300 Rare Gramophone Recordings Digitised

Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Records, All, Science & Technology

Kolkata :

A rich collection of over 300 rare recordings, including speeches by Mahatma Gandhi, Jawaharlal Nehru and Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose and old classical music have been given a new lease of life through digitisation.

They can now be heard at a new digital sound archive centre at Weavers Studio here, which was thrown open to the public today.

Weavers Studio founder Darshan Shah said “Our primary objective is to preserve these voices of our ancestors and make them easily and electronically available for researchers, musicians, students of music and the public at large. It is unfortunate that many of our rare records are on the verge of destruction and without timely action, these would be lost forever.”

The oeuvre include Nehru’s speech after the Mahatma’s assassination and the original version of the national anthem sung by Gurudev and his students at Shantiniketan.

Other gems which have been digitised include the songs by Gauhar Jan, the country’s first classical singer to record in 1902, besides Hindustani and Carnatic classical music, music by Bengal artists and folk music.

There are also many versions of ‘Vande Mataram’, ‘Ram Dhun’ by Bismillah Khan and voices of Bal Gangadhar Tilak, Tagore, Rajendra Prasad, Vijayalakshmi Pandit, Aga Khan and Sarojini Naidu, among others.

Anyone visiting the studio can listen to the gems of the bygone era through kiosks and guided listening sessions and acquaint themselves through thematic exhibitions.

Shah said the collection would be taken to the youth in schools and colleges, museums and libraries to provide them a new perspective of looking at Indian history through sound and visuals.

Interested visitors to Weavers Studio are given android phones to listen to the records at the click of a button.

Also on display are the original gramophone records and gramophone players.

Some of the old and rare records collected and restored by the studio, which was set up in 1993, include Nicole and Pathe records dating back to 1900-1910 and the arare Beka grand records.

“We sourced the records from collectors and flea markets. This is an ongoing project and so we are still looking for old records,” Shah said.

In the second phase of the project, Weavers Studio would create an online archive where all these recordings would be uploaded on the web.

During 1902 to 1985, over 300,000 records were issued in India and were released under more than 75 different labels and in various formats, said Suresh Chandvankar of the Society of Indian Record Collectors in Mumbai.

They too are working for the preservation, documentation and dissemination of India’s rich cultural heritage in the field of audio and video recordings.

source: http://www.newindianexpress.com / The New Indian Express / Home> Nation / by PTI / September 05th, 2014

Stories on real life – KNOW YOUR NEIGHBOUR: Caesar Bagchi Writer

Arts, Culture & Entertainment
Caesar Bagchi thinks of a plot for his next story. Picture by Anup Bhattacharya
Caesar Bagchi thinks of a plot for his next story. Picture by Anup Bhattacharya

He leaves nothing to imagination. Caesar Bagchi writes real life stories with characters and incidents that exist and have happened. And that makes his novels and stories relevant to his readers. This year, his novel, Thake Sudhu Andhakar, in Saradiya Patrika, is based on a middle class woman’s struggles where he cites real life cases that he has seen or heard. His locations are specific, descriptions vivid, since he actually visits the places where his stories are based.

“I do not like to mention things that do not exist, specially about locations. This helps in giving my story a complete and real feel. Much of the characters in my stories and novels are based on real people. I do not like to take names, but the incidents have taken place around me or have occurred somewhere else and I choose to use them in my writing,” said Caesar.

Since Caesar lives in Bally, most of his stories are in Bally though he has also written about other places. He had once written a story, Shei Dupur, that was published in Desh, based in Dhenkanal in Cuttack, Odisha. “I had gone to watch the shooting of Sandip Ray’s Royal Bengal Rahashya,” said Caesar.

Like most writers, Caesar has had to struggle his way through. He began freelancing as a reporter in a number of media houses at the beginning of his career. “My early life was a struggle because I lost my father when I was only 16. I had to give tuitions and study at the same time. In 1996, I joined a small newspaper called Sonar Bangla as a freelancer and was also studying BA Honours in Bengali,” said Caesar. Studying Bengali after passing out of ISC board was a tough proposition for Caesar. “I wanted to study Bengali because I was used to reading Bengali books at home. I was inspired to study Bengali, mainly by Jibanananda Das whose poetry, Rupasi Bangla, mesmerized me. However, at that time, I was not aware of the syllabus at the honours level for Bengali and it was very difficult,” said Caesar.

