perspective. Some trees are 500 years old, how many things have come and gone in that time? Empires have risen, fallen and new countries emerge. Sometimes, in this world, falsehood triumphs for a period of time, but every tyrant has eventually fallen. The tree remains constant, in the fleeing life. As Sri Chinmoy says:

“O tall tree,
You remind me
That everything on earth
Is astonishingly temporal.

About Nilanjan Ray

NILANJAN RAY (b. 1959) has a handful of exposed stock on “HUMAN INTEREST” and keeps stock of other people’s money in a Bank since it is his profession.

Has received wide appreciation Internationally as well as Nationally. Has received Merit Prize from National Geographic, USA & National Award from Photo Division, Govt. of India.

Solo Photography Exhibition on ‘VARANASI – AN ETERNAL CITY’ organized by OXFORD BOOKSTORE, Kolkata, NATIONAL CENTRE FOR PERFORMING ARTS, (NCPA), Mumbai and INDIA INTERNATIONAL CENTRE (IIC), New Delhi.

Solo Photography Exhibition on “FAITH – A QUAINT EMOTIONS” was organized by INDIA INTERNATIONAL CENTER, NEW DELHI from 29th Novemvber,2016 to 9th December,2016.

Other than above, my photographs are selected for exhibition at British Council, UNICEF, ACADEMY OF FINE ARTS, Calcutta, LALIT KALA ACADEMY, New Delhi etc.

Photographs are also selected for a Book” Framed City” – published at Indian Art Festival, New Delhi.
Photographs are also selected for a Book “INDIA- 5 Senses “by Roli Books.

Photographs & Articles are published regularly in leading daily Newspapers and Magazines.

Received letter of appreciation from Maitre Henri Cartier-Bresson. Paris.

You can find Nilanjan Ray on the Web :

• Facebook

Copyrights:
All the pictures in this post are copyrighted Nilanjan Ray. Their reproduction, even in part, is forbidden without the explicit approval of the rightful owners.