In the memory of Rajendra Shaw

A memorial lecture in the name of eminent photographer from Hyderabad, Rajendra Shaw, was organised by his wife and professor, Osmania University, Padmaja Shaw on October 26 at Plaza Hotel in Hyderabad. Rajendra Shaw known for his pictures capturing the rural milieu of India, died on May 24, this year, while he was working on a documentary for the National Dairy Development Board in Lucknow.

The memorial started with his close friends Dylan Theodore and Stanley Mukkath, sharing their memories. They remembered him for his passion towards photography, his vision and his connect with the rural people and their lives and how he wanted to bring their problems to forefront through his pictures. Editor of Photography, National Geographic traveler, Chirodeep Chaudhuri delivered the lecture on ‘Photographing Technology’, during the occasion. Known for his extensive chronicling of Mumbai, Chirodeep’s work has often used the metaphor of technology to document his environment and dealt with social aspects of technology – on how we adapt to it and how it shapes us and our behaviour. In his two-decade career he has worn many hats – starting out in advertising as a visualiser, then a photojournalist, and then again as an Editor of Photography. His latest work is the critically feted book ‘A Village In Bengal: Photographs and an Essay”, a result of a 13-year-long engagement with his ancestral village in West Bengal and his family’s century-and-a-half-old tradition of the Durga Puja

It was interesting to look at his pictures of typewriters and he said that while the original project was on how a typewriter vanished from amidst us; it ended with pictures of a typewriting artist, who takes great pride in showcasing his skill; a young enthusiast who managed to submit his project despite a power cut – thanks to his typewriter, a manufacturing unit and even a technician who has his roof designed like the keyboard of a typewriter, amongst others. He then showed his Mumbai series - Bombay Clocks”, where he took pictures of the clocks that made him wonder why they had the clocks on buildings, after all. The old buildings that belonged to the early and late 18th century, with clocks on it, were probably meant for people to check time, for, in those days not everyone could have afforded a watch. This was one amongst the many deductions that Chirodeep’s pictures allowed one to make, about the way of life, and why the people lived the way they lived. His other series –showcasing the side business of Mumbaiwalas – The One-Rupee Entrepreneur” – showed various nooks and corners that turned into makeshift telephone booths with the not to be missed, red coloured one rupee telephone boxes. He ended his talk with a series that he had done on the new age photographers that have emerged with the advent of digital technology. His pictures, in addition to being thought provoking, also brought a smile to the face, with images of daily life that we may have seen before, but never paused to ponder over.