The compulsion of earning a livelihood forced Caesar to freelance for eight different media houses at the same time after graduation. After completing a post graduation diploma course in mass communication, he got a job with a Bengali newspaper. Apart from Jibanananda Das’s poetry, Caesar’s favourite writers are Satinath Bhaduri and Ernest Hemmingway. “I have always been surrounded by books and have been reading since I was small because I grew up watching my parents read good literature,” said Caesar.

The turning point in his life came in 2005 when he joined Anandalok. “I improved as a writer and also found inspiration in writing stories. My first story to be published was Reunion, in Desh in 2010 in one of the monthly issues,” said Caesar. This was followed by more short stories in later years like Mukher Araley, Sutopa Boudir Mrityu O Isha, Shei Dupur and Maya. After Desh, Caesar’s short stories were published in other magazines as well. His Bisarjan was published in Sananda in 2012 and Swadhinata Dibas in Sananda Puja Bodhan issue in 2013. The idea of writing a novel had not occurred to Caesar. “I was asked to write a novel for Saradiya issue in 2012 and I wrote Ghare Phera that year. “The plot was based around Section 498A penal code and for that I spoke to people who were victimised by its misuse,” said Caesar. The novel was published in Saradiya Unish Kuri. In 2013, another novel Putul Khela based on domestic violence that was published in Saradiya Unish Kuri again.

Apart from his novels, Caesar had also compiled his short stories into a book, Alo Andhari, that was published in 2012. Although his stories and novels are based on the fast life of modern cities and towns, Caesar hopes to publish stories based on Bengali folk culture. “I travel a lot, specially in remote villages of Bengal to collect information on folk culture in different parts of Bengal,” said Caesar.
_________________________________________________________
MORE ABOUT CAESAR

DOB: December 15,1977

BORN IN: Calcutta

EDUCATION: BA, PG Diploma in Mass Communication

FAMILY: Wife

LOVES: Travelling, reading

HATES: Opportunistic nature

source: http://www.telegraphindia.com / The Telegraph, Calcutta / Front Page> Howrah> Story / Friday – August 29th, 2014

Ganesh thrives, not tradition. Final bastion of old flavour

Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Leaders

MaharashtraMandalKOLKATA02sept2014

Ravindra Rekhade played proxy for his 86-year-old father on the first evening of the Ganesh Chaturthi rituals at Maharashtra Nivas on Hazra Road last Friday.

The orthodontist can’t be sure he will have his son play the same role someday. The young man, who is in his early 20s, has already shifted to Bangalore.

The Ganesh Chaturthi celebration organised by the Maharashtra Mandal is among the oldest in Calcutta, a tradition it has upheld since the 1930s. For Maharashtrians based in the city, the Hazra Road address is still the place to be at this time of the year.

The list of VIP visitors over the past couple of years has included Mamata Banerjee, though it might not be gratifying for her to hear that the footfall is fast decreasing. There are hardly any young faces around at the venue because many have chosen to leave Mamata’s Bengal.

“Forget the Sixties or Seventies, as a child I remember playing cricket here in a large group. There were so many people of my age around then. They have all left,” said Ninad Sagade, 22.

Rekhade’s son is an engineer who studied in Calcutta but went to Bangalore to work. Ninad, whose brother has already shifted base to Pune, is planning to move out after completing his BCom. “All my friends have left. There are few job opportunities in the city,” he rued.

Ninad’s brother Yati works for a software company in Pune and has fond memories of the celebration at Maharashtra Mandal and of Durga Puja in the company of family and friends.

Yati, who left town in 2012, said: “I moved out because there was no opportunity for the kind of work I wanted to do. But I will be back during Durga Puja because I was born and raised in Calcutta. I love the festivity of the four days.”

Subhas Mantri, the 68-year-old president of the Maharashtra Mandal, remembers his college days when there would be at least 30 young men and women at the venue on each evening of the 11-day celebration. “The Ganesh Puja at Maharashtra Nivas had more visitors then. We had about 450 families as members,” Mantri said.

The Maharashtra Mandal may be struggling to retain members but Ganesh Chaturthi has become a major event in the city’s festival calendar. An officer at Lalbazar, the city police headquarters, said the increase in the number of Ganesh pujas had prompted the police brass to consider “deployment of forces” from next year like they do for Durga Puja and Kali Puja.

