Exhibition highlights modern India sticks to its traditions
By Izabel Deuff
JAKARTA (JP): Unity in diversity, the Indonesian motto of Bhineka Tunggal Ika, is also India's. It could well summarize the week-long Indian Photo Exhibition held at the National Museum.
The exhibition here ends today, but it will tour Medan later this month. It is organized by the Embassy of India as part of the celebration of the 50th year of India's Independence.
Sixty-one photos shot by a score of Indian photographers display a contemporary view of the largest country of the Indian subcontinent.
Some focus on the diversity and the hugeness of landscapes, while the others show the modernity of this historic country which is still cultivating its traditions.
A photo titled Heritage Hotel showing ruins shrouded in fog evokes the unpeaceful meeting of religions. Another photo of a woman praying surrounded by all-religion icons intends to represent the syncretism of religions in India.
The mixture of races and the difficult relationship between Hindus and Moslems often lead to clashes. Yet, India tries to instill democracy. A high angle shot of a polling center testifies to the establishment of Westminster-style democracy. A view of Parliament also gives viewers the remembrance of India as a British colony until 1947.
India's British heritage is noticeably missing from this exhibition. It isn't directly displayed, as if Indians prefer to erase this period of their history, even though we could unearth some traces of this past in India's judicial system or witness it by the overwhelming number of publications in English in the country.
A series of photos representing women stresses the increasing importance of women in Indian society. "Women had a very low status. Now our society changes. We are proud of those women coming up and giving a social momentum," said B.N. Reddy, the second secretary of the Indian Embassy .
Many Indian women have become police officers, doctors and researchers. Women have also played a prominent role in promoting the arts.
This meaningful change in Indian society is one of the social issues tackled by the photographers. They also demonstrate the freedom of expression in India by showing taxi drivers striking and prowomen's rights demonstrations.
Likewise, the willingness to portray India's development is too obvious. A school provided with advanced computers, traffic jams and urbanization in New Delhi. A Maruti car factory, a visit to a satellite model display or a petrochemical plant by night give an idea of how promising is the industrial sector in India.
India tries to enlarge her energetic resources by establishing some wind energy farms and multiplying solar panels in remote areas as shown in two photos.
Some endeavoring to educate people are also presented through street schools or those welcoming liberated child workers.
A great part of the exhibition deals with Indian arts. The photographers chose to promote traditional arts: dancing through the dance academy of Kalasheta and a dance drama called Kathakali, street theater and traditional instrument players.
The contemporary arts have not been forgotten either: the cinema is personified by director Satyajit Ray, and painting is represented by Vasundhara Tiwari, a famous Indian painter, in front of one of her works. Two novelists, one who writes in English (Arundhati Roy) and another in Hindi (Mahashweta Devi), are also pictured.
Modernity seems to be one of the prevailing themes of the exhibition. "This photo could represent the Indian way of life and the new family relationship. It shows that some classes of the population can afford more communication," said B.N. Reddy.
There is also a portrayal of a brand new mirror-windowed building testifying that India can reach a high level of life, but the AIDS campaign in Mumbai, depicted in another frame, shows another side of India.
After the latest nuclear tests, it would have been amazing not to find some evidence of the military power of India. Two photos shed light on this subject. One depicts a military parade and the other an old veteran sporting his decorations on a worn T-shirt.
All the individual shots in the exhibition emanate a pride for their country and joy. But the look of a child worker weaving a carpet is also a sign of another India, one that is excluded from modernity.
If one photo were to summarize India, it would be the following one: in the foreground, it portrays a man leading a camel and surrounded by a few goats in the desert. In the background there is a huge satellite dish which shows how India is still bound to its traditions but yearns for development.