The Hindu : Opinion / Letters to the Editor : Cartier-Bresson

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Monday, Aug 09, 2004

Opinion

Opinion - Letters to the Editor

Cartier-Bresson

Sir, — The eminent writer R.K. Narayan was one of the few Indians fortunate to meet the late Henri Cartier-Bresson. During a visit to the United States, Cartier-Bresson explained to Narayan the philosophy behind his photography thus:

"The camera is a limited instrument. It is the photographer who makes it a living medium. He should watch his subject, and take it. Composition is a sense of geometry actually; the quality of life and its expression must be caught accurately.

"Facial expressions are things like clouds which float by. They change from moment to moment and are gone before you know it. You can never say, smile again, please; it can never be done. Human expression is fluid, ever-changing, evanescent. For instance, your expression as you say, `Is that so?' can never be repeated, or be the same again. I don't know how to say it. But I'm looking for a photographer, who doesn't imitate the West, but has an Indian quality."

These words offer an insight into the personality of Cartier-Bresson, one of the France's finest gifts to the world in the 20th century.

T.S. Pattabhiraman,
Coimbatore, T.N.

* * *

Sir, — The late Satyajit Ray in his early memoirs wrote: "I was familiar with the camera, possessing a second hand Leica. And paying homage to a photographer I considered to be greatest of them all — Henri Cartier-Bresson — I wanted my film Pather Panchaali to look as if it was shot with available light a la Cartier-Bresson."

Anver Hameed,
Kochi, Kerala

Sir, — I am sure that, like me, lakhs of readers would have seen for the first time the black and white photograph of Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru announcing the death of Mahatma Gandhi.

Aravind Rajesh,
Chennai

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