According to one estimate, there are around 1,000 Ganesh pujas across the city. Many are small roadside affairs controlled by local political leaders who do not yet have the deep pockets to finance a Durga Puja with budgets running into crores of rupees.

Most of these pujas bypass the niceties of tradition, unlike at Maharashtra Mandal where care is taken to retain the flavour of a Maharashtrian celebration. Khichudi and alur dam may be the staple of the new Ganesh pujas in town but the organisers of the Maharashtra Nivas event won’t compromise on their modak, the traditional sweet that is offered as prasad to visitors.

The modak looks like a samosa from outside. Bite through the crisp outer layer — there is a steamed variety too — and you find the sweetness of ground coconut rolled into a ball like the old Bengali favourite called narkel nadu (coconut dumplings).

The second Sunday of the 11-day festival is reserved for mahaprasad, where a traditional Maharashtrian meal of matki, masala rice and jalebi, among other dishes, is served.

Marathi theatre and recitals are a part of the celebration on each day. This year’s highlight is an hour-and-a-half-long oration called Athavave Shivaraiyanche Pratap, commemorating the deeds of Shivaji.

The programmes organised by the Maharashtra Mandal round the year include Gopal Kala, celebrated the day after Janmashtami when people climb on each other to break a handi. “We do not climb on one another here because we are all old people! But we do break the handi,” said Mantri, who was a commentator on Doordarshan during the 1982 Asian Games.

What makes the celebration extra special is the repository of stories that does the rounds, recalling the moods and manners of a different era.

An old-timer said Ganesh Chaturthi used to be a private celebration in homes before the late 19th century, when Lokmanya Tilak’s initiative turned it into a community event. “The British had imposed stringent restrictions on the assembly of people. But such restrictions were waived for religious aggregations. Tilak used the opportunity and turned Ganesh Puja into a sarbojanin puja,” Mantri said.

The Maharashtra Mandal was established in 1924 while Maharashtra Nivas came into being in 1932 as a guesthouse for Maharashtrians visiting Calcutta. “It was to give them the feel of home away from home,” Rekhade said.

The large auditorium on the ground floor where all cultural programmes are held has large portraits of Subhas Chandra Bose and Rabindranath Tagore alongside those of Lokmanya Tilak and Chhatrapati Shivaji.

Chief minister Mamata, who visited Maharashtra Nivas on Friday, has held several meetings at the address over the years. Immediately after her victory in the 2011 Assembly elections, Mamata had assembled her MLAs and MPs at the venue. She had also presided over party meetings there during her stints as the railway minister.

source: http://www.telegraphindia.com / The Telegraph, Calcutta / Front Page> Calcutta> Story / by Subhajoy Roy / Tuesday – September 02nd, 2014

Bengal girl joins Malala in Dutch book

Amazing Feats, Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Education, Inspiration / Positive News and Features, Records, All, World Opinion

RekhaKOLKATA02sept2014

What is common among Malala Yousafzai, Anne Frank, Hellen Keller and 16-year-old Rekha Kalindi from Purulia in West Bengal?

The braveheart from the State will feature along with Malala and Anne Frank in the book Children who changed the world to be released in November in Amsterdam marking the 25th anniversary of the UN Declaration of the Rights of the Child.

Rekha, now a student of Class X, resisted marriage when she was about 10 years old. Her resistance led to other girls in the area following in her footsteps. She, along with two other girls from the district, was conferred the National Bravery Award by then President Pratibha Devisingh Patil in 2010.

The book is written by Dutch Newspaper NRC Handelsblad’scorrespondents who live and work in the countries of the children featured in the book.

It profiles 20 children and the chapter on Rekha is written by journalist Aletta Andre.

Girls inspired
“Rekha’s story fits very well in this theme (the book’s theme), as she resisted a very common but not so great practice in her area, when she was about 10 years old and has with her act inspired other girls to do the same. It shows that very young children, even very young girls in a patriarchal society, have the power to make a difference,” she said in an email response.

Speaking to The Hindu, Rekha said she was very happy that the story about her is being published in other countries. Since the time she and other girls from Purulia had resisted child marriage, many girls came forward to oppose the practice, she said, adding that poverty and lack of education are still resulting in such marriages.

She also pointed out that a Class V textbook of the State Board has a chapter on child marriage where her and another girl’s names feature.

