The Life And Works Of Prabuddha Dasgupta

Ted Grant once said that “When you photograph people in colour, you photograph their clothes. But when you photograph people in Black and white, you photograph their souls!” Prabuddha Dasgupta was one among such photographers who was exceptionally successful in achieving this phenomenon. Dasgupta, known for his iconic black and white imagery, has created a variety of works ranging from fashion to landscapes to personal.

The National Gallery of Modern Art (NGMA) , New Delhi recently paid homage to the maestro through a retrospective titled: “Prabuddha Dasgupta: A Journey” in Jaipur House. His father, noted sculptor Pradosh Dasgupta, served as curator in NGMA for several years and it was where Prabuddha spent most of his childhood. His 'journey'

His photos manifests the complexity and layered dimensions of female nude form. They look more like a study of the female body that abstracts the subject beyond mere eroticism, yet capable of arousing a sense of rhythm. The “Ladakh” collection brings together images of a bewildering contour and its residents who have made this harsh terrain their home. In “Edge of Faith “series, he affectionately describes the life of Goa’s Catholic community. His photos looks similar to family albums that gives an inside picture of people’s homes and brings his subjects in a close contact with the viewer. A particular photo from the series is thoroughly striking; which puts before us, a man in dark cloak facing standing before the holy cross and Goan people gathered around them. It tells the story of people caught up between their colonial Portuguese past and multicultural Indian present. It also leaves traces of Dasgupta’s skepticism towards the future of

His photographs for leading fashion brands like Blue Lagoon, Savio Jon, and Vama are reflective of that. In his work for Louis Vuitton, Delhi makes a small appearance. This beautiful picture has got pigeons sitting on top of a parapet and on an expensive-looking handbag, with the Jama Masjid in the background. Here he demands the viewer to look beyond the stereotypical approach with which he usually sees advertisement photography. His works implicates his unique and creative style which blurs the line between commercial and art photography. The commissioned photos, a few of them in colour are part of the show as well, but they blur in front of Dasgupta’s monochromic works. Dasgupta then presents the scenery of “Hampi”, a World Heritage Site in Karnataka, in a way we are unaccustomed to. A viewer will come across a wide range of subjects in Dasgupta’s oeuvre - from commoners of Goa and Ladakh to good-looking models and to writer Ruskin Bond or artist Paritosh Sen. “Photography, for me, is not about itself. It’s about everything else. It’s about who we are, our experiences, our influences, our connections with people, with things, with music, with family, with life, with everything. I like the idea that my life can be not just one thing, but it can be many things,” the wall text at the show quotes Dasgupta. This exhibition also works in this direction, not projecting him only as