“These seem from Europe,” a young man was seen whispering to his friend pointing to a captivating nature photograph at Palm Court, India Habitat Centre, on Monday. The friend said, “No, I think these are shots from America… we get such beauty only in foreign countries…”
Little did they know that the pictures that are part of the show called “Tryst with Divinity”, were from different hilly locales in India. These mesmerising pictures have been clicked by Delhi Metro Rail Corporation Director (Operations) Sharat Kumar. This is his first and solo exhibition in the Capital and has been curated by Kamal Nayini.
The show offers a sneak peek into Kumar’s passionate three decades journey in which he captured the various moods of the scenic landscapes of the country through the lens. It is a narrative that travels from the scenic splendour of the Himalayas spreading from Leh-Ladakh and Kashmir in the North to Gangtok and other parts of the Northeast and then captures the beauty of Kanyakumari, Mahabalipuram and Mysore in the South.
On display are 37 photographs, apart from five pictures done in multimedia – glass, canvas, tiles with 3D effect and of monuments, especially the Taj Mahal.
The “amateur photographer”, as Kumar refers to himself, comes from “a humble background”. “I did my engineering from Aligarh Muslim University in 1979. Earlier, photography was only a dream for me as it is an expensive hobby. So I managed my studies by tuitions and topped the university, and joined Railways because I was fond of travelling. I bought my first camera in 1983. After I joined DMRC, the on-ground operations of taking care of everything from security, cleanliness to parking – meant serving 27 lakh people every day. Serving the city and the nation has filled me with a sense of gratitude to God,” said the 58-year-old.
Spiritually-inclined, he mediates, does yoga, pranayam and then ventures up the hills some as high as 19,000 feet above sea level to shoot pictures in extreme conditions. “I would go to shoot pictures in intense weather when others would fall asleep exhausted. I have explored the beautiful reflections on Ladakh’s lake from 16,000 feet -- the frozen lakes, the landslides, the sunset and sun rise in the wee hours or early evening, and so on.”
“Once, the breeze in Leh was exceedingly strong. As soon as I started taking shots of a frozen lake, the shutter of the camera broke at 18,000 feet; similarly, once due to high wind speed, dust particles entered my rare shots; I realised that one has to have a standby camera of similar capacity if one has to capture the shot in severe weather situations. So, now I carry two cameras.”
Curator Kamal Nayini said “we got the pictures evaluated from stalwarts in photography like Ashok Dilwali, Shankar Shridhar and Rupin Dang. Our aim is to draw people’s attention to the beauty of India, especially those who think there is nothing good to see in the country.”
The show is on till October 31.