“Such stories (like Rekha’s) encourage adolescents to protest and raise their voice against child marriage,” Asadur Rahaman, chief of field office UNICEF in West Bengal, said. Pointing out that child marriage and trafficking of girls continue to be a concern in States like West Bengal, Mr. Rahaman said that a scheme like Kanyasree providing scholarship to school-going girls is a significant
initiative.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> Cities> Kolkata / by Shiv Sahay Singh / Kolkata – August 28th, 2014

Bengal ranked top in cut flowers’ production across India: Study

Agriculture, Business & Economy, Green Initiatives / Environment, Nature, Records, All, World Opinion

Kolkata :

West Bengal is ranked on top with production of over 250 crore cut flowers across India thereby clocking highest compounded annual growth rate (CAGR) of over 597 per cent during five-year period of 2007-08 and 2011-12, noted a recently concluded study by apex industry body ASSOCHAM.

“West Bengal has also emerged numero uno with highest share of about 34 per cent in production of over 740 crore cut flowers throughout the country as of financial year 2011-12, production of cut flowers in India is growing at a CAGR of over 14 per cent,” according to a study titled ‘Value addition to rural economy: The promise of floriculture,’ conducted by The Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India (ASSOCHAM).

“Festivals, weddings, large scale political functions and other special occasions are driving demand for cut flowers as they are mostly used for decorative purposes, as gifts/bouquets for formal events,” said D.S. Rawat, national secretary general of ASSOCHAM while releasing the findings of the chamber’s study.

“Though the initial investment is very high, flower production gives much higher returns compared to traditional crops, however, one has to wait for four to five years for breakeven,” said Mr Rawat.

West Bengal is ranked eighth in terms of production of loose flowers. The state produces about 64,000 tonne loose flowers clocking a CAGR of over seven per cent during the aforesaid period. While loose flower production in India is growing at a CAGR of over 17 per cent as India produces over 16.5 lakh tonne loose flowers annually.

However, area under flower production in West Bengal has shrinked from about 27,000 hectares in 2007-08 to about 24,000 hectares in 2011-12 thereby registering fall at a CAGR of over three per cent, pointed out the study prepared by the ASSOCHAM Economic Research Bureau (AERB).

Apart from this, share of West Bengal in area under flower production across India also plummeted by seven per cent during the aforesaid period i.e. from about 16.5 per cent share in 2007-08 it came down to 9.4 per cent in 2011-12, highlighted the study.

It is estimated that about two lakh people are involved cut flower production in West Bengal which is blessed with diverse agro-climatic conditions suitable for flower production.

Dedicated cold storage facilities for flowers near to the main production centres would give a boost to exports of flowers from West Bengal, besides promotion of bio-technology especially tissue culture and genetic engineering would only further help the in realising its potential in floriculture industry in the state, noted the ASSOCHAM study.

Ensuring availability of quality seeds and improved varieties of planting materials, domestic development of capabilities for establishing poly-houses/shade-houses, providing loans at attractive interest rates to farmers willing to produce flowers, luring private sector participation for investments by offering tax rebates and incentives, conducting buyer-seller meets across India and even abroad are certain key policy recommendations listed in the ASSOCHAM study to further promote floriculture industry in West Bengal and other parts of India.

source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / Home> City> Kolkata / by Udit Prasanna Mukherji, TNN / September 01st, 2014

INDIA ON WAX – Record discs that helped defeat the British empire: Tagore sings ‘Bande Mataram’

Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Historical Links / Pre-Independence, Leaders, Records, All, World Opinion

During the freedom struggle, recordings of patriotic speeches and songs helped rally support.
PhonographKOLKATA01sept2014
Between 1877 and 1878, Thomas Alva Edison submitted patent applications for the phonograph in many countries, including British India. It is not known when these patents were granted, but it is known that in December 1878, the first phonograph recording was demonstrated in Kolkata.

For the next 30 years, recordings on the phonograph cylinder became quite popular, remaining so even in the early years of disc records.

Many members of royal families and wealthy people bought cylinder phonograph machines and recorded musicians and religious personalities. The Maharajah of Khetri recorded Swami Vivekananad’s speeches and discourses much before he went to America and gave his famous talks on religion. The internet is full of versions of his celebrated speeches.

Hemendra Mohan Bose (1864-1916) opened the Talking Machine Hall in Kolkata, a shop where one could get one’s voice recorded. Bose was a sound recording expert and also had an agency to sell Edison and Pathe brand phonograph machines. Many great writers, poets and political leaders would visit him and he would record their recitations and speeches.

