Ah! Delhi
SUNSET AT RASHTRAPATI BHAVAN One of Komala Varadan's pictures mounted at IHC
Sunrise and sunset over Rashtrapati Bhavan, two Hindu monuments inside Qutb Minar, the Old Fort or Purana Quila as it is known, floating on water, a view of India Gate from a water body in its vicinity and many more such photographs are attracting people's attention at the India Habitat Centre.
A look at these pictures only reminds us of the majestic historical legacy of Delhi. And a glimpse of these images makes one feel proud of the city. These captivating pictures are taken by Komala Varadan, well-known dancer who is a painter and a photographer too.
Mounted at Delhi `O' Delhi on the sixth floor, these photographs have been taken over a long period of time.
Says Varadan, a member of the Federation of Indian Photography, "I was initiated into photography by my uncle who was a professional photographer in Mysore some 32 years ago. To learn more about the skill I joined Mysore Photographic Society, an organisation that encourages young photographers. Since then I have been doing photography."
Among the pictures mounted, the one that is drawing people's attention is the sunset over Rashtrapati Bhavan. It took her two months to get this angle. "When I saw the sun by the side of the Bhavan some four years ago, I thought how beautiful will it look if the sun comes just at the top of it. To capture that moment I would keep going there for two months. I took this picture sitting on the road while cars zoomed past me on either side."
Around the globe
Varadan's collection includes Buddhist temples of Thailand, monuments in Cambodia before the war in 1968, Mississippi river from various angles, Bali in Indonesia, Pyramids of Egypt and much more. While clicking these pictures, she experienced strange behaviour of people towards a woman photographer.
"Earlier people wouldn't believe that a woman could run with a camera for a picture. They wouldn't mind if a man did it! Once I went to a studio to get my photographs enlarged. The studio fellow asked, `whose pictures are these?' I said I clicked them. He refused to believe it." Such instances were so common just a few years ago.
"Now with many women photographers exhibiting their works, attitude of people is also changing," says Varadan who has several "national and international exhibitions" to her credit apart from a few awards including `Around the World with PSA' (Photographic Society if America) in 1984.
RANA SIDDIQUI
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