Features: Magazine | Literary Review | Life | Metro Plus | Open Page | Education Plus | Book Review | Business | SciTech | Friday Review | Cinema Plus | Young World | Property Plus | Quest | Folio |

LENSVIEW The exhibition captures the moods of the young.

Curated by Arjun Sawhney the exhibition shows the unique side of Dharamshala. But it also delves deeper and exposes its universal nature. Kapur and Singh capture what they are most familiar with; the identity of the youth. A centre for Tibetan Buddhism, Dharamshala is both refuge and place of fervent.

Kapur’s work “In transit” captures the cultural shift and transition from traditional to contemporary life. Travelling in and out of Dharamshala for over a year, she became friends with various youngsters there. Her familiarity allows her to catch them in moments of rest, play and work. In a series of backstage photos she catches two actors awaiting their cues. Devoid of captions, the photo leaves much to the imagination as their expressions could be read as either anticipation or disinterest. Kapur explains her method of work, “These are my observations of their life by getting into their life.”

Kapur has previously explored human identities by juxtaposing mannequins with humans. While previously working with the metaphorical this collection examines the actual. Music is shown as a thread in the fabric of the place. Debate and discussion are central to the pastimes of youngsters. Revolution is part of the routine. A photograph of the flags for a free Tibet makes apparent the thirst for revolution. Kapur says, “I want to observe and look and capture and not question.”

“Red” by Siya Singh is an interesting perspective on the monks of Dharamshala. The photos show that the robe does not insulate these young monks from modern trappings. Football seems to catch their fancy more than meditation. Their garb is uniform but they individualise it with dark glasses. Young monks are caught in cyber cafes, with camera phones and even with side burns! Singh explains the layers of her work, “As the force of modernisation gathers speed, it is increasingly difficult, even in traditional cultures to maintain a staunch belief and trust that the problems of modernity will simply evade these ancient customs.” Shot mainly at McLeod Ganj the photos show that that the identities of monks have to go beyond our stereotype views.

Printer friendly page  
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail