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Exhibition of Gandhi's rare images kicks off in Ankara
Anadolu Agency
Archival negatives of Mahatma Gandhi's photos lost for decades, then found in 2008: Indian ambassador to Turkey
Jeyhun Aliyev |22.11.2019
ANKARA
A photo exhibition of rare archival photographs of Mahatma Gandhi, an internationally renowned Indian pacifist independence leader, kicked off Friday in the capital Ankara, and is scheduled to continue until Nov. 29.
The exhibition showcased diverse photos taken by Kulwant Roy, one of the first freelance photojournalists who worked from the pre-independence to post-independence era of modern India.
It was organized by the Photographic Arts Federation of Turkey with the support and cooperation of Indian embassy to Turkey and under the auspices of the International Federation of Photographic Art.
The event, devoted to the 150th birth anniversary of Gandhi, displayed some 40 of the rarest negatives and prints of special life moments of the leader, which were selected from a collection of photos taken in 1930-1960.
India's Ambassador to Turkey Sanjay Bhattacharyya told Anadolu Agency that the exhibition is "very unique" since the negatives were taken with "a very large camera with a plate behind" during times when the modern cameras were not prevalent.
Bhattacharyya said some of the images were damaged during a long period of time and have later been either partially or fully restored.
The envoy said Gandhi was "a very simple person who could easily associate with the masses," adding that he was also a "great leader" of the nation.
The pictures were lost for many years after the demise of Roy in the mid-1980s, while his negatives were found in a suitcase only in 2008, he added.
Over 200 rare images of Gandhi, found in a suitcase, were first shown in an exhibition in Paris in 2018, he reminded.
Indian ambassador also said that around 40 archival pictures were premiered at the Turkey's National Library earlier this year, and also exhibited in various universities across the country.
During the exhibition, Bhattacharyya explained the historical background of each photo displayed at the event.
The envoy also shared some interesting facts about the "father of the Indian nation". Gandhi preferred the cheapest "third class" train transportation while traveling in his country, which, according to Bhattacharyya, was for "being close to the people."
The negatives were obtained from India Photo Archive Foundation, while Indian photographer Aditya Arya worked on documenting, preserving, restoring and archiving Roy’s visual treasures, which included many unpublished pictures of a momentous era in India's history.
Gandhi, a moral compass for generations of Indians, was born on Oct. 2, 1869, and is known as a pacifist leader of the Indian independence movement against the British rule.
Earlier in October, the Indian Embassy in Ankara marked the 150th birth anniversary of the Indian leader.
In 2007, the UN declared Oct. 2 as the International Day of Non-Violence.
Diplomatic Observer- 22.11.2019
"RARE ARCHIVAL PHOTOGRAPHS OF GANDHI IN HIS 150th YEAR" EXHIBITION
NewsCenter -TDO-The “Rare Archival Photographs of Gandhi in His 150th Year” Exhibition hosted by the International Federation of photography and the Embassy of India consequence of the 150th anniversary of the birth of Mahatma Gandhi, leader of the independence movementwas opened at the art gallery of “Photographic Arts Federation of Turkey.
Sanjay Bhattacharyya, India’s Ambassador to Turkey, Hüseyin Sar?, FIAB Exhibition Hall Manager, Murat Bekyürek, board member of TFSF (Photographic Arts Federation of Turkey), and invited guests attended to the opening ceremony.
Ambassador Bhattacharyya informed the invitees about the historical meanings of the photographs, whose negatives were taken from the foundation of India Photographic Archive.
"Gandhi, who favours peace and Justice, smiled at those who came to him without saying women, old and children," said Ambassador Bhattacharyya, noting that Gandhi's unique squares were included in the exhibition.
Bhattacharyya said that photographs of Gandhi's train travels in cheap compartments to different countries with his goat were also included in the exhibition.
An exhibition of photographs by Kulwant Roy, one of the first freelance photojournalists working in Modern India's pre-and post-independence periods, from the 1930s to the 1960s was presented to art lovers.
In the process of documenting, preserving, repairing and archiving Kulwant Roy's visual treasures, curator Aditya Arya has discovered an invaluable visual archive containing many unpublished photographs of a crucial period in Indian history.
The exhibition can be visited at the Turkish photography Federation Art Gallery until the November 29th.
