VISUAL DOCUMENTARY: The photo exhibition tracing the journey of Indian women from 1875 to 1947 evoked a good response in Mysore. — PHOTO: M.A. SRIRAM

MYSORE: It is a visual documentary representing the transformation of Indian women during epoch-making era of 1875-1947, which was the period that witnessed the country transform itself from a colony of the British to an independent nation.

The two-day photo exhibition organised by the Centre for Women's Development Studies was inaugurated on Tuesday at the Regional Institute of Education at Manasagangotri.

According to the organisers, the visual documentary based on archival photographs is treated not only as moments frozen in time but also as aids to understand the country's multifaceted history.

Hazy images

Celebrate the individual in studio cameos or reach out to the face in the Mahatma Gandhi's meetings or get a glimpse of the early graduate clutching her degree scroll with a new-found self-assurance... the photographs are as varied as the country's kaleidoscope of history.

The photographs portray and trace the journey of Indian women through a certain perspective as not all aspects of the subject have been treated in the past and hence the organisers had to do with what was available. But yet the collection is varied and provides a glimpse of the era that was trailblazing in its impact.

While some of the photographs may not create the impression, it is pertinent to bear in mind that the objective is to focus and trace the journey of Indian women using a range of visuals of varying quality, size and provenance with the photographers being either reputed or merely enthusiastic amateurs.

As the organisers have explained, the viewers may at times wonder at the yet another hazy image, muse at the half-lost smile of an unknown face but the larger objective of the expo is to help envision the history of Indian women during the era.

The display has been classified under five sections that include visualising the family; the learning experience, world beyond, the national movement and towards the midnight hour.

Additional panels

There are additional panels on Pandita Ramabai, well-known social reformer and two early women photographers - Debaleena Mazumdar and Annapurna Dutta — Dwarkabai Kamlakar, a doctor, and Sarah Massey, a schoolteacher.

The exhibition is travelling across the country and is based on the original display that was held in 2001 and has some valuable additions.

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