A 1906 catalogue lists several cylinder recordings of Rabindranath Tagore. Unlike disc records, cylinders could not be reproduced for sale. Most of these cylinders have been lost. Some museums have broken or damaged copies of cylinders as artefacts but no audible sound can be extracted from them.

TagoreAdsKOLKATA01sept2014
During agitations against the partition of Bengal in 1905, H Bose recorded many political speeches and songs, such as Bande Mataram, both on phonographs and disc records, and they became very popular. But his factory and shops were sealed, machines and discs destroyed ruthlessly by police. As a result, nothing has survived today except a very short piece from Bande Mataram, sung by Tagore.

Recording experts from Beka, a German company, were in Kolkata in November 1907. The British government went about destroying all nationalistic material, whereas the German company was the first to record a political speech right under the nose of the British.

The National Grand Record label had a saffron disc with a rising sun as the logo. On it was recorded a speech by Babu Surendranath Banerjee, on the partition of Bengal. The flipside of this unusual 78-rpm disc has a speech on Bande Mataram.
DiskKOLKATA01sept2014

The man responsible for producing this disc was Sir Abdul Halim Guznavi, a political leader and agent for the Beka record company in Kolkata. Only few copies have survived. We have the image of the label only but no access to the audio file of this historically important recording.

We welcome your comments at letters@scroll.in.

source: http://www.scroll.in / Scroll.in / Home> All News / by Suresh Chandvankar / August 15th, 2014

DOWN MEMORY LANE – A legendary doc

Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Historical Links / Pre-Independence, Leaders, Records, All, Science & Technology
Dr. Hem Chandra Sen
Dr. Hem Chandra Sen

From curing ailments common and uncommon to initiating Durga Puja in Delhi, Dr. Hem Chandra Sen left behind an unforgettable legacy

Doc Holliday may have been a favourite with youngsters watching Western cowboy films over five decades ago, but long before that Delhi had its own bearded Doc whom few remember now. There were no motorised vehicles in 1879 when Dr. Hem Chandra Sen came here in a bullock cart all the way from Agra. Rich people travelled in palanquins, buggies or four-wheeled landaus and the poor in ekkas and carts. Women hardly showed their faces in public, they either wore burqas or ghoonghats and there was no electricity and piped water supply. In this milieu Dr. Sen became the first Indian allopathic doctor of Delhi.

From dispensing medicines to those building the E.I. Railways’ Agra-Delhi line, he started treating the local populace; women did not mind uncovering their heads and faces before him. Dr Sen was credited with “miraculous healing powers”, his day beginning at 4 a.m. and ending late at night. Rich and poor alike were treated by him. Those who couldn’t come to his chambers were visited by him, for which he used two sets of horse carriages — one for the morning and the other for the evening. He charged Rs. 2 (for the full treatment) from those whom he visited at home and nothing from patients who came to his clinic. He set up a pharmacy also, as getting medicines from Calcutta took a lot of time. Later it became a separate unit known as H.C. Sen and Company.

In 1883 Dr. Sen, founder of the Imperial Medical Hall, set up the Imperial Medical Press and type-setting moulding unit adjacent to his clinic. It was afterwards run by his nephew A.T. Roy, and the latter’s sons and grandsons, as one of the leading presses of Delhi. Member of the first management committee of Hindu College, Dr. Sen played a leading role in youth education along with Lala Shri Krishna Dass Gurwala (one of the founders of the college), M. M. Malaviya and many others of note.

Lala Krishan Dass Gurwala was among the seths who persuaded Dr. Sen to settle down in Delhi. It is interesting to note that the name Gurwala was appended to the family as it used to provide gur and gram to pilgrims, says the centenary brochure on Dr. Sen brought out in 1980. Gurwala’s grandfather was hanged by the British for supporting Bahadur Shah Zafar. The family traces its history to 1560 and Lala Nodhamal of Akbar’s reign. After Gurwala helped establish the Delhi Cloth and General Mills, it meant an extended practice for Dr. Sen. However when the good doctor fell seriously ill due to his exertions (“grace under pressure”, to quote Hemingway), the British Chief Commissioner of Delhi ensured that there was complete silence in the Fountain area of Chandni Chowk so that he was not disturbed. It’s worth mentioning that when Unani medicines were ineffective even the famous Ballimaran hakims did not hesitate in referring patients to Dr. Sen for a speedier cure.

Europeans also came to Dr. Sen, a Freemason, for treatment and for advice even on personal matters. Born in Calcutta before the 1857 Revolt, he died in 1906 and the Delhi markets were closed for a week as a mark of respect. He was succeeded by his sons, Dr B. C. Sen and Dr R.B. Sen (Adu Babu). From 1880 till his death Dr. Sen had stayed on in Delhi and among his guests were Rabindranath Tagore, Swami Vivekananda, novelist Sarat Chandra, Sir Surendranath Banerjee, Subhas Chandra Bose, Madan Mohan Malaviya, Hakim Ajmal Khan and the Maharajas of Jaipur and Jodhpur.

Interestingly, Vivekananda used to walk to the Yamuna every day through Chandni Chowk so long as he stayed in Delhi. The road from the Fountain leading to Old Delhi station is named after Dr. Sen and on Ansari Road in Daryaganj his descendants continue to maintain their 100-year-old pharmacy. Now a book on the legendary doctor, an initiator of Durga Puja in Delhi, is being written (at the behest of Anees Enterprises) by Shipra Sen to commemorate her ancestor whose medicines for curing diseases like jaundice, other liver infections and malaria are still popular. May be Doc Holliday too would have got rid of his bottle-induced problems had he cared to saunter (shoulder-strapped gun and all) into Dr. Sen’s celebrated 19th Century “Maktab” at the Fuwarra!

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> Features> FridayReview> History & Culture / by R. V. Smith / August 31st, 2014

How Vicky Roy went from being a ragpicker to celebrity photographer

Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Inspiration / Positive News and Features, Records, All, World Opinion

VickyRoyKOLKATA31aug2014

Vicky Roy came from a poor family, other than him, there were six other mouths of his three sisters and three brothers to feed. Getting beaten by his mother was normal, and he was not allowed to play with other children, and while his parents went in search of work, he was left with his grandparents.

Running away:

In 1999, when he was 11-years old, Roy decided to run away. With Rs. 900 in his pocket, which he had stolen from his uncle, he boarded a train at Purulia, West Bengal, and landed in Delhi. Some street children at the station spotted him crying, and took him to Salaam Balaak Trust (SBT), a home for young boys who have no place else to go that was formed from the proceeds of the Mira Nair movie ‘Salaam Bombay.’

But the place was always locked, this did not suit Roy’s free spirit, so one morning when the gates were opened for the milkman to come, he ran away for a second time. He met the same kids he had met at the railway station, and after narrating his tale, he joined them as a ragpicker. ” I collected water bottles and sold them for Rs. 5, the police beat us and the goons on the railway platform would steal all our money. I joined a restaurant near Ajmeri gate as a dishwasher, during winters the water was cold, and I had rashes that would bleed. This was when I met a volunteer from the same SBT who told me that I should be in school and that the trust had many centres and in some you could attend school and you are not locked up all the time,” says Roy. He rejoined one of the many centres the trust ran called Apna Ghar.

Back to SBT and meeting Dixie Benjamin:

Roy scored 48 per cent in his 10th standard board exams. Realizing that he was not bright academically he was told to join National Institute of Open Schooling where he could get training in computers or TV repair. His first brush with photography happened here, when he came across two kids who were undergoing a photography training, and had also gone to Indonesia and Sri Lanka.

Little did he know that his life was about to change forever.

He met Dixie Benjamin, a British filmmaker, who was making a documentary on SBT. Roy hit it off with Benjamin and became his assistant, and thus began his journey as a photographer. Benjamin couldn’t converse in Hindi, and Roy knew only a smattering of English, but he was still able to pick up most of what Benjamin taught him about concepts like aperture, lighting and so on. Before this Roy had used a plastic Kodak camera to take photos. Benjamin brought him upto speed with the use of an SLR.

A dream comes true:

Roy was soon to turn 18-years, and he was dreading it, this meant that he will have to leave SBT and set out on his own. SBT would provide with the basics like a gas cylinder, stove, matress and utensils: but he knew no other life other than what he had at SBT. However, becoming independent proved a blessing in disguise. Roy approached Anay Maan, the well-known portrait photographer to be his assistant. He agreed, but wanted Roy to stay with him for a minimum of three years, he did want him to leave after a few months having picked up some tricks of the trade.

Anay Maan turned out to be a good teacher and mentor. He used to teach Roy about photography by drawing a picture by hand and explaining concepts like lighting and depth of field. The assignments took Roy to many places, his life was now lived in luxurious hotels, and he was collecting flight boarding passes by the dozen. He also browsed a lot of books on photography, which told stories of different subjects. It occurred to him that he had a story to tell as well. He was already on possession of a Nikon F80 that he had bought taking a loan of Rs 28,000 from SBT, which he had repaid by giving back Rs 500 a month.

He shot street children who were 18 years or less, and had a goal to do something with their lives. “I had my first exhibition called ‘Street Dreams’ in 2007, this was sponsored by British Commission and DFID that was very successful. I also took the exhibition to London and South Africa and sold many copies of the book. I now started feeling like I had arrived as a photographer and started developing an attitude,” says Roy. Anay Maan called him and put things into perspective saying that before the exhibition he was simple, but now he was rude. This struck a chord in Roy, who promised to stay true to his roots and not forget his humble beginnings.

He continued working with his mentor on a part-time basis and mostly on the big assignments. There was a subtle change in their relationship, Ayaymaan treated him with a lot more respect, now as his equal, and friend.

Dreaming bigger:

Having a built a platform with ‘Street Dreams’ Roy was confident to take on more ambitious projects. In 2008, there was global competition organized by Maybach Foundation, the Ramchandra Nath Foundation nominated his work, and he was one among three photographers chosen for a six-month residency to be held in 2009 at the International Centre for Photography. This led him to be given access to the World Trade Centre (WTC) site, once a week, for two hours. “I finally felt I knew the reason why I had run away from home all those years back,” recalls Roy. His work was exhibited at WTC 7, and won the Duke of Edinburgh’s award, he was invited to lunch with Prince Edward at Buckingham Palace. This was the first time that he had heard of the palace. Roy’s work started to go places: like the Whitechapel Gallery and the Fotomusem Switzerland. He held his second solo exhibition – WTC: Now- at the American centre in Delhi, in 2009.

Going back to his Apna Ghar roots:

After tasting success globally, Roy decided to come back home to Apna Ghar and resumed work that he had started in 2007. The work was displayed at Vadera Art Gallery, and to coincide with 25 years of Apna Ghar’s existence, he teamed with editor Sanjiv Shaith to bring out a book that was debuted at the Delhi Photo Festival in 2011 called Home. Street. Home.


Giving back:

Even after all the success that Roy has under his belt in his relatively short career, he doesn’t feel like he has arrived as yet. But he’s giving back to his fraternity in small ways. Last year, along with photographer Chandan Gomes he started a photo library called Rang by donating over 500 books to Rang. Rang organizes photography workshops for children in schools and shelters and tries to infuse the spirit of photography in them. The high-quality books on photography can be accessed by anybody at Rang’s Open Library, which is currently located within the Ojas Art gallery in Mehrauli.

Realizing the invaluable role that mentors like Benjamin and Anaymaan played early on in his life he has taken on himself to mentor other upcoming new photographers. He has currently taken under his wing, a 20 year old called Anish to assist him with his shoots.

You can check out Roy’s work here.

Disclosure: The author was hosted by the organizers of the INK Conference, at Kochi, where he met Vicky Roy, an INK 2013 Fellow.

source: http://www.social.yourstory.com / Home> Social Story / by Nelson Vinod Moses / January 29th, 2014

Child Crusader’s Story to Inspire the World

Amazing Feats, Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Inspiration / Positive News and Features, Records, All, World Opinion

Kolkata :

Her defiance against an age-old custom developed into a campaign that caught the imagination of the nation. And now anti-child marriage crusader Rekha Kalindi will rub shoulders with Malala Yousafzai and Anne Frank in a book that tells the tales of how they changed the world.

The story of this braveheart from West Bengal’s Purulia district, conferred the National Bravery Award for refusing to be a child bride and inspiring many of her ilk, features in the “Kinderen Die De Wereled Hebben Veranderd” (Children Who Changed the World), a Dutch book to be released Nov 20 to mark the 25th anniversary of the UN Declaration of the Rights of the Child.

Written by renowned Dutch journalists and historians, the book portrays the heroics of 20 children who stood up against injustice or became a symbol of injustice done to them and includes the likes of Pakistani education activist Malala Yousafzai and holocaust diarist Anne Frank.

Talking about Rekha’s story – the only one from India – Aletta Andre who has penned the chapter on her, elaborated about the 16-year-old’s efforts to inspire nearly 10,000 girls in the district to pursue their studies and not to concede to their families’ demand of an early marriage.

