19 July,2024 06:03 AM IST | Mumbai | Hemal Ashar
They’re off and racing
There will be one person conspicuous by his absence at the Pune racing season beginning tomorrow. That will be Royal Western India Turf Club (RWITC) photographer Ravishankar Gupta who passed away on Friday morning.
The South Mumbai resident was simply a "fixture" on the Mumbai and Pune turf. He cut a familiar figure in his safari suits on every race day, faithfully recording racing action in Mumbai followed by the Pune season.
âGuptaji' was stoic and old style, present on every single day of the season. He was undoubtedly the âgo to' man when it came to pictures on the racecourse. Be it the winning horse, a photo of a jockey, horse owner or trainer, one could bet (pun intended) that Guptaji would have that image.
Said Dr Ram Shroff from the RWITC committee, "His passing was the most upsetting news we got on Friday. He was one of us. He used to make albums so that we could relive our moments on the turf and these were also very helpful to racing professionals. A humble and courteous person, you could just look at the track on any racing day and there he was, a consummate professional capturing moments with his camera. He will live on through his work."
Guptaji's son Amit Gupta who is now a turf photographer too, carrying on the legacy left behind by his grandfather and father said, "Those 40-plus years he spent on the racetrack are all captured in mountains of pictures. A picture can say 1000 words goes the adage, so imagine what all these pictures say about my father. A photographer who was there in the moment, whether in the paddock or as the horses flew past the post."
Former RWITC chairman Khushroo Dhunjibhoy said, "Guptaji captured the magic moments of racing, giving us golden memories that spoke of all the excitement and thrill that will last through time. His personality and special talent will be truly missed."
Former RWITC commentator Mahendra Mallya recalled that, "Guptaji was one of the most well-behaved non-racing professionals I have known. He knew one should never walk or stand behind the horse, it may kick. Compare this to photographers who meander in one day of the season unaware about this cardinal rule. Guptaji would also never use the flash suddenly in front of the animal, to avoid it rearing up spooked by the action. This may seem trivial but is extremely important in the larger scenario. Even his demeanour overall, was not feverishly exciting. In fact, he was a picture of calm near the animal and took not just memorable but very useful images, entire âalbums' that showed the sequence which was of immense use for racing professionals." This paper has approached the âgo-to' Guptaji numerous times for photographs, not just of titanic turf moments like Classic race days, but of racing professionals too, photos of owners or jockeys that would give a face to the voices we quoted in our reports.
mid-day racing correspondent, Prakash Gosavi said of a 30-year-old association with Guptaji, "He was as passionate a race lover as he was a professional photographer. In a world where superlatives are loosely bandied about, Guptaji earns the epithet of not just a photographer but an institution."
