An Analog photography exhibition portraying Rajasthan's culture attracts Jaipurites

As part of the Rajasthan International Centre (RIC) Foundation Day Celebrations, a unique analog photography exhibition, ‘The Song of Light - An Analog Odyssey through Rajasthan’ by Jaipur-based jeweller and acclaimed photographer Sudhir Kasliwal, is being organised. It was inaugurated by the former Envoy to Germany, Indonesia, and Ethiopia, Ambassador Gurjit Singh; former Envoy to the UK, Belgium, and the European Union, Ambassador Gaitiri I Kumar; former Envoy to Kuwait and Former Director General, Indian Council for Cultural Relations (ICCR), Ambassador Satish Mehta and Director of the RIC, Nihal Chand Goel. The 3-day exhibition offers an experiential tour into the lives of the people and culture of Rajasthan. It showcases over 60 film photographs shot over the past 60 years, including some rare Cibachrome prints.

The immersive photo show whisks the viewers to a bygone era to experience the lingering old world charm of Rajasthan, come alive. A master magician behind the camera, Sudhir Kasliwal unearths sights and stories, lost to the sands of time, resurrecting them through these invaluable photographs. The exhibition comes just days after internationally acclaimed photographer Steve McCurry inaugurated Sudhir Kasliwal's Darkroom 2.0. The state-of-the-art Darkroom 2.0 will offer experiences and workshops on the processes of analog photography to photographers and photography enthusiasts.

Internationally renowned for its majestic forts and palaces, Rajasthan has attracted many a photographer eager to capture there relics of a bygone era of pomp and splendour. Sudhir’s photographs are different. Sudhir’s Rajasthan is the Rajasthan of the common folk, and the concerns that move them – a village fair, a woman baking her daily bread, a cow girl lilting homeward. In more senses than one Sudhir breaks away from stereotypes: if there is no enthusiasm to show the glory, there is not attempt to cash in on images of poverty and squalor either. Says Sudhir “My effort is to capture things as they are, may be with a positive touch. Happiness is an attitude of mind and is not necessarily related to one’s material circumstances. People can be happy and they are happy in our country and I want to show the outside world just that”.