“It’s not only about her own defiance but also about how she counselled and inspired a lot of other girls to do the same. At least 10,000 in Purulia district have resisted child marriage and her story has been also mentioned in a Class V textbook,” Andre, a Delhi-based Dutch journalist, told IANS on the phone.

Considered a liability, her parents had planned to marry Rekha off at 11 to get rid of “their burden”. But having seen her elder sister suffer as she became a mother at 12, the idea of marriage terrified Rekha and eventually led her to revolt that created history.

Conferring the Bravery award in 2009, the then president Pratibha Patil had described Rekha as a “messenger of social change”.

At the age of four Rekha started working, rolling beedis along with her mother. Now a class 10 student of Jhalda Satyabhama Vidyapith, she actively campaigns against child labour and child marriage.

Ecstatic about being part of the book, Rekha at the same time is distraught for she can read only Bengali and not Dutch.

“I heard the book is in some other language which I cannot read. I am sad at that, but I am also very happy that my story will be read by foreigners,” Rekha told IANS.

Aspiring to be a teacher and preparing hard for her board exams, Rekha insists her job has just begun.

“There is so much poverty; many girls have to work because of which they don’t get time to study. I wish a day comes when all of us will go to school without having to worry about work,” added Rekha.

Unicef, which has been working to curb the menace of child marriage, expressed happiness at Rekha’s contribution getting international recognition and hoped this would inspire and create many a crusader like her.

“This is surely a proud moment for all of us and I hope it creates many a Rekhas to fight out the menace of child marriage and child labour,” Asadur Rahman, head of Unicef’s field office said.

Others featuring in the book include Pakistani child labour hero Iqbal Masih who helped over 3,000 minor bonded labourers to escape before he was murdered in 1995 and South African Nkosi Johnson, who made a powerful impact on public perceptions of HIV/AIDS and its effects before his eventual death at the age of 12 from the pandemic.

source: http://www.newindianexpress.com / The New Indian Express / Home> Nation / IANS / August 31st, 2014

Jadavpur University begins work on graphic anthology of Tagore stories

Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Education

Kolkata :

Jadavpur University Press on Friday started the process of compiling a graphic anthology of 10 short stories by Rabindranath Tagore with Harper Collins as the co-publisher. It also launched a book of essays by Upendrakishore Raychowdhury on half-tone photography, published in a single volume for the first time. And professor Abhijit Gupta and Deeptanil Ray of JU unveiled a website that showcases the evergreen comic books generations have grown up devouring.

“Raychowdhury had written the essays in Penrose’s Pictorial Annual, a London-based magazine that reviewed graphic art. British Library had the only copies of the magazine and gave us permission to reproduce them in a facsimile edition. We have not edited a word and have printed images of those articles,” said Dr Devalina Mookerjee, development editor at JUP. When asked about the Tagore project, she added: “We want the artists to look at the stories in the context of contemporary world. The artists will be working independently.”

Illustrators Vishwajyoti Ghosh, Trinankur Banerjee, Sarbajit Sen and Nitesh Mohanty discussed their work and plans with Rimi B Chatterjee as the moderator.

Later, Mohanty told TOI: “It’s a one-of-its-kind project where all artists will bring in their essence to the eternal spirit of Tagore. We will stick to the original and there will be no deviation from the original story.” Banerjee agreed and added: “And to retain the spirit of the doodles, the book will mostly be in black and white. But there will be a colour section as well,”

Professor Emeritus Sukanta Chaudhuri regaled the audience with an address on Tagore’s doodles while Sekhar Mukherjee, former head of the animation department at National Institute of Design, spoke on the animated ‘Birpurush’ that has been in the works for a while now.

The day was rounded off with a discussion on ‘Upendrakishore’s versatile genius’ with Prasad Ranjan Roy, Subhendu Dasmunshi and Amlan Dasgupta. Samantak Das was the moderator.

Former home secretary Roy, who is also related to Upendrakishore, said: “Satyajit Ray had written about how he showed the same passion of violin and pakhowaj. At night he would study stars with a telescope while in day he would take to the canvas with oil and watercolour. Possibly, he took up half-tone photography after his drawings for ‘Chheleder Ramayan’ became unusable. But his daughter Purnalata has written that he took it up while in the UK.”

source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / Home> City> Kolkata / TNN / August 30th, 2014