India: A
Celebration of Independence features exquisite black-and-white duotone as well
as four-color reproductions of the work of twenty-three photographers.
Opening with the
work of the great Indian photojournalist Sunil Janah, who witnessed and
chronicled the fitful birth of India's democracy, the book also features
powerful images by Henri Cartier-Bresson, taken during his numerous visits to
India, a country he calls "a haven of the heart."
Also included are a
number of breathtaking images by Sebastião Salgado, who has produced indelible
photographic tableaux of the Indian working communities. Embracing many regions
and people from all walks of life, the compelling photographs by Raghu Rai
represent a convergence of the traditional with the modern, and exhibit his
love and profound understanding of his native India.
Among the most
prominent younger Indian photographers is Dayanita Singh, whose intimate black-and-white
images reveal a keen awareness of a changing cultural identity in her country.
Pamela Singh's work compares some of the traditional and new roles available
now to women in India.
Mary Ellen Mark's
portraits of Indian children and street scenes, in both color and
black-and-white, provide another inside look at the country's people. Robert
Nickelsberg, a resident of New Delhi, focuses on India's recent social and
political conflicts, while Charles Lindsay's black-and-white panoramas
represent a stiller, more poetic side of the nation's character.
We travel with
Mitch Epstein into the courtyards of New Delhi and Jaipur, and to the
meditative garden of poet Rabindranath Tagore with Rosalind Solomon. Thomas L.
Kelly guides us to the stunning Rashtrapati Bhavan, ablaze with lights for
Republic of India Day.
William Gedney's
black-and-white photographs capture the unique rhythm of the Indian street.
Steve McCurry has lived and worked for many years in India, developing a
personal and comprehensive body of color work, which is represented here.
Both Alex Webb and
Ketaki Sheth examine icons of India's so-called "Bollywood,"
countered by Sanjeev Saith's color images, which discover quiet moments of
contemplation. Also featured is a study of Rajasthan's "Children's
Parliament" by Italian photographer Dario Mitidieri.
Finally, the
elegant black-and-white images of Swapan Parekh provide an echo of the past as
it meets with the present. Altogether, the work of this "new
generation" of photographers attests that India-- a country virtually
defined by its many traditions-- is today undergoing an epoch of profound
change.
The compendium of
images in India: A Celebration of Independence, 1947 to 1997 provides an
invaluable and unprecedented photographic record of this country and the
changes it has undergone over the past half century.