YeniSafak- November 23, 2019
Exhibition of Gandhi's rare images kicks off in Ankara
Archival negatives of Mahatma Gandhi's photos lost for decades, then found in 2008: Indian ambassador to Turkey
News Service11:17 November 23, 2019AA
Exhibition of Gandhi's rare images kicks off in Ankara
Photograph: Muhammed SelimKorkutata
A photo exhibition of rare archival photographs of Mahatma Gandhi, an internationally renowned Indian pacifist independence leader, kicked off Friday in the capital Ankara, and is scheduled to continue until Nov. 29.
The exhibition showcased diverse photos taken by Kulwant Roy, one of the first freelance photojournalists who worked from the pre-independence to post-independence era of modern India.
It was organized by the Photographic Arts Federation of Turkey with the support and cooperation of Indian embassy to Turkey and under the auspices of the International Federation of Photographic Art.
The event, devoted to the 150th birth anniversary of Gandhi, displayed some 40 of the rarest negatives and prints of special life moments of the leader, which were selected from a collection of photos taken in 1930-1960.
India's Ambassador to Turkey Sanjay Bhattacharyya told Anadolu Agency that the exhibition is "very unique" since the negatives were taken with "a very large camera with a plate behind" during times when the modern cameras were not prevalent.
Bhattacharyya said some of the images were damaged during a long period of time and have later been either partially or fully restored.
The envoy said Gandhi was "a very simple person who could easily associate with the masses," adding that he was also a "great leader" of the nation.
The pictures were lost for many years after the demise of Roy in the mid-1980s, while his negatives were found in a suitcase only in 2008, he added.
Over 200 rare images of Gandhi, found in a suitcase, were first shown in an exhibition in Paris in 2018, he reminded.
Indian ambassador also said that around 40 archival pictures were premiered at the Turkey's National Library earlier this year, and also exhibited in various universities across the country.
During the exhibition, Bhattacharyya explained the historical background of each photo displayed at the event.
The envoy also shared some interesting facts about the "father of the Indian nation". Gandhi preferred the cheapest "third class" train transportation while traveling in his country, which, according to Bhattacharyya, was for "being close to the people."
The negatives were obtained from India Photo Archive Foundation, while Indian photographer Aditya Arya worked on documenting, preserving, restoring and archiving Roy’s visual treasures, which included many unpublished pictures of a momentous era in India's history.
Gandhi, a moral compass for generations of Indians, was born on Oct. 2, 1869, and is known as a pacifist leader of the Indian independence movement against the British rule.
Earlier in October, the Indian Embassy in Ankara marked the 150th birth anniversary of the Indian leader.
In 2007, the UN declared Oct. 2 as the International Day of Non-Violence.
Gandhi commemorated on 150th anniversary with rare photo archives
DAILY SABAH
ANKARA
Published24.11.201915:09
Updated24.11.201915:10
IMG-3326
The photos of Indian independence leader Mahatma Gandhi taken by Kulwant Roy, one of the first freelance photojournalists, who worked through the pre and post-independence era of modern India, were exhibited on Friday in Ankara, letting the people walk through history. The rare archival photos exhibition was prepared in collaboration with the Photographic Arts Federation of Turkey (TFSF) and the Embassy of India.
"One thing we really loved about Gandhi was his smile and how he would always make a personal connection with everyone – man, woman, whoever it was," the Indian Ambassador to Turkey Sanjay Bhattacharyya stated.
The exhibition displaying the 40 rarest negatives and prints of Gandhi, some of which were restored, have been curated by eminent Indian photographer Aditya Arya. These are from the collection of photographs taken from the 1930's to 1960's.
Commemorating the leader, Bhattacharyya explained a photo where Gandhi was getting off a third class train wagon "I want to share the stories of Gandhi's travels across the country because he would travel a lot, in those days he would travel by train. Gandhi would always travel third class, because it was the cheapest. In addition to followers that would come with him, he would often have a couple of goats with him because he loved to drink their milk."
Born in 1914 in the village of Bagli Kalan, Ludhiana district of Punjab of undivided India, Kulwant Roy began recording the activities of the Indian National Congress as a young man. Back then, photography was an arduous task and thus there were very few photographers. For a photographer to survive he has to sell his photographs, but there were hardly any publications at the time. That's why this genre of journalism was very limited.
Over his career, he shot numerous photos of the heroes of the Indian freedom struggle movement, including Mahatma Gandhi, Jawaharlal Nehru, Sardar Patel. His camera captured some these leaders at close proximity, while they charted the course of a new India. For a long time, Kulwant Roy's work was lost to obscurity. Only of late, through retrospectives, has he received due appreciation as one of most exuberant and prolific visual chroniclers of 20th century Indian history.
