the-south-asian.com                                              SEPTEMBER  2002

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September 2002 Contents

 

 Environment

 Earth Summit 2002
 - a factfile
 Earth Issues 1992 - 2002
 Summit Hopes & Failures
 Points of View

 Lifestyle

 India's Wine Industry

 Sports
 Women Golfers

 Health

 Stroke - recognition &
 prevention

 
 Architecture

 Rashtrapati Bhavan

 Women's Issues

 Gender & Disaster
 Management

 Visual Arts

 Purkayastha - photographing
 Ladakh

 Around us

 Coffee-Break

 Indo-Pak mountaineers for
 Peace

 Coke paints red on Himalayas

 The surviving Mughals

 The plight of HSPs i.e.
 Highly Sensitive Persons

 Brown Cloud over South Asia
 

 
 Books

 'Bapi- the love of my life'
 Anoushka Shankar

 'Knock at Every Alien Door'
 - Serialization of an
 unpublished novel by
 Joseph Harris - Chapter 8

the craft shop

the print gallery

Books

Silk Road on Wheels

The Road to Freedom

Enduring Spirit

Parsis-Zoroastrians of India

The Moonlight Garden

Contemporary Art in Bangladesh

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For the past decade photographer Prabir Chandra Purkayastha has been going to Ladakh - to its people, culture and society. Perhaps the most stunning of all photographs is the one he shot on September 11, 2001 of a 600 year old 30-foot tall Maitreya (Buddha) at the monastery of Basqo. Purksyastha claims he saw tears rolling down Maitreya's eyes. "I was shocked and stunned. Maybe Maitreya's tears must have been rolling for generations. Or maybe it was a signal that a world-shaking event was about to happen. I don't know. Only time will tell," claims Purksyastha not sure whether what he saw was true or his mind was playing games or even a hindsight.

For the past decade Prabir Chandra Purkayastha has been going to only one destination for his holiday excursions. And every trip takes him deeper into the heart of Ladakh and its people, culture and society. At each journey’s end his love for the place becomes more intense and passionate. " Ladakh connects with me at a very emotional and spiritual level. I can spend a lifetime in there."

Purkayastha, who began his career as a journalist before changing track and venturing into the world of advertising, has trekked across south east Asia, Europe and North America to Bangkok, Germany, UK, Canada and Hong Kong. Yet he is more attracted to this near empty desert land in the northern tip of India

Situated 14,000 feet above sea level, with temperatures ranging from minus 25 degrees to minus 52 degrees or less, Ladakh has barely any green vegetation. Yet he finds it extremely beautiful. "Since everything is so hostile; from the climate to the barren land, one begins to cherish every breath one takes here. One values life here" says the 50-year-old Purkayastha.

  Purkayastha's enchantment with Ladakh began eleven years ago on his maiden trip to the state. Since then he has returned every year. " On every subsequent trip I have travelled further than the previous year." In the last year and a half, he has visited Ladakh over ten times. " I believe the region is a living embodiment of nature. My love for it has increased manifold with each travel," says Purkayastha.

Born in Mhow in Madhya Pradesh, and educated in Delhi, he could never have imagined the path he was likely to tread in years to come. Some years back, on the suggestion of his friend and the famous photographer Prabhuddo Das Gupta, Purkayastha decided to capture his immense love for Ladakh on camera.

" In the beginning I found the task of clicking a landscape quite awesome. Gradually I began to learn the many nuances of photography. I also learnt how to take pictures when it is snowing or when it is dark, or how to capture vastness," says Purkayastha.

A better understanding of the medium helped him create 60 prints measuring between 16 inches by 20 inches [smallest] and 5 feet inches by 3.5 feet [largest] on Ladhakh for an exhibition at Delhi’s India Habitat Centre which he plans to take to other cities. His prints start at Rs. 5000.

Perhaps the most stunning of all photographs is the one he shot on September 11 of a 600 year old 30-foot tall Maitreya (Buddha) at the monastery of Basqo. Purksyastha claims he saw tears rolling down Maitreya's eyes.

" I thought Maitreya would be still, calm and composed. The first thing I noticed was tears. I immediately clicked the photo. The date was September 11, few hours before the terrorists attacked the WTC and Pentagon in USA.  I was shocked and stunned. Maybe Maitreya's tears must have been rolling for generations. Or maybe it was a signal that a world-shaking event was about to happen. I don't know. Only time will tell," claims Purksyastha not sure whether what he saw was true or his mind was playing games or even a hindsight.

Be that as may, the fact is his photos encapsulate the varying nuances of Ladakh, oscillating between the physical and the spiritual. His stunning picture of a mountain adorned in blue colour brought him close to death. " When I was taking this picture there was a storm blowing. The temperature was below minus 30 degrees Celsius. I waited for 45 minutes for the storm to abate in  order to capture the perfect picture of the mountain bathed in blue colour. In doing so, I was frozen and even suffered from first-degree frostbite on my fingers and toes. While on the one hand there was death, on the other there was this amazing beauty melting from the sky on the mountain. It was a perfect juxtaposition of death and life," reminisces Purkayastha.

Another photograph of a witch mask is equally awesome. This 700-year-old scary mask hangs in a monastery in Upper Ladakh. It is believed to be guarding the gates of death. " What I have done is to capture that image, especially the look in the eye, the face slightly open, the cracked skin. The picture depicts my visualization of darkness."

Then there is the portrait of the head Lama of Ladakh - Bakula Rimpoche, 90 years old with a stiff body and intense looking eyes. "The portrait of Bakula Rimpoche summarizes what actually Ladakh is all about---strong, still, silent, primitive and spiritual," says Purkayastha.

Alluring Pictures

Equally alluring is the picture of the three elderly people, busy in a conversation with the creator. " I have again tried to highlight the stillness, quietness and spirituality which pervades the region. In this ancient and primitive society people are more bonded to their land. Land to them is very precious, even though there is probably nothing growing on it they are very emotionally attached to it," says Purkayastha.

He is now keen to transform his "passion for photography into a full time profession." He has no role model that he wishes to ape. " I like good photographs. It does not matter who has clicked them. A good photograph is one that helps one imagine what lies beyond the frame after looking at it. And that fires the imagination immensely, " he says.

Right now, he continues to be an Executive Director with the Mudra group making ad campaigns, a job that he has been doing for the past twenty years albeit in different leading ad companies of India; Everest, O&M, Clarion and Interact Vision. Before stepping in the ad world, Purkayastha even worked as a newspaper space salesperson in Thailand in the late seventies for "The Bangkok World" and later as Special Reports Editor for " Business In Thailand."

Now that he is in India, Purkayastha is convinced that his love for Ladakh is life long. So is his passion for photography on Ladakh. He wants to take his exhibition to all major cities in the country, Mumbai, Kolkata, Hyderabad, Bangalore andChennai etc. Next year he hopes to go trans Atlantic; London in March and April followed by New York in the summer.

Next year’s agenda also includes his plans to publish a book ' Amygdala', a coffee table book of pictures and experiences on Ladakah. " While I would like to learn more and more about the region, I also hope to enlighten the world about Ladakh through my photographs. After all, for me Ladakh is love at